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Robotic Restaurant: No More Waiters? |
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Dr. Samuel Says -
Smart Design
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Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.
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Friday, 31 August 2007 |
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In Nürnberg hat eine Art Geisterrestaurant eröffnet: Bestellung und Lieferung laufen darin vollautomatisch ab. Oops, wait a sec. Wrong language. Sometimes I slip into German when perusing source material. Or Korean. Or Maori or Gaelic or Latin. Sucks to be icosalingual sometimes.
 Let's try it again: According to a report in Spiegel Online , a new
restaurant in Nuremberg has dispensed with the pesky tradition of
waitstaff by providing a fully automated eating experience . It works
like this: Diners punch in their orders at touch-screen displays
mounted at each table. The order is relayed to the kitchen, directly
overhead. The computerized system then checks the order queue and
supply stocks, and sends back an ETA for your drinks, appetizers and
meals. When your order is ready, it descends upon a system of steel
spiral rails from the ceiling, before coming to a slow stop at the
table. You can order up other amenities, condiments or such, the same
way, and you pay by credit card (naturally) at the end. The
computerized gravity-feed rail system is patented in Germany, and
owner/inventor Michael Mack is seeking to license systems to
restaurants abroad.
Once again, the German affection for efficiency is ably demonstrated.
Sometimes I wonder about the future of the service economy. It used to
be that automation was strictly a manufacturing phenomenon, but clearly
we're seeing it creep into all areas of service work. Self-checkout
lines, automats and vending machines. You can rent a car or get a hotel
room now without ever interacting with another person.
Restaurants, though? I don't see it happening. Part of the experience
is being waited upon, right? I was a waiter myself one summer,
while working undercover for Mossad in Zurich. And I can tell you,
waiters do a lot more than just carry food from the kitchen to the
table. Like administering sleeping drugs to diplomats, say, or passing
encrypted communiqués to beautiful Russian double-agents. This sort of
thing.
Anyway, stories like this always make me think that The Jetsons is looking more and more like a prescient documentary every day.
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