Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

food robots

White Castle Expanding Use of Flippy the Robot to 10 More Locations

White Castle is adding 10 more Flippy Roars to its roster, Miso Robotics announced today. The expanded order for more Flippy robots comes after a successful pilot at one White Castle location that was announced this past July.

Through a combination of robotics, computer vision and AI, Miso’s Flippy ROAR can operate both grills to cook hamburgers as well as fry stations. The entire system is suspended on rails from above, and White Castle had been using Flippy as a fry cook. According to today’s press announcement, Flippy made an average of 360 baskets of fried food per day during its pilot with White Castle, with a total of roughly 14,580 lbs. of food and more than 9,720 baskets made.

In addition to Flippy making food in a more contactless fashion, something consumers are more aware of than ever during this pandemic, Flippy also creates more social distance among employees in the kitchen, and frees workers up to pay more attention to order fulfillment and delivery. Today’s press release noted that White Castle is open 24 hours a day, which creates its own set of staffing challenges, with late night shifts harder to fill. Because it’s a robot, Flippy can work around the clock without needing a break (or calling in sick).

White Castle’s Flippy expansion comes less than a month after Miso announced the general commercial availability of its robot. In addition to wider availability, Miso is hoping to attract new customers beyond large QSRs with its new financing option, which eliminated the $30,000 up front cost and replaced it with a $2,000 a month subscription.

The pandemic has helped accelerate interest in food robotics, and we’ve seen a flurry of activity even just this month. KFC Korea partnered with Hyundai to develop fried chicken making robots. Walmart added a Blendid smoothie making robot to one of its stores. And Costa Coffee officially took over Briggo and its automated coffee kiosks.

White Castle did not disclose where its new Flippy robots will be located, only saying they will be delpoyed in 2021. For Miso, this new contract — and, by extension, this vote of confidence in its technology — could also help boost the company’s equity crowdfunding efforts. The company is looking to raise a $30 million Series through SeedInvest, and to date has only raised a little more than $9 million.

KFC Partners with Hyundai in Korea for Chicken Frying Robots

Hyundai Robotics announced today that it has partnered with KFC Korea are to develop robots that can cook chicken, reports The Korea Herald.

There weren’t many details in the story other than that “KFC Korea will provide its stores and cooking know-how under the deal,” according to The Herald.

However, the KFC Korea/Hyundai partnership reinforces two trends we’ve been seeing over the past couple of years. First is the continued partnership between massive automation companies and various food-related entities to develop food-related robots. The second is that — wow — who’d a thunk that KFC companies would be leading the charge into the future of food tech?

We’ve known for a while that food presents an interesting challenge for roboticists. Because it is often oddly-shaped and susceptible to bruising and damage, food is a good test case for robot manipulation. If a robot is sensitive enough carefully handle an egg, it can definitely apply that skill to other fragile materials in more industrial settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has added another reason for big companies to get into food robots, as restaurants and eaters seek out more contactless experiences. As a result, restaurant interest in food automation is surging. The reasons are pretty straightforward, robot cooks don’t get sick, can work around the clock, and can create more social distance in the kitchen.

Hyundai and KFC is the latest food company + industrial conglomerate partnership we’ve seen form over the past couple of years. Previously Panasonic teamed up with China’s Haidilao hot pot restaurant chain to open a robot-run kitchen, and LG is working with Korea’s Woowa Brothers to develop server robots.

But just as, if not more interesting are the moves international KFC companies are making when it comes to restaurant tech innovation. In addition to KFC Korea’s forthcoming chicken frying robots, KFC Russia has a Moscow location using a network of devices and conveyor belts to automate meal service, and the company announced in July that it was launching an initiative to use 3D bioprinters to create chicken meat.

KFC may not be able to say it’s finger-lickin’ good any longer (thank you, pandemic), but the company’s finger is definitely on the pulse of food automation.

Chowbotics Adds Contactless Features and New Menu Items to Its Salad Robot

In this time of COVID, vending machines are fast becoming a great option for contactless meals. Well, mostly contactless. While the machines are using advanced robotics to make high-end food, many still require users to touch the same screen to place their order — a no-no in today’s hyper hygienic world.

When I talked with Chowbotics for The Great Vending Reinvention: The Spoon’s Smart Vending Machine Market Report earlier this year, the company knew that this limitation was an issue and was fast-tracking a solution, which is finally here.

