LINE

Text:AAAPrint
ECNS Wire

Guangzhou restaurant fires clumsy robot waiters

1
2016-04-05 13:30Ecns.cn Editor: Mo Hong'e
A robot waitress about 1.5 meters works for a Hong Kong style tea restaurant in Haikou, Hainan Province, in August 3,2015.Her Life is about 7 to 10 years, after an electric charge she can keep working 12 hours. She can speak, serve food, sing and greet. (CNS photo/Luo Yunfei)

A robot waitress about 1.5 meters works for a Hong Kong style tea restaurant in Haikou, Hainan Province, in August 3,2015.Her Life is about 7 to 10 years, after an electric charge she can keep working 12 hours. She can speak, serve food, sing and greet. (CNS photo/Luo Yunfei)

(ECNS) -- Out of three Guangzhou restaurants that used robots to serve customers, two have closed and the third has fired its robot waiters, the Workers' Daily has reported.

Customers flocked to the Heweilai Restaurant chain in the southern Chinese city when it introduced robots last year, but the chain has stopped using the machines for a number of reasons.

A staff member said the robots couldn't effectively handle soup dishes, often malfunctioned, and had to follow a fixed route that sometimes resulted in clashes.

A customer also said the robots were unable to do tasks such as topping up water or placing a dish on the table.

Another restaurant in Guangzhou's Baiyun District said robots were used only because of a high turnover of waiters and waitresses.

However, the report said robots were mainly used to attract attention and don't help reduce human resource costs.

Zhang Yun, a vice president at the Guangdong University of Technology, said robots will be widely used within the manufacturing industry in the future, as many tasks are repetitive, but further development is needed before robots are able to work effectively in the service sector.

  

Related news

MorePhoto

Most popular in 24h

MoreTop news

MoreVideo

News
Politics
Business
Society
Culture
Military
Sci-tech
Entertainment
Sports
Odd
Features
Biz
Economy
Travel
Travel News
Travel Types
Events
Food
Hotel
Bar & Club
Architecture
Gallery
Photo
CNS Photo
Video
Video
Learning Chinese
Learn About China
Social Chinese
Business Chinese
Buzz Words
Bilingual
Resources
ECNS Wire
Special Coverage
Infographics
Voices
LINE
Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.