On: Restaurants Place Big Bets on Cooking Robots

[xg15]

Sure, but robots won't exactly be cheap either.

[ghaff → xg15]

And of course it's possible that some categories of restaurants just become less attractive to consumers over time.

[digitalsushi → xg15]

we can treat them like we used to treat humans, at least until they become sentient. if this makes you uncomfortable i'm with you

[vlucas → xg15]

The initial installation and setup of robots won't be cheap. But the ongoing costs will be vastly cheaper than paying per hour for human labor.

[silverquiet → vlucas]

I've been in the business long enough to know that the suppliers of these robots are going to wring their customers for every cent of recurring revenue they can. Once the kitchen is literally built around and dependent on them, they've got your nuts in a vise and they'll gleefully squeeze as hard as they can.

[mbfg → vlucas]

I imagine these things will break all the time, and have restrictive contracts on who can repair them at high dollar figures, see Mcdonalds ice cream machines X 100.

[Jasper_ → vlucas]

How did that end up working out for the mcflurry machine robot they already have installed?

[mikequinlan → vlucas]

Except that the robot makers aren't stupid. As with medical equipment, they are going to make the hardware/software a subscription not a one-time payment.