Robots in the Restaurant Industry
Remember when the idea of an all-electric car was strange? Cut to 2021 and we’ve basically seen it all. Now, however, robots are entering the game in a whole new way: they’re serving the restaurant industry. And it makes perfect sense, what with artificial intelligence (AI) becoming more accessible and less costly than ever. There’s also the continued concern over public spaces and transfer of germs, which has made the introduction of robotics even more appealing. Robots can work continuously without the need for a break, they make fewer mistakes than humans, and in the long run they can save plenty of time and money for your business. Here are a few ways robots are making a splash in the restaurant industry today.
Sally, the award-winning, salad-making robot, is a first-of-its-kind robot that was recently acquired by DoorDash. According to the Chowbotics website, “Sally assembles custom bowls on-demand from fresh ingredients protected in an airtight, refrigerated container.” The ingredients you can choose from include everything from seafood to berries, quinoa to yogurt. Sally can also accommodate a slew of dietary choices including vegetarian, paleo, and vegan. Introduced in 2018, Sally is now used in over 70 locations and can be purchased outright or rented on a monthly basis.
Picnic is the automatic pizza maker we never knew we needed. The Hello Picnic website claims “Our pizza equipment tops dough with precise amounts of sauce, cheese, meat, and veggies while significantly reducing food waste.” It’s designed to use your existing recipe to automatically create hundreds of pizzas/hour, while also reducing human interaction with food. Individual sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and granular modules can be assembled just the way you need, allowing you to customize your machine for optimal use.
Miso Robotics has a range of products designed to reduce the need for human intervention. There’s an automated drink dispenser and an end-to-end frying station named Flippy. There’s also CookRight, a product that performs “product identification, classification, and tracking on legacy grills and fryers. Through a digital interface that times, tracks, and alerts, teams are able to manage critical cooking tasks with greater efficiency and accuracy.” This equipment is easy to install in your own restaurant kitchen (no professionals needed), plus it serves up great analytics to help you track cooking time, product usage, and more. And with its intuitive interface, it makes training new staff easier than ever—and that’s something all business owners can appreciate.
As technology changes, so do the needs of small businesses. However, implementing a new piece of technology into your restaurant can introduce a financial burden. Should you choose to go down the path of upgrading the technology in your small business, consider a business Line of Credit from ARF Financial. With this loan solution, you can quickly get up to $500,000 at your fingertips. Use the funds whenever you need and pay interested only on what you borrow. Approvals can be made in as little as 48 hours, too! Apply now!