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First they came for the wait staff, and I did not speak out—because I was not a waiter.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has opened a chain of restaurants where human servers are replaced by roving robots.
As reported by the Agence France-Presse, this futuristic concept aims to raise efficiency and lower labor expenses.
“In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to 10,000 yuan ($1,460) per month. That’s hundreds of thousands in cost every year,” Cao Haitao, an Alibaba product manager who developed the Robot.He diner scheme, told AFP. “And two shifts of people are needed.”
Robots, however, can work all day every day without complaint; just plug them in each night. You don’t even need to tip them.
This futuristic diner is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s latest push into robotics (via AFP)
The Robot.He eateries are linked to Alibaba’s Hema semi-automated supermarkets, where shoppers fill digital carts and watch as products are transported to the checkout via a conveyor belt on the ceiling. Customers can also opt for home delivery (a convenience already available across the US and Europe).
Alibaba boasts 57 Hema markets—all of which will eventually feature Robot.He restaurants—in 13 Chinese cities, according to AFP.
The novelty of mechanical meals is still strong, drawing queues of people eager to book tables and order food on their smartphone (no different from apps like OpenTable or Seamless).
“The idea of a robot delivery food to our table is very innovative so we wanted to see it ourselves,” Ma Yiwen, who brought nearly a dozen colleagues to a Robot.He location near her office, said, speaking to the AFP.
Cyborg employees—who never ask for a raise or workers comp—help keep expenditures to a minimum. Which, in turn, lowers menu prices.
“Normally for two to three people, a meal costs about 300-400 yuan ($44-$58), but here, all this table of food is just over 100 yuan ($15),” regular patron Ma Shenpeng told AFP.
Alibaba rival JD.com, meanwhile, hopes to entice even the most die-hard Robot.He fans, like Shenpeng, who visits once a week, with plans to open 1,000 robot-run bistros in the country by 2020.
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