The Terminator in the Kitchen: How Robots are Changing the World of Fast Food

As we continue to digest the impact of ChatGPT on the world of work, CNBC had an interesting video on how robots are ready to replace humans in the kitchen:

As noted in the report, the industry is poised to save $12 billion in labour costs by replacing "up to 82% of restaurant positions... by robots." The video also highlights the safety benefits that could accrue to fast-food workers with the use of robots. Coincidentally, I was chatting last week with a barista at Starbucks. He mentioned an unfortunate incident where his friend fell into an oil vat while cleaning the equipment. This was not at a small restaurant, but a major one. Finally, the video speaks to the labour crunch that the industry is facing. With over half a million positions to be filled, robots could be the answer restauranteurs are looking for. 

Other advantages include the following:

• Improved hygiene: Given the impact of COVID-19, many people now view the idea of reducing human involvement in food preparation as a way to ensure a more hygienic end product.
• Consistency: By using robots for food preparation, restaurants can ensure that customers receive consistently high-quality food. This can avoid dissatisfied customers, who have had to consume burnt offerings!
• Reduced food wastage: Systems can be designed to avoid food wastage and capture excess toppings, etc., to be reused. 

In terms of cost, Miso rents these out:

"Miso’s flashiest invention is Flippy, a robot that can be programmed to flip burgers or make chicken wings and can be rented for roughly $3,000 a month."

What I found fascinating was how we have been preconditioned by sci-fi movies to expect humanoid robots. Instead, we find an awfully familiar-looking contraption: a rail-car system with a camera and mechanical arm attached. It's pretty similar to what we have seen before in terms of how robots are being used to make lattes, as discussed in this post. 

But there is more to the contraption than ‘meets the eye’. The value ultimately is in the software that can bring all the moving parts together. As noted by Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Systems, who manufactures the "frying robot" (taken from the YouTube transcript): 

"The hard thing to get right about this product is having the computer vision, the algorithms that plan the cook cycle and the software that manages the robotic motion to all work together so that it's as reliable as a refrigerator and it does the job."

In conclusion, the food industry is looking to save billions of dollars in labour costs by replacing restaurant workers with robots. Though this would save mountains of money we need to look at the society wide impact of such a monumental shift. Personally, working in the fast food industry as a young person taught me a lot before entering the CPA profession, such as the importance of hard work, humility, and empathy. Without such work, where would the youth of today or tomorrow learn such basics? Only time will tell what this means for the future generations that don't have access to such formative experiences.

Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist that is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else