2024-10-07 22:07:32
Robotic servers wandering from table to table, this is the experience offered by a restaurant in a residential area of Nairobi. At the Robot Cafe, androids work alongside humans to entertain customers.
From our correspondent in Nairobi,
Receiving a birthday wish from a robot is possible at the Robot Cafe in Nairobi, thanks to four androids. They all have their own name: Nadia, Claire, R24 and John. They don’t take orders or cash from customers, but they can serve dishes on trays and welcome, all under the gaze of Myriam, responsible for supervising the room. “ Before I had only seen robots in films, I find it beautiful to work with them. They make our work easier and make our customers happy, especially children, but also adults, she rejoices. Although quite a few customers tell me that they would like to see the robots interact a little more, taking orders, talking or cleaning the tables, for example. But if that were the case, what would humans do? »
Robots supporting human servers
Since its opening in June, the Robot Cafe has received a lot of media attention and already has several thousand followers on social media. Several users wonder about the consequences of this robotization on the Kenyan workforce. A criticism that the restaurant rejects. “ We have fifteen servers and a total of fifty-two employeesexplains John Kariuki, the directorno position has been replaced by a robot, this is not a decision made to save money on labor elsewhere. We are at Kenyawe have to keep in mind that there is a high unemployment rate, so we don’t want to operate only with robots. It doesn’t even make sense, robots are very expensive. Buying one is equivalent to about a year’s salary for a server. »
Differentiate yourself from the competition
Robots are imported from Asia and move thanks to artificial intelligence. They are programmed by John Kariuki and his teams. “ We program the robots and show them where they should go. We show them where table number 1, number 2, number 3 is… so when they have to go there, they know where they are. If the tables have been moved and the robot encounters an obstacle, it will detect it and stop. If it is a person blocking his way, he will report it “, he says.
For John Kariuki, the main motivation is customer entertainment and a way to differentiate himself from the competition. The Robot Cafe already plans to open new branches in Kenya’s capital and import more androids, with new features.
To listen to in Around the questionAre robots capable of feeling emotions?
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