A restaurant in Harbin, China has invested thousands of pounds to allow robots to serve customers in their commercial property. The restaurant has 18 robots in total which run along tracks in the commercial property, serving customers with food, drinks and even welcoming them to the restaurant. But do you think robot staff would work over here in the UK?
One factor that may put commercial properties in the UK off the idea is the price. The innovation in China was not cheap as each robot costs around £20,000 to £30,000 (200,000 to 300,000 Yuan) to make.
Speaking of the construction of the robots, Liu Hasheng Chief Engineer at Harbin Haohai Robot Company, said: “Staff in the computer room can manage the whole robot team.
“After the busy times during the day, the robot will go for a ‘meal’, which is electricity.”
But are robots appropriate for a customer facing environment? People like to be greeted by a friendly face, not a piece of plastic. Also what if the robot malfunctions? Will we have an ‘I, Robot’ like situation on our hands and who would save us? Share your comments below.
