【Jianghuai Daily】The first unmanned intelligent restaurant may be opened within the year

Only robots work in the restaurant, they can not only cook in the kitchen but also serve customers as waiters. The first robot restaurant in Hefei has gotten a lot of attention since its opening for more than one year. Yesterday, Hefei service robot industry innovation strategic alliance was established. Reporters have learned from the inaugural meeting that there is expected to be another unmanned smart restaurant in Hefei within this year.

It is reported that service robot has become new favorite in the industry abruptly; the global industry data shows that the growth rate of service robot will be far more than industrial robots, thus service robot will shoulder the important task of the biggest "engine" of industry growth.

 “With the arrival of aging society in China, within the next ten years, the demand of service robot in China will have obvious growth.” Related person of Hefei service robot industry innovation strategic alliance told reporters that military robot, domestic robot, medical rehabilitation robot, educational robot, guest-greeting robot, security robot and cooking robot will be the main direction of future development of service robots.

USTC, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, IFLYTEK, Panasonic, Anhui Goocoo Robot Industry Holdings Co., Ltd and Hefei TAIHE Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd. and other 10 units launched Hefei service robot industry innovation strategic alliance this time, integrated the technical base and resources advantage of alliance member and organized tackling in key technologies. The alliance makes use of the market demand-oriented technology R & D and innovation service platform, information resources sharing platform, test validation and application demonstration base combining production, learning, scientific research and practical application to enhance the independent innovation capability of Hefei service robot industry.

At the meeting, related responsible person of Anhui Goocoo Robot Industry Holdings Co., Ltd also said that another unmanned intelligent restaurant will be opened this year. By then, guest greeting, order taking, money collecting, distribution, empty plates recycling, entertainment services and other links will all be done by robots.

"We plan to take a test in the original restaurant in the middle of the year to see whether robots are competent. If there is no problem, we will relocate to open the second one." Yuan Qihong, the Chairman of Anhui Goocoo Robot Industry Holdings Co., Ltd told reporters, now the cost of a "robot" is much less than a few years ago. "The cost of a robot is about 20,000 Yuan, our first restaurant probably needs a dozen to twenty robots, the initial investment is high, but in the long run, the cost of using robots will be lower."