A Restaurant Run by Robots

Children and science fictions enthusiasts are not alone in their fascination of robots. For decades, TV shows and movies that depicted robots have gained much recognition and popularity. It’s no surprise that one innovative restaurant that has integrated robots into its business, is receiving a lot of attention.

Robot Restaurant

Last June, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province of China, a new restaurant hit the scene, and brought technology with it. The popular new eatery, Robot Restaurant, has a staff of 20 robots that work alongside the human employees. The robots are conveyed around the dining room and kitchen using motion sensors that allow them to follow a track in the floor and also prevent them from crashing into any obstacles in their path.

The Robots

Some of the droid’s capabilities include washing dishes, preparing food, greeting customers and carrying trays of food and beverages to the tables. These mechanical servers range in height from 4.3 to 5.25 feet and can speak with basic greetings and make a range of facial expressions. A greeting robot, specialized in welcoming on-lookers, is stationed in front of the restaurant to lure hungry patrons.  And for your dining entertainment, lovely, mannequin-like, robot girls dance and serenade you. The electrical staff can work non-stop for 5 hours after a 2 hour charge, and that’s not too bad for free labor. However, the price tag on these robots ranged from 200,000 to 300,000 Yuan (approximately $30,000 to $50,000).

Dining

Though the robots contribute greatly to the kitchen and serving staff, the technology is not yet advanced enough to replace humans completely. Some of the meals are partially prepared by robots, but experienced chefs are still needed as the main cooks. And while it’s quite an occurrence to have your food brought to your table by robots, great service still can’t be beat by personal, human interactions. You might expect such a unique dining experience to be expensive, however, it’s actually priced quite reasonably.  A meal at Robot Restaurant runs about 50 Yuan, which is around $8 in the U.S. How would you like to spend date night or family night being served and entertained by robots?

[Images via ispr & msnbc]