DUBAI (UAE) – Dubai residents who wish to get a taste of social distancing visit RoboCafe, where robots have replaced their human masters.
German-manufactured robots take customers’ orders, prepare it and deliver it to their tables.
“It’s a good idea, especially right now,” said Jamal Ali Hassan, an Emirati who had ordered a piping hot drink, which was delivered without any spills. “Restaurant turnouts are low, so I would expect that this idea would be popular … You order online and the robot works in front of you and gets you whatever you want within minutes.”
The launch of this cafe was delayed from March last year because of the pandemic. It finally opened in June when curbs were gradually eased in the Gulf country.
The joint was created with the help of the government’s artificial intelligence initiative. Human intervention is limited to solving glitches or sanitising surfaces.
“The client orders from the [touch] screen here, then everything is reliant on artificial intelligence, [the robot] sorts out the orders by table and places it on the small service bot, and the service bot delivers it to the customer,” said Executive Director, Rashid Essa Lootah.
While the drinks are made by German-made robots, the completely autonomous delivery bots are designed and manufactured in the UAE.
“I’m a bit of a tech nerd, so seeing the little robots, like the roomba vacuum delivering food, and the different armatures — it’s like an assembly line in a car manufacturing plant,” said customer Vincent Marino.