At one level a burger that can be put together by a robot in the time it takes a clock’s second hand to go from 12 to 6 may not be so special. Surely a human can do the same. But a human may get distracted. Or get tired. Or need a break. You know, human stuff. That doesn’t happen to robots. The burger will be completed the same way, every time, in exactly 27 seconds. That was just too attractive a proposition for Elizabeth Truong to pass up.
Elizabeth Truong, founder of BurgerBots
“I’ve been working on developing this kind of restaurant for seven years,” said Truong, the owner of BurgerBots, in an interview.
BurgerBots features two robots created by ABB Robotics to perform the assembly work at its Los Gatos location, which it opened in April. Truong is quick to point out that humans also work there.
“Chefs still cook the patties,” she said. “This is a true collaboration between humans and automation.”
What sets Truong’s vision apart is that she showcases the robots.
“A lot of times when robotics are used, it’s in the back end, in a warehouse, for industrial use,” she said. “But with us the automation is in the forefront, working with restaurant staff.”
And not just making plain burgers. Consumers can order everything from a banh mi burger, with several elements, to a lemongrass tofu burger. These are burgers that require precision. Truong knew when she saw the robots from ABB Robotics at an automation show that she had found her partner.
“ABB stood out for me,” she said. “They have robots that I would want to use for myself.”
BurgerBots stars the IRB 360 FlexPicker and YuMi, which features an inventory-monitoring system. As each order is received, a freshly cooked patty is placed onto a bun inside a burger box and the box is positioned on a conveyor shuttle, which is tagged with a QR code, and moved along so the burger can receive toppings, guided by data stored in the QR code.
Truong is not the only one who has been impressed with the droids. “Kids are amazed,” she said. “They come in and think this is the coolest thing.”
BurgerBots isn’t the first hospitality brand to put robots to work in a customer-facing way. Many experts predicts robots to become even more commonplace in kitchens in a multitude of roles. ABB itself found in a survey that 89 percent of hospitality managers and 73 percent of workers say they are open to the integration of robotics to automate tasks within their operations.
Truong has been pleased with the early reception.
“Los Gatos is a very conservative town but we’re seeing plenty of interest,” she said. “Automation is just a tool that helps make everyone’s job better. We’re showing people what the future holds.”