Yesterday, Chowbotics announced some new features for its fresh food robot, Sally. Included in the updates are contactless ordering, new menu items and dynamic video advertising, according to an email sent to The Spoon.

Sally’s new contactless ordering feature lets consumers order their meals ahead of time through a new, proprietary app. Customers place their order through the app with their nearest Sally. Upon arrival at the machine, a special QR code generate by the app is scanned and the meal is made and dispensed. (The press release did not mention any new contactless payment features.)

Chowbotics also continues to expand Sally’s menu beyond salads with new options. The company today also announced that has added new chef-designed meal items including Thai noodle salad, Poke, and even a smoked brisket bowl.

Finally, Chowbotics also added new video screen to its robot, which means that operators can insert dynamic ads depending on what they want to promote. For example, the screen could display breakfast bowls in the morning and a BBQ bowl in the evening.

Since the pandemic has forced the closure of buffet-style food options like salad bars, Chowbotics and other vending companies have reporting an uptick in interest from grocery retailers. With expanded menu options, the ability to make meals around the clock and custom upsell and marketing messages throughout the day, retailers may not want to go back to staid salad bars.

UPDATE: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the video advertising would be on the touchscreen.

See 3D Meat Printers, a Pizza Robot and The Modernist Cuisine Kitchen in Action at SKS

Every October, one of my favorite things about the Smart Kitchen Summit — the Spoon’s flagship conference for food tech leaders — is getting to see the latest and greatest technologies in the world of food on display.

Over the years that’s included everything from smart ovens and waiter robots to 3D-printed popsicles as entrepreneurs bring their latest creations to Seattle to show off what they’ve been building and to meet other food tech innovators.

And while nothing can replace getting to see (or taste!) the latest product that could change the world of food and cooking in person, one of the limitations of a physical world conference is what can actually be physically transported to Seattle. Sometimes, it’s just not feasible to get a product — or something like a tech-powered kitchen — on a plane.

But with Smart Kitchen Summit virtual, we can go anywhere in the world to where creators are building their innovations, from the a lab to the kitchen and into a barn. (All of these will happen this year.) And we can have a food tech innovator show us what they’re building first-hand.

Here are some of the things you can expect at SKS this year:

  • Novameat CEO Giuseppe Scionti will show us in a live demo how his company is making plant-based 3D-printed meat.
  • We’ll see a cultured seafood lab in California, food dispensing pods in Maine and food robots in India during our Startup Showcase.
  • We’ll get a guided tour of the Modernist Cuisine kitchen with the Modernist’s head chef, Francisco Migoya.
  • A new restaurant pizza robot will debut live on camera.

Not only that, with the built-in networking features of SKS Virtual, you’ll get to meet, ask questions and even have one-on-one video chats with many of the innovators at SKS 2020.

SKS starts next Tuesday, so get your ticket here. If you’re attending from overseas and can’t watch live, don’t worry: your SKS ticket will get you access to Spoon Plus, where we’ll host all the videos from SKS.

Don’t miss out on seeing the latest in food tech. Get your ticket today and we’ll see you at SKS!

Picnic Raises $3M for its Robot-Powered Pizza Assembly

Picnic, which makes a robotic system for assembling foods like pizza, has raised $3 million in funding. Geekwire was first to report the news, writing that “Vulcan Capital, Flying Fish Partners, Creative Ventures, Arnold Venture Group, and others put more money behind Picnic.” This brings the total amount raised by Picnic to $20.7 million.

Picnic’s robot, which was a hit when it debuted at our Smart Kitchen Summit last year, is a modular system that uses computer vision and conveyors to properly dispense ingredients (like pizza toppings). Though it is best known for its ability to assemble pizzas (it can put together 300 in an hour), it has broader applications and could be used to make burritos, subway-style sandwiches and more.

The global pandemic has put a spotlight on food robotics companies like Picnic because they reduce the amount of human-to-human contact when making food, and they also help create more social distance in the kitchen. It also doesn’t hurt that robots don’t get or call-in sick, and they can work around the clock without needing a break. Robots can also work at high volumes. One of Picnic’s first customers was Centerplate Pizza at T-Mobile park in Seattle, though stadiums are pretty much shut down right now.

