You went to college so you wouldn’t have to flip burgers at a fast food restaurant. But with the labor shortage these days, those fast food restaurants are calling on you techies for help.
Okay, they aren’t asking you to flip burgers. But they are asking you to build robots that can flip burgers.
And business is good. Maybe not “over 5 billion sold” good. But good enough that Miso Robotics is getting 150 inquiries weekly for “Flippy”. That’s right, FLIPPY, the robot that makes fast food using artificial intelligence, sensors, computer vision, and robotic arms.
Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics, said that most restaurant workers are performing repetitive tasks, just the sort of thing that robots are made to do. In other words, they are performing robotic tasks, something that robots should be doing.
Bell also noted that robots improve cooking accuracy and consistency, reducing errors that could lead to food-borne illness. And he added, “We are using robotics and AI to usher in the future of fast food.”
Bear Robotics has also entered the restaurant field. They are making “Servi”, a robot that can deliver food and bus tables. (As someone who did that kind of work in high school, I say HURRAH!)
With the shortage of workers, it is unlikely that most people will balk at the idea of robots taking human jobs. Indeed, robots seem to be increasingly accepted in the workplace. And they do allow human workers to learn new computer skills as they operate the robots. Robots also free human workers to spend time doing what people do best: connecting with human customers.
Technology, burgers, fries. It all sounds pretty tasty.