CHINA: Robot waiter takes orders at Hong Kong restaurant

It's not the food that's attracting people to one of Hong Kong's many restaurants, but a new waiter. He's brightly coloured has flashing lights for eyes, and is Hong Kong's first robotic waiter. The robot greets customers and takes their orders. The customer says the name of the dish they would like served into the robot's screen and the order is completed. Director of Cyber Robotics Technology, which owns the robot, Peter Chow, says it provides service with a difference. "Hong Kong people like high tech gadgets. Since the launch of the robot, the sales of the restaurant have increased by 20 to 30 percent." Although slow and awkward as it moves around the restaurant, the robot waiter offers an entertaining evening, especially for children. "He (my son) saw a report on the robot restaurant in a magazine, and found that it's really interesting. So my son asked us to bring him to this restaurant on our holidays," said customer Chris Hei. "My daughter really likes to come to this restaurant because she finds the robot is very interesting and is something new to her. This is the third time we eat in this restaurant and she also brings her classmate to come here today," said Sarah Ho, another customer. Right now, Robo Waiter 1, as it's known, can't cook the food, merely take the orders, but restaurant owners say they have plans to add a robo-chef to the staff in the near future.

ITN Source | October 6, 2006

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