There are actually a number of companies in the food robot space, angling to bring their automation to restaurant kitchens. Both PAZZI and Piestro are pizza robots. Miso Robotics, just announced the commercial availability of its Flippy ROAR robot. And Blendid’s robot kiosks whip up smoothies.

If you are interested in learning more about Picnic and the future of robots in restaurants, I’ll be hosting a panel with Picnic CEO, Clayton Wood, Dischcraft Robotics CEO, Linda Poulliot, and John Ha, Bear Robotics, next week at our virtual Smart Kitchen Summit. Get your ticket today!

Bear Robotics and SoftBank Debut New Servi Restaurant Robot

Good-bye, Penny. Hello Servi.

Bear Robotics and SoftBank announced their new food service robot, dubbed Servi, at an event in Tokyo today. The new robot is actually a redesigned version of Bear’s Penny, an autonomous server robot that shuttles food and empty dishware between the front and back of house of a restaurant.

SoftBank is actually an investor in Bear Robotics, and led Bear’s $32 million Series A round that closed at the beginning of the year. The two companies have been working closely on Servi, and will focus initially on the Japanese market, where Bear has already lined up Denny’s as a customer.

Servi is coming to market at a time of heightened interest in automation in the restaurant industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased scrutiny over the amount and types of human-to-human interactions that happen when dining out. Robots like Servi can also work long hours without a break, won’t call in sick and don’t have to worry about awkward exchanges with customers over wearing their masks (e.g., taking a mask off to eat, putting it back on when ordering).

But Bear is not alone in the robot server space. With players like PuduTech and Keenon Robotics, server robots could quickly become a commodity, with restaurants just opting for the lowest cost option.

John Ha, Founder and CEO of Bear Robotics, told me by phone last week that Bear’s robots are different from the competition because of their full autonomous driving (no need for special tags to be placed on ceilings) and easier set up.

Ha was in South Korea at the time because Bear has an office in Seoul and that is where the company will be manufacturing Servi. This scaled up production, Ha said, will be a way Bear can fend off newer startups looking to break into the robot space. “People without mass production won’t be close anytime soon, because mass production is not a joke,” Ha said.

South Korea will also be among the first markets for Bear, with Ha saying that they have received a lot of inbound interest from restaurants there. In South Korea, Bear will go up against Woowa Brothers, which teamed up with LG and the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRIA) to develop robot waiters as well.

As noted, the pandemic is accelerating the interest and adoption of food robots. So expect to be saying hello to a lot more robots like Servi in your not-too-distant dining future.

Beastro is a Robot for Ghost Kitchens

As the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more people into ordering delivery from restaurants, the restaurant industry has responded by opening more ghost kitchens. And with more restaurants ditching the front of house for smaller-format, delivery-only operations, the logical next step is to automate as much of that new format as possible, which is now starting to happen.

Last week, Tel Aviv-based Kitchen Robotics unveiled the Beastro, a robotic ghost kitchen. The Beastro is an industrial-looking standalone kiosk that acts as a fully automated kitchen. The Beastro is 11 ft. 6 in. by five ft. 10 in. wide and 7 ft 2 inches tall, weighing in a 1,790 lbs. It can make 45 dishes an hour including Italian and Asian cuisines, as well as soups, salads and more. The Beastro starts at $5,990 a month.

As you can see from this promotional video, the Beastro is reminiscent of the Spyce Kitchen, with a series of grippers, conveyors and dispensers. The machine places all ingredients in a bowl, then mixes and heats the dishes, presumably through induction.

Beastro™ by Kitchen Robotics

The smarts of the Beastro is in Kitchen Robotics’ cloud-based Cuismo software. Cuismo manages the programming and monitoring of each dish made, allows for customization and, according to the company, uses deep learning and predictive analysis to reduce operational costs, though it doesn’t say exactly how. Cuismo also integrates with third-party delivery services. The base Cuismo software package is free for a single site. Prices jump to $249/month for up to five different sites and $999/month for an unlimited number of sites.

Beastro is arriving at an opportune time. Euromonitor recently predicted that the ghost kitchen market will hit $1 trillion by 2030 (read our Spoon Plus deep dive market report on ghost kitchens to learn more). Because ghost kitchens are built around delivery, the whole point of them is to get meals prepped and ready quickly, something a robot like Beastro can do around the clock, without taking breaks or, more relevant for our times, calling in sick.

