Own a restaurant and can’t find a waiter? Use a service robot

HANAU: “Here’s your food,” whispers the robot at the airfield restaurant in Gelnhausen, some 45 kilometres east of Frankfurt.

“Please take the food from tray one.”

The guest complies, reaching for the plate full of steaming meat, gravy and mashed potatoes.

“Press the screen to confirm,” says a voice from the serving trolley. The robot concludes by wishing the patron a hearty appetite. Then the monitor’s face with big googly eyes and a red kissy mouth smiles.

“I’m a hard-working waiter. I’m happy to serve you,” says the robot.

Service robot Schorsch is able to read out text that you type into it.

The rolling waiter clearly has self-confidence and the right attitude for this job. With this table served, robot “Peanut” rolls back to its regular spot, playing a classical melody. It waits at the counter to see if restaurant owner Veronika Döll has any new orders for it, such as delivering coffee cups or collecting used utensils and plates from another table.

“Robi is a valuable help when I’m alone at the counter or in service,” praises Döll. “The general shortage of staff in the catering industry is also a big issue for us.”

At the end of October, Döll was given her robotic helper free of charge for a total of four weeks. The project is organised by the Spessart Tourism marketing agency in south-western Germany with the support of the Main-Kinzig district and the Hanau Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

“We’re in touch a lot with the hotel and catering industry in the region, where the shortage of skilled workers is a major issue,” says Bernhard Mosbacher, managing director of Spessart Tourism. That’s why they came up with the idea of trialing the use of service robots, to see whether that would help catering businesses, which would ultimately also strengthen tourism.

The project is scheduled to run for a total of two years. The restaurant on the edge of the airfield is the second station – and ideally suited because it is at ground level, has no steps and has a wooden floor allowing Peanut to roll easily. The project is being scientifically supported by Heilbronn University.

Mosbacher says that there is great interest in the project. Seven companies have already signed up. “After the deployment in Gelnhausen, it will continue seamlessly. We also want to test the robots in different areas,” he says.

“The first test was in a hotel, now here in the airport restaurant, then a snack bar and a rehabilitation hospital. And that’s where I see huge potential.”

Peanut is being provided by the company BZB Bürozentrum in Gelnhausen. “We deliberately tried to make the robot cute,” says Managing Director Marc Ihl. This should help it to be appealing to guests and reduce any scepticism. In addition to Peanut, the programme also includes Schorsch and another, as yet unnamed robot.

Schorsch, the little nephew of Peanut so to speak and built by a different manufacturer, was used in a hotel during the first test. You can type a text into Schorsch and it will then read it out, says Ihl.

It can even speak in the local Hessian dialect, he says. Peanut doesn’t have such linguistic capabilities, but has fixed phrases programmed in.

Ihl reports that Schorsch was a hit when he was used at a children’s birthday party in the hotel. “He sang a birthday song that went down really well.”

The children also loved Peanut, the robot working at the airport restaurant, says the owner. “They like to run after him because he always dodges and they find it really funny. They really want to sit on it.”

However, she was also amazed that her guests over 70 reacted very positively to the robot. Of course, there were also sceptics who thought that the service robot would take away the personal touch.

“But I’m always with the guests in person and take their orders,” says Döll. The robot can’t do that, just like it can’t pour beer.

According to Ihl, Schorsch, Peanut and their nameless companion cost €12,000 to €14,000 (RM60,534 to RM71,008) if you want to buy them. “But we also offer them for rent at rates of between €450 and €520 per month,” says the managing director.

The hotel and catering industry in the German state of Hesse is “very open” to automated applications in order to counter the shortage of staff and skilled workers, the industry association Dehoga says.

In service, the use of such robots could shorten walking distances or transfer heavy loads to the technical volunteer. “Basically, it makes sense to use them where they work well,” says Steffen Ackermann, vice president of the Hotel and Catering Association Dehoga Hesse.

However, robots cannot replace personal contact with guests, an “essential part of the catering experience.”

As far as he knows, the response from guests has been consistently positive, says Ackermann. “The first time you come into contact with a volunteer like this is an interesting experience.” – dpa