The automation of human jobs has led many to become wary of robots, but can a robot take a job that many deem to require a human touch? Well, according to one video, they can, as a robot waiter battles a human waiter in a battle for employment.
Human Waiter vs Robot Cat
Released by CNN, one video showed a competition between man and machine. At the Dimmer & Summer Café in Brooklyn, New York, a robot cat waiter named Bella has proven so popular that patrons travel to the city just to see it.
However, can a robot replace every function of a human waiter? Well, that’s exactly the question this video set out to discover. As it turns out, no, it cannot, at least not entirely.
In terms of bringing orders to the table, the restaurant‘s human staff were able to deliver items in half the time as Bella. However, Bella could hold three times as many orders that a human could. But the robot’s restrictions don’t stop there.
For example, the robot is unable to take any orders from patrons. Instead, a human waiter is required to ask customers what they want. Furthermore, the robot is unable to answer any prompts regarding the bill.
Essentially, the robot waiter is a glorified dinner tray with cutesy emoticons. Other than that, it is worse than a human option in every single way. But despite this, customers want more.
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A restaurant for robots
In response to the overwhelming positive to the robot, owner Kenney Mei revealed plans for a second restaurant that only has robot servers. This comes after customers complained if they couldn’t be served by the robot.
“I actually have a bad review yesterday on Google from a customer that was assigned to sit upstairs,” Mei told CNN. “They cannot get in reach of the robot and she was not very happy about it.”
Mei explained that robot servers will be able to work all day with just five hours of charging. However, there’s currently no way of the robot filling in all positions of human staff.
Furthermore, reactions have been mixed regarding the robot. As it cannot handle all functions of the restaurant, or offer recommendations for what to eat, it’s simply an exciting attraction for tourists, not mainstay customers.