China’s first robotic hotpot restaurant unveiled

Interested in having a taste of a futuristic experience in a Chinese restaurant? Over a dozen robots are part of a massive “conveyer-belt type" concept at the recently-unveiled Dalu Robot Restaurant in Jinan City, Shandong province. The restaurant was set up by the Shandong Dalu Science and Technology Company, a robotics manufacturing company, which designed and built its mechanical staff from scratch. The robots, each costing about 6,000 USD to build, are loaded with motion sensors and will stop when objects or people are in its path. Patrons can then take food and drink from the robot’s tray, or put empty plates on it. Some robots also have a manual override function just in case they become too unruly. But their robotic powers are limited. For one, they cannot physically serve customers or refill their cups. Patrons have to get out of their seats and help themselves to the plates of food and drink. "I think humans are still better than robots. Humans can give you what you want immediately, [while] these robots have to go round and round the restaurant and only when they reach you can you get what you want," says Zhu Wei, an 8-year-old patron who was dining with his family. Other patrons are amused by the robots and thrilled by the restaurant's semi-futuristic concept. "They have better service attitude than people. Humans can be temperamental or impatient but they don't feel tired, they just keep working and moving round and round the restaurant all night!" says 35-year-old Li Xiaomei, who is visiting for the first time. Robotic wizardry takes a backseat when it comes to the actual food preparation, however. The entire kitchen is staffed by human chefs who prepare hundreds of dishes for hungry hotpot customers. Despite plans to roll out an additional 30 robots in the coming months, the chefs aren't too concerned. "As chefs, we need experience. These robots are man made, and they can't replace us," declares Head Chef Wang Changyi, after deftly slicing a slab of luncheon meat. If robot waiters aren't enough to dazzle its guests, the restaurant also has robot receptionists and dancers which greet customers with canned phrases. One robot designed to look like a female hostess went through some dance steps, admittedly with some stiffness. But a table of guests delightedly watched her, and clapped with appreciation as she finished. Li Yunge, a restaurant patron, found the song and dance amusing but says the robot needed more work. "I think that if she had a stronger battery life she would have sounded a lot better," Li says. About 60 engineering and technical staff design and service the robots, and the restaurant eventually hopes to introduce even more hi-tech service robots. "We will eventually roll out robots that are more human-like and resemble people in their movements and actions. For example, they can walk up and down the stairs, they can serve food directly on the table and pour drinks," says restaurant owner, Zhang Yongpei. Eventually, the restaurant and its parent company hope to design more complex robots for service, industrial and farming sectors and market them across China — an interesting business plan in a country where human labor is still its biggest and cheapest resource.—AP