McDonald’s outlet in China deploys humanoid robot to greet, serve customers
SMRTR summary
Humanoid robots dressed in McDonald's signature red-and-yellow uniforms are now greeting customers, serving meals, and entertaining children at a Shanghai outlet, offering a glimpse into the fast food industry's automated future. The AI-powered machines, developed by Keenon Robotics, can be seen welcoming guests and delivering orders in viral footage, while smaller units roam the restaurant floor as delighted children chase after them.
Keenon Robotics celebrated the deployment, stating their humanoid series demonstrates "how service automation is becoming a seamless part of global dining, and how technology brings more smiles to every mealtime." The pilot targets customer-facing roles traditionally considered difficult to automate, testing both operational efficiency and public acceptance.
This experiment reflects broader industry trends as companies explore robotics solutions. Amazon already operates over one million warehouse robots and expects machines to outnumber human workers soon, with 75 percent of global deliveries now robot-assisted.
However, recent research warns that automation may trap low-skilled workers by limiting career advancement opportunities and wage growth across multiple industries.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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