A robot-waitress serves a customer without spilling a drop. She even says, "Here is what you ordered." The customer says the robot seems refreshing and hygienic. Another diner says, "I came as soon as I heard the have robots. I wanted to check it out."
The robots are programmed through a control panel to take the food to the designated table. They have a life expectancy of 10 years, and cost $12,000 each. That is the same it would cost to hire a human waitress for two years.
"Right now there's a labor shortage in the service industry," says restaurant owner Zhang Gengping. "When we do find people to hire, they quit right away. Robots cut our labor costs."
The robotic servers are manufactured by a company in Shenzhen. The company has been making Automatic Guided Vehicles, or AGVs, for factories for a decade. The carts roll along magnetic tape on the floor, so they can transport freight without human help.
The company thought it could use the same concept to make waitress robots. After a lot of trial and error to improve the dumpy prototype, they developed one that not only looks friendly, it also speaks. For example, they polite ask if they can pass a customer standing in front of them. It can even be programmed to speak regional dialects.
The robot has been drawing a lot of attention in the restaurant industry since it went on the market in December. In just one month, thirty robots were sold, and more than forty others were ordered.
The next generation models will also be able to take orders from customers.
"As soon as we make improvements, we get orders for the new models," says He Jianzhong, General Manager of the company. "We can't keep up with demand."
In China, the one-child policy has created a shortage of workers. Many manufacturers already use robots in production, but it's expected more companies will follow.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/insideasia/20150130.html
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