Of course, automating ghost kitchens also brings up the societal issues around labor. If a prolonged pandemic means that ghost kitchens become the dominant venue for restaurants to exist, where will those line and prep cooks go once robots are installed? Not every restaurant brand or ghost kitchen will adopt automation, but what we do with displaced restaurant workers is something we need to deal with.

Kitchen Robotics’ told The Spoon that has received more than $1 million in funding from various investors and CEOs in the industry and that Beastro will be deployed in two major U.S. cities by mid-December of this year.

 

Woowa Bros. Launches Robot Food Delivery in Korea

Woowa Brothers, which owns the popular Baedal Minjok food delivery service in Korea, announced yesterday that it started using robots for delivery on public streets just outside of Seoul.

Woowa’s “Dilly Drive” robots will have a very limited run at first, only making deliveries to Gwanggyo Alley Way, a multipurpose housing complex in Gwanggyo, Suwon city.

The Dilly service can be used by any of the 1,100 residents of the housing complex, or the public at large. To place an order, customers use the Baemin mobile app and the robot will either arrive at the first floor of the Gwanggyo Alley Way, or to tables outfitted with special QR codes in the complex’s plaza.

The Dilly Drive robots sport six wheels, move at a speed between 4 – 5 kilometers per hour (roughly the speed of a person walking) and can carry roughly 6 lunch boxes. The self-driving Dilly Drives can detect and avoid objects, people, and pets, and the robots now come equipped with remote control, presumably so a human can take over should one get stuck or incapacitated.

According to the press release, this is the first public use of food delivery robots in Korea. Woowa had previously tested the Dilly robots at Konkuk University in a pilot program back in November 2019.

While this may be the first public use of delivery robots in Korea, chances are good that it won’t be the last. The global COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the acceleration of contactless methods of delivery. Robots like the Dilly Drive, as well as those from Starship and Kiwibot, remove at least one human from the delivery equation. Robots also bring the added benefits of being able to work long hours without a break and never getting sick.

With the launch of the Dilly Drive, I’m curious to see if Woowa Founder and CEO Kim Bong-Jin will follow up on an idea he had a couple years back. During a press interview back in July 2018, Bong-Jin expressed an interest in having robots not only deliver food but also take away recycling. As more people have ordered delivery during this pandemic quarantine, single-use plastics have become a bigger problem. If a delivery robot could drop off food in a recyclable/re-usable container and then pick it up on its next trip, that could really help put a dent in the waste created by restaurant delivery.

Cafe X Closed its Airport Locations and Laid Off Staff. Now It’s Planning for the Future

Cafe X has shut down its San Jose and San Francisco airport operations, laid off staff and made a number of other market adjustments as the company adapts to the new realities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Henry Hu, Co-Founder and CEO of Cafe X told us via Twitter messaging that with airport traffic decimated, thanks to the coronavirus, the two airport locations have been closed for months. He is unsure when they will reopen. Hu says that they are still in talks with other airports for new Cafe X locations.

At the same time, however, Cafe X has also started taking pre-orders for machines on its website, which lists the price at $200,000 per robotic kiosk ($5,000 deposit required), and says they will be shipped in Q4 of 2020.

Hu said that Cafe X is not a franchise, the company is just selling the machine and providing support, which can include recipes and menus if the customers wants. Additionally, customers can still choose to purchase coffee and supplies through Cafe X.

This is a little different from when Cafe X first started a couple years back, when the company was not only offering robot-made coffee, but also had a human on hand to provide a more curated coffee experience. The plan at that time was for Cafe X to own and operate its own machines.

The actual physical shape of the Cafe X machine has changed as well. Gone are the rounded corners of the kiosk, replaced with more square right angles.

It’s been a tumultuous year for Cafe X. In January, the company shuttered its three downtown San Francisco locations to focus on its airport business, and now those locations are closed as well. Hu said that because of the pandemic, Cafe X laid off most of its staff except for the engineers.

There does seem to be some light at the end of this COVID tunnel for Cafe X, however. Hu posted a photo on Twitter today of one of its robot kiosks being shipped off to Asia. Hu wouldn’t provide many details, but said its part of a big project in Asia that will include 150-plus machines over the next couple of years.

