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McDonald’s is testing kitchen robots and voice-recognition in the drive-thru
Hot Air ^ | 6/21/2019 | John Sexton

Posted on 06/22/2019 5:45:50 PM PDT by simpson96

We’ve already seen McDonald’s push for more touchscreen kiosks in stores. Now one restaurant in Chicago is being used to test robot fryers and a drive-thru that uses voice-recognition rather than people. From the Wall Street Journal:

The company is testing voice-recognition software at a drive-through in suburban Chicago. Inside the restaurant, a robot also tosses chicken, fish and fries into vats of oil. Both technologies are meant to shorten customer wait times that executives acknowledge have grown in recent years. McDonald’s also has stopped serving some burgers and given franchisees more control over their menus recently to simplify operations.

McDonald’s is working to speed up service as it faces tough competition from smaller burger chains and declining fast-food traffic in the U.S. overall. Visits to U.S. fast-food burger restaurants fell 1% during the first three months of this year, according to research firm NPD Group Inc…

Other fast-food chains are also exploring automation to quicken operations and cut costs in an expensive labor market. Minimum wages are rising in many states, and unemployment is at record lows. More than one-third of restaurant operators are struggling to fill open jobs, according to a survey conducted in April by the National Restaurant Association.(snip)

No doubt this will simplify things for workers. It will also likely mean the restaurant requires fewer of them to operate in the long run.

(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: minimumwage
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1 posted on 06/22/2019 5:45:50 PM PDT by simpson96
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To: simpson96

Hope the device is bulletproof.


2 posted on 06/22/2019 5:48:20 PM PDT by ptsal
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To: simpson96

Will it understand drunk and/or ebonic speech patterns?


3 posted on 06/22/2019 5:50:10 PM PDT by dynachrome (Build the wall, deport them all.)
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To: dynachrome

I just hope they’re not using the old Jack in the Box drive thru speakers.


4 posted on 06/22/2019 5:51:13 PM PDT by mkmensinger
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To: simpson96

I could use a kitchen robot at home.


5 posted on 06/22/2019 5:53:53 PM PDT by Innovative
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To: simpson96

Fight for $15 man!

What - robots? But they told me...


6 posted on 06/22/2019 5:55:19 PM PDT by Paulie (America without Christ is like a Chemistry book without the periodic table.)
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To: dynachrome

Wonderful. I already hate those germ ridden self-order kiosks.


7 posted on 06/22/2019 5:55:47 PM PDT by Conserv (.)
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To: simpson96

I hope it understands when I say NO ketchup or mustard that it does not mean to add more!!
Plus no secret sauce or thousand island dressing.
Hamburger on toasted bun with lettuce is perfect.
They pile on so many condiments that you cannot taste the hamburger.


8 posted on 06/22/2019 5:57:08 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: simpson96

I wait for the day when a McD-2500 robotic combination cook & server encounters a herd of unhappy BT-1000 DSEs.

Katy bar the door.


9 posted on 06/22/2019 5:59:36 PM PDT by nickedknack
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To: Paulie

I knew the fast food industry has been working on things like this. The fight for 15ers better be careful what they wish for. It could be a blessing for the smart ones. People are needed to design, manufacture, sell, