Burger-making robots are upon us. In 2012, Momentum Machines revealed its autonomous grill master, which can flip burgers the capacity of its three human counterparts. And it can do the job by itself, without help at all.
“Our alpha machine replaces all of the hamburger line cooks in a restaurant,” the company said. “It does everything employees can do except better.”
The announcement was made 5 years ago, with only recent development. But soon, all of us can experience and taste how well these robots prepare the burgers, after the Momentum Machines secured $18 million in venture funding. This was verified with a file from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Restaurants cannot be blamed if they will invest on these robots rather than on human burger flippers. Automation offers a higher accuracy in menial tasks, plus robots do not need to be given salaries every month.
Photo by Momentum Machines
Former McDonald’s USA CEO Ed Rensi agrees. He said in an interview with Fox Business in 2016 that it would be cheaper to hire robots to replace the company’s staff than to pay them higher wages.
“It’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging french fries,” he said.
It really looks like human burger flippers are doomed. Once Momentum Machines finds the perfect location for its first robot-led restaurant and opens its doors to the public, many companies will become interested in the higher efficiency of these robots – it can slice, grill, assemble, and bag 400 burgers in just one hour – as well as the sanitary value of these machines in the kitchen.
But how will the robot-led restaurant look like? This was answered by a job advertisement posted on Craigslist in 2016.
Illustration by Momentum Machines
“This location will feature the world-premiere of our proprietary and remarkable new advances in technology that enable the automatic creation of impossibly delicious burgers at prices everyone can afford,” the ad said.
“The burgers sold at 680 Folsom will be fresh-ground and grilled to order, served on toasted brioche, and accented by an infinitely personalizable variety of fresh produce, seasonings, and sauces.”
It did not mention anything about robots though, but it was clear that it came from Momentum Machines’ as introduced.
Furthermore, the company said in the ad that the restaurant will still have humans in it, as it needs ‘autonomous’ and ‘autodidactic’ human workers to carry out other tasks like taking out the rubbish. But it is sure that human burger flippers have no place in this restaurant.
Source: Dailymail UK