As I’ve written before, I’m all-in on automated vending machines like Cafe X and Briggo, especially during these pandemic times. Businesses and consumers alike will be looking for ways to reduce human-to-human interactions when it comes to getting their food. Robotic kiosks not only remove one human from the equation, but also hold all of their food and other ingredients behind glass walls away from people. Additionally, robots can run all day without taking breaks (or calling in sick). Spoon Plus subscribers can read my full report on the future of vending machines.

The pandemic is far from over (especially here in the U.S.), so we’ll see if COVID, which negatively impacted Cafe X though most of this year, could also come to the company’s rescue.

NOTE: An earlier version of this article said that Cafe-X’s order of 150 machines was happening over the coming year instead of over the next couple of years.

Report: 80 Percent of Restaurant Jobs Could be Taken Over by Robots

More than 80 percent of restaurant jobs, including cooking, serving and prepping, could be potentially be taken over by automation, according to restaurant consulting firm Aaron Allen & Associates.

Pizza Magazine was first to report on this, writing:

Aaron Allen & Associates shared a graphic proposing that 82 percent of restaurant positions could be automated. The majority of them, or 51 percent, would be server positions. Fifty-seven percent of fast-food and counter workers (or 3.2 million) could be replaced, and the same goes for 38 percent of waiters and waitresses. Twenty-one percent of cooking and food prep positions also could be automated, the company asserts.

Factors that could drive this widespread adoption of automation include continued labor shortage issues for restaurants and the COVID-19 pandemic.

We write about food robots a lot here at The Spoon, and while that 82 percent number is certainly daunting, it’s not completely surprising. Prior to the pandemic, sufficient staffing was an issue for restaurants as many potential workers preferred driving for Uber or doing some other form of gig work that allowed them to set up their own hours.

Thanks to the pandemic, the U.S. is dealing with massive amounts of unemployment, so finding people to work may not be as big an issue in the short term (though there is a debate about workers making more money via the stimulus than at their job). But the bigger problem now is the number of restaurants closing down dine in operations or shuttering altogether, reducing the number of jobs in the industry overall.

COVID accelerated the push towards off-premises dining, which requires a different kind of staffing set up. You don’t need servers if there are no customers sitting at tables to serve. And if a dining room is open, there will be fewer people eating in it to accommodate social distancing.

But even then, COVID has us re-thinking the amount of human-to-human contact as we get our food. We won’t know what the lasting impact of the pandemic on our psyche will be, but there is a good chance we will be more wary of strangers and more cognizant of the number of people who touch our food.

This is another reason why we could see more robots in restaurants. Already, a number of companies like Bear Robotics, Keenon Robotics, and Pudu Technology make server robots that can autonomously shuttle food and empty dishes back and forth from the kitchen. Then there is Flippy from Miso Robotics, which can grill burgers and work the deep fryer. White Castle recently announced that it was piloting Flippy at one of its Chicago locations. There’s also Picnic robots, which can assemble 200 pizzas in an hour.

There have always been deep societal concerns around automation, especially within the restaurant industry, which in addition to be a career many people are passionate about, also serves as an accessible first job for lots of different people. Robots taking more than 80 percent of those jobs will have massive ramifications for the country, the labor force and our collective future.

Now the coronavirus is upending those conversations. There are still issues around equity and the ability for people to find work and training if a robot takes their job, but there is the added wrinkle of what is economical for restaurants to stay in business and what people are comfortable with in their dining experiences.

White Castle Hires Flippy the Robot for Pilot Program

Robots are storming White Castle! The pop culturally iconic restaurant chain just announced a partnership with Miso Robotics today to bring Flippy the robot on board as a fry cook as part of a limited pilot program.

White Castle will be using the new Flippy ROAR, which debuted earlier this year. Unlike previous versions of the robot, the ROAR is suspended overhead on a rail, sliding back and forth. Flippy will be manning several frying stations at White Castle, cooking up a variety of foods including fries, chicken rings, onion rings and mozzarella sticks.

Jamie Richardson, Vice President, Government and Shareholder Relations at White Castle, told me by phone last week that Flippy will be “coming soon” to an undisclosed location in Chicago.

The partnership comes amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has restaurants of all sizes reconfiguring to accommodate less human-to-human interaction. Robots are one way to reduce human contact with food, but Richardson said that White Castle started talking with Miso 15 months ago, long before the pandemic hit in full. “The unexpected events of COVID made us want to accelerate,” Richardson said, “We do think it’s important to keep marching forward with innovation.”

