Adam the robotic bartender might mix your next cocktail if you visit certain restaurants. As Axios notes, “He can make 65-70 drinks an hour, never needs a bathroom break and doesn’t ask for a tip — and soon, he’ll be able to make conversation and take your order.”
He is part of a new class of restaurant robots that will help businesses cope with staff shortages, high employee turnover, and increasing wage and hour regulations governing human staff. Restaurants are beginning to rely on robot servers and food preparers.
As Axios observes, “Improvements in AI and robotics are fueling a renaissance in robots like Adam, which are trained to work alongside humans and relieve them of more tedious tasks.Adam was introduced a year ago as a countertop robot that could make cocktails, coffee and boba tea.” Soon, he will be able to “engage in sophisticated conversations with customers and emulate human actions with exceptional accuracy,” according to his maker, Richtech Robotics.
“Our focus for Adam is to really have him be as versatile as possible,” says Richtech Robotics’ president.”The idea is that Adam can be employed in every type of beverage-making,” such as smoothies. Right now, only a dozen Adam robots are being used, in places such as the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Los Angeles, the Cloutea boba shop at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and at Botbar Coffee.
Adam also is rented out for conferences and parties. Adam sells for $180,000, and comes with a custom setup table and matching equipment.
Robots are now being used not only in food preparation roles in the back of the restaurant, but also in roles that interact with customers, including tableside and in drive-thrus. Robot servers and bartenders interact with customers, while kitchen robots shoot kale into salads, fry tortilla chips and cook burgers.
Chipotle, for example, is investing in a “digital makeline” where robots prepare salads and bowls. It already uses a machine named Chippy to make tortilla chips and a contraption called the Autocado to mash avocados into guacamole. Sweetgreen has a robotic chop-and-prep system that “can produce up to 100 salads in 15 minutes, with improved accuracy,” according to Restaurant Business. Chipotle’s founder, Steve Ells, is opening a chain of robot-run vegetarian fast-casual restaurants in New York City called Kernel, according to Eater.
Robot waiters are increasingly being used in South Korean restaurants, which are facing a labor shortage.
Robots with artificial intelligence are spreading on Japanese farms. In the U.S., farming robots now use artificial intelligence to kill 100,000 weeds per hour. Drones with artificial intelligence will make farming easier.
Doctors recently used a surgical robot to carry out incredibly complicated spinal surgery. Doctors also recently did the first robotic liver transplant in America.
Scientists have developed tiny robots made of human cells to repair damaged cells. Nanorobots are also being used to fight cancer. “In a major advancement in nanomedicine, Arizona State University scientists…have successfully programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply,” reported Next Big Future.
Artificial intelligence is now developing highly-effective antibodies to fight disease. Doctors overseas are using artificial intelligence to detect cases of breast cancer more effectively.
