Some Orlando restaurants who are desperate for workers have offered $400 signing bonuses. There are plenty of people who need the work but are not willing to enter a workspace full of mask less open mouth chewers in the age of COVID-19.
Robot Servers are being employed by some restaurants to maintain social distancing and stand out from their competitors. A Chinese restaurant uses robot greeters and servers that chat with guests, take orders and run food from the kitchen.
U & Me Revolving Hot Pot in Orlando, Florida down by Disney opened in May 2020. The restaurant employs a conveyor belt and autonomous robots to assist in serving diners. A “pilot” robot helps guide customers to their assigned table where a conveyor belt allows individually plated dishes, each in a protective cover, to roll past the table. Some items are delivered to the table via a multi-shelved delivery robot. The robots at U & Me are from Shanghai-based Kennon Robotics.
In the UK, a restaurant called Robotazia features up cycled robots made from vacuum cleaners, cement mixers and other detritus in a sci-fi themed space. Also up and running is a fleet of grocery delivery robots. The 100 lb autonomous self-driving robots can carry deliveries within a four mile range at a “pedestrian speed.” Available in the UK for several years now, are rolling out across the US as well, in Virginia, DC, California and Arizona.