Chipotle, the popular fast casual Mexican food chain, is introducing a new robot named “Autocado” to assist in the preparation of their guacamole. This move comes as the restaurant industry faces labor shortages, with over 1.2 million job openings in the US restaurant and accommodations sector in May.
Autocado is designed to handle the more tedious tasks involved in creating Chipotle’s guacamole, such as cutting, coring, and peeling avocados. While it may resemble a boxy silver refrigerator rather than a humanoid robot, it is expected to greatly streamline the guacamole production process.
According to Chipotle, Autocado has the potential to cut guacamole preparation time in half, which could save the company $50 million if successful. Despite the introduction of this new robot, Chipotle assures that it will not eliminate jobs. Instead, employees will work alongside Autocado to speed up production.
Although Autocado performs tasks like slicing and peeling avocados, a human employee will still be responsible for mashing the avocados and adding other ingredients such as salt, lime juice, and jalapenos to achieve the desired creamy consistency of the guacamole.
Curt Garner, Chief Customer and Technology Officer at Chipotle, emphasizes the importance of maintaining the quality and experience of Chipotle’s guacamole while also easing the workload for restaurant employees. Autocado was specifically designed for Chipotle’s needs, in collaboration with Vebu Labs, a California-based robotics startup.
Chipotle, which purchases over 100 million pounds of avocados annually, plans to load up to 25 pounds of avocados into Autocado. The robot will then slice the fruit, remove the cores and skins, and collect the sliced and peeled avocados in a bowl.
This move by Chipotle reflects a larger trend of automating tasks in the restaurant industry. White Castle, for example, has implemented a robot called Flippy 2 to take over their fry station. Additionally, restaurants across the country have begun introducing artificial intelligence-driven drive-thrus.
In the future, Chipotle hopes to further automate tasks with dishwashing robots. They are already testing a robotic kitchen assistant named “Chippy” that uses artificial intelligence to make tortilla chips to accompany the guacamole prepared by Autocado.
The introduction of Autocado is expected to not only increase efficiency and reduce costs for Chipotle but also serve as an example of how robotic technology can be effectively integrated into the restaurant industry. As labor shortages persist, automation may become an increasingly attractive option for fast-food companies looking to streamline operations.