Robots can also be used to take over more dangerous and repetitive tasks in the kitchen, like operating the fryer. A robot won’t get bored, tired or burned making tater tots for hours on end. “A new hire like Flippy frees us up to have team members do other things like delivery,” said Richardson. Delivery and other forms of off-premises eating, of course, have become more important than ever during this pandemic as dine-in experiences have been forced to close.

For Miso, the White Castle deal comes at a time when the company is trying to raise $30 million through equity crowdfunding. As of now, Miso only has two customers using Flippy, CaliBurger and Compass Group/Levy, both of which are investors in Miso. As well, two current Flippy installation sites are stadiums, which have been shut down because of the pandemic.

With 365 owned and operated restaurants, White Castle represents a big growth opportunity for Miso. Financial terms of this deal weren’t disclosed, but the sticker price on a new Flippy ROAR costs $30,000 upfront with a $1,500 monthly subscription.

Despite having been around for nearly 100 years, White Castle remains remarkably spry. It was among the first restaurant chains to add the plant-based Impossible burger to its menu back in 2018. And as noted previously, it has been active with its third-party delivery program.

With this one installation set to start, we’ll have to see if Flippy becomes king of this particular castle.

Glacierfire’s Ice+Fries Seems Like Everything You’d Want from an Icelandic Robot Bar

Iceland is having a bit of a moment right now, thanks to the success of Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, which stars Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as Icelandic singers. Oh, and also because Glacierfire launched a robotic bar/restaurant called Ice+Fries there a couple months back.

Ice+Fries features two robotic arms, dubbed Tipsy Floki and Ragnar, that can mix up to 100 cocktails per hour and 1,500 cocktails a day without human intervention. It also sports a 3D printer that prints out fancy desserts and garnishes for drinks. There’s even a robotic Aibo dog that wanders the bar. But the automation is woven much more deeply into the very fabric of the restaurant.

I spoke with Glacierfire CEO Priyesh Patel by phone this week, who explained some of the smarts that goes into the restaurant. The robo-bartenders themselves are made by Makr Shakr, but Glacierfire has integrated its own software stack that keeps the bar running, including order management, timesheets, ingredient/temperature monitoring, etc. There is also a healthy amount of artificial intelligence (AI) implemented.

Patel explained how they use the AI with facial recognition for a number of different purposes. The facial recognition will guide people as to where they pick up their orders. It can also be used in determining if there are underaged people trying to order alcoholic drinks (the drinking age in Iceland is 20). The AI+facial recogntion combo is also used to gauge sentiment in the bar. (i.e., Are customers happy?) Your mileage may vary on whether or not you find that kind of monitoring useful or creepy.

Ice+Fries isn’t completely human-less. The food is still cooked by people, and there are technicians on hand to deal with the robots. But in building the automated experience Patel echoed the sentiment of many food robot companies: If you can use robots to lower labor costs, then you can pass that savings on to the consumer. Patel said that cocktails in Iceland are typically $15 per drink, but Ice+Fries can serve them at $10.

Ice+Fries has only been open since April in Iceland, so we have yet to prove that those economics bear out. Here in the U.S., Miso Robotics found that its first generation of Flippy robots were too expensive for many QSRs. Robot barista Cafe X had to shutter its downtown locations, and robot burger joint, Creator, recently closed its restaurant down as well.

To be fair, Creator’s shutdown was more attributable to the global pandemic that closed dine in operations at restaurants around the country. According to Patel, Iceland was able to avoid COVID-induced lockdowns. But as the virus continues to rage on here in the U.S., Ice & Fries might actually model what a restaurant will look like post-pandemic.

Setting aside the close quarters and inside nature of the restaurant for a moment, the Ice & Fries experience is contactless, a key feature in these coronavirus times. While orders can be done on a touchscreen, there is also a mobile app customers can use, and robot bartenders remove one more vector of human-to-human viral transmission.

The first Ice+Fries is located in Reykjavik, Iceland, but the company has plans for expansions into Lisbon, Portugal, and Paris, France. Patel said Galcierfire has a two-pronged go-to market strategy for this robot restaurant concept. The first is to build out and launch its own branded restaurants, and the second it to license the Ice+Fries technology out to third-party restaurant companies looking to create similar concepts.

Who knows? If this takes off, we could all be singing an Icelandic song of Ice+Fries.