Could waiting staff at restaurants soon become a thing of the past? One tech firm seems to think so as it unveils its first ‘robot restaurant’.
The fully automated servers will prepare your food and dish it out to you - no humans necessary.
The innovation by China Mobile is being showcased at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, where robots can be seen pouring drinks and selecting food from the fridge.
Just last year, we reported on the tech company’s unveiling of its humanoid and canine robots but now China Mobile is taking it one step further.
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If successful, eager diners could soon walk into restaurants and be shown to their table by an AI-powered server, before a robotic chef prepares their meal.
The concept was also tested out by Tesla last year with the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, California.
The retro-futuristic diner comes with chargers for Tesla vehicles as well as an outdoor movie theater.
It seems like China Mobile could be the next firm to jump on the trend, however, when I attended the MWC booth, its bao bun robot was down for technical work, so we may not need to fear for our jobs just yet.
Tech firms focus on the advancement of AI humanoid robots
China Mobile isn’t the only company with robots on display at MWC as HONOR also unveiled its first humanoid bot ahead of the event.
Appearing onstage at its launch event, the robot was joined by live dancers where it led a choreographed routine without so much of a stumble - even executing the perfect back flip.
Of course, it’s not known whether these acts were autonomous or if the robot was being controlled by a human, but the engineering behind the bot is still very impressive.
It hasn’t been revealed yet when this product will be made available to buy but the humanoid robot was later joined onstage by the Robot Phone, and HONOR has an important update on this device.
The company confirmed that the futuristic device will be in the hands of consumers this year, with a release window given for the second half of 2026.
If the concept videos are to be believed, the robot could become its user’s companion, offering human-like interactions including head nods and shakes.
It also boasts stabilization, intelligent tracking and cinematic-style camera movement.
Time will tell if the real thing meets up to expectations.