Communications of the ACM
Dutch Restaurant Will Reopen With Robot Waiters
Leah Hu observes two robots which will be used as servers at her family's restaurant in Renesse, the Netherlands.
Credit: Peter Dejong / AP
When Shaosong Hu saw robotic waiters serving food in China last fall, he knew exactly what he wanted for his restaurant in the Dutch beachside town of Renesse. He didn't realize how useful they would prove.
The coronavirus pandemic has turned his whimsical idea into perhaps a window to the future where a brush with plastic is preferred to a human touch.
Now, two shiny white-and-red robots glide across the floor of the restaurant, the Royal Palace. Once it reopens, the robots will be serving Chinese and Indonesian specialties at 15.5 euros (USD$17) each.
Duties will include greeting customers, serving drinks and dishes, and returning used glasses and crockery.
The robots will respect social distancing rules. "We will use them to make sure the 1.5 meters [5 feet] we need during the corona crisis sticks," says Hu's daughter Leah, who also works at the restaurant.
From Chattanooga Times Free Press
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