Can Autonomous Technology Power the Future of Restaurants?

Fifteen years ago, the first-generation iPhone hit the U.S. market. The sleek, paradigm-breaking design captured the imagination of consumers. Touch screens, apps, and other features would soon become a standard for mobile technology.

Today, innovation is advancing at an even faster clip. And it’s particularly evident in foodservice—a sector long considered a laggard to tech evolution—where futuristic solutions are popping up on the back-end of a global pandemic. Autonomous delivery being one of them.

Driverless delivery vehicles, drones flying through the sky with pizzas and groceries, and automated robot servers gliding through dining rooms, are all now realistic functions, as much as it might sound like an episode of “The Jetsons.”

“It’s going to become very ubiquitous,” says Juan Higueros, chief operating officer of Bear Robotics. “You’re going to see automation playing a huge role in the foodservice and hospitality space, both inside and outside of the restaurant. If automation was a baseball game, I’d say we’re just now entering the second inning.”

Bear Robotics is a California-based company helping to lead the charge toward automation. The company, which creates hospitality robots, is one of several brands focusing efforts and resources on reshaping the restaurant landscape.

You can’t run a restaurant without labor. And with labor shortages continuing industry-wide, operators are increasingly looking to technology solutions to help fix that problem. One of the more creative, front-facing options now trending is the robotic waiter, or robo-waiter, most common in the casual, full-service space.

Bear’s fully automated machines run food and bus dishware, and are sometimes even capable of acting as host and leading people to their table. They’ve been revered for easing the stress of short-staffed teams and reducing some of the monotonous tasks that burden existing servers.

Higueros says there are several advantages associated with using these, but none more important than the time it frees up for employees to be, well, more hospitable.

“It allows the employee more time to be more creative,” he says. “It gives them more time to spend on the people their serving and it creates a much more embodied working environment for the employee. It creates better culture, which results in more return customers because they’re getting that true customer experience through customer service.”

From an operator’s viewpoint, there are other advantages to consider as well. Bear’s hospitality bots can save employees miles of walking during shifts, leading to a more rested, focused staff. Higueros says servers at many restaurants can walk upward of 20 miles per week, adding

physical stress to an already challenging occupation. By using automated servers in a collaborative nature, operators can increase productivity while simultaneously making their employees’ lives easier.

Robo-waiters have been around for years, and as the technology advances, other operators are increasingly jumping on board. But the solution isn’t necessarily right for everyone.

Naturally robot-waiters lack some of the skills a great server encompasses. Yet, not all front-of-house roles at every restaurant rely on conversational skills and a human touch. If you’re in the casual, full-service space and struggling to find staff, it could be a useful option to test out. Likely it’ll become an even more affordable one, too, in the years ahead, as new competitors enter the space and existing companies grow.

And, hospitality bots are just one part of the automated delivery conversations... visit BearRobotics.ai to learn more today!

To get a better look at how this technology works, we took a look at the ins and outs of Bear Robotics’ Servi as a starting point. This is intended to provide insight into what a robo-waiter could look like in your own restaurant, but of course, every prototype has its own nuances in functionality.

THE BASELINE FOR YOUR RESEARCH...

• Looks like: Far less like a humanoid and far more like a rolling, multi-level shelf; includes two (16-inch) trays and a bus tub

• Color: Black and white

• Size: 41- inches tall x 17-inches wide; 75 pounds

• Able to carry: 66 pounds; up to 7 entrees

• Hours of operation: 8 to 12 hours of battery life; takes 4 to 5 hours to fully recharge, with a quick-charge feature allowing 4 to 6 hours of operation after a 1 to 2 hour charge

• Average operating speed: A brisk walking pace of 0.6 to 0.8 meters per second

• Max speed: A very, very fast walking pace of 1.2 meters per second

• Charging type: Wall charger (Input 100~240V AC 3.5A 50/60 Hz, Output 28.6V DC, 8.0A)

• Operating in: Over 6,000 restaurants in 38 states in the U.S. and several countries worldwide, including South Korea and Japan

• Price: About $30 per day with a three-year contract – roughly $1,000 a month (subject to vary)