“Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s robots that expedite avocado mashing and burrito bowl assembly are ready to serve real-life customers,” reports Bloomberg News:
The chain said Monday that it’s piloting the two machines in restaurants for the first time after they passed tests in a lab. For now, two California locations are each getting a robot, and the company will see how workers and guests respond before they’re installed elsewhere.
Chipotle’s move into robotics highlights an industrywide-push to make restaurants more efficient. The robots take time-consuming or undesirable tasks off workers’ plates, meaning employees can focus on prepping other food items or helping guests. Such technology can also allow restaurants to serve a higher number of diners per hour without necessarily having to hire more staff, boosting profit.
Known as Autocado, the guac prep robot can cut, core and peel avocados in 26 seconds on average. The newest version adjusts itself automatically to whatever size the fruit comes in….Meanwhile, an automated assembly system known as the Augmented Makeline builds bowls and salads, which account for about 65% of Chipotle’s digital orders.
Robots are in other restaurant chains, too, such as the salad-making robot used by the Sweetgreen restaurant chain. Robot waiters are increasingly being used in South Korean restaurants, which are facing a labor shortage.
California, the minimum wage for fast-food workers was recently raised to $20 per hour, which led to a loss of about 10,000 jobs and the planned elimination of another 1,300 jobs. “El Pollo Loco and Jack in the Box announced that they will speed up the use of robotics, including robots that make salsa and cook fried foods,” reported the Hoover Institution.
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.
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.”
Last year, doctors used a surgical robot to carry out incredibly complicated spinal surgery. They also did the first robotic liver transplant in America.
