Would You Allow a Robot to Serve You? Baton Rouge Restaurant in Testing Phase
Picture this: you are at your favorite restaurant and, instead of your usual server, a robot rolls up to take your order.
What is your response?
A restaurant in Baton Rouge is testing the concept of using a robot as a server.
According to Business Report, Rouj Creole restaurant on Bluebonnet is giving a robot a test run across its floors.
The robot being used is a Bellabot which, according to the Robotlab website, is the most recent robot designed for delivery by the Pudu company.
Robotlab's website, which offers Bellabots for sale, says the robot has "superior human-Robot interaction capabilities".
The latest delivery robot designed by Pudu, BellaBot inherits the outstanding characteristics of the previous generation, while being endowed with superior human-Robot interaction capabilities. Featuring an innovative bionic design language, cute modeling,multi-modal interaction, and many other new functions, BellaBot provides users with an unprecedented food delivery robot experience. - Robotlab
According to Business Report's story, Rouj Creole is owned by City Group Hospitality and its spokesperson says that most people love being served by the robot.
“It’s been fascinating to watch the customers’ response to it,” City Group’s Stephen Hightower says. “The majority of people are enamored with it.” - Business Report
I have no been served by a robot, but I believe that I would, too, be enamored by the robot, at least due to the novelty of the whole situation.
I would be enamored with the robot as I was enamored by the self-checkout stations at grocery stores when they first arrived on the scene. Would my love of the robot fade as quickly as my love of the self-checkout?
Only time will tell.
The Bellabot will be serving at Rouj Creole for a limited time, but the restaurant has the option to buy the apparatus. According to Business Report, the restaurant group could buy the unit for around $20,000.
Would the robot be worth that price tag? Well, it could be.
In today's climate, waitstaff help is in short supply for restaurants. If the company saves more than $20,000 by not paying a server then, yes, it may be worth the price.
I would have to see how the robot reacts to me changing my order at least twice before it rolls away, and then see if it comes back when I say, "excuse me, but I've changed my mind again".
I wonder if the Bellabot is programmed to roll its eyes when a customer keeps changing his order...