Robots replace waiters in Shanghai restaurant
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's "Robot.He" restaurant is replacing people with machines.
A human staff member puts food onto a robot server at the Robot.He restaurant in Shanghai, China.
A restaurant in Shanghai wants to give its customers a dining experience they can't get anywhere else.
E-commerce giant Alibaba's "Robot.He" restaurant is part of a move to integrate robotics and artificial intelligence increasingly into service industries in China.
It's part of a global move in many labour-intensive industries to replace people with machines in the name of efficiency and cost.
"In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to $1,500 [10,000 yuan] per month. That's hundreds of thousands in cost every year. And two shifts of people are needed," said Cao Haitao, the Alibaba product manager who developed the concept.
"But we don't need two shifts for robots and they are on duty every day," he added.
People could soon be out of a job in restaurants across China if the concept catches on.
But, as TRT World's Mhairi Beveraige reports, diners seem to be welcoming the initiative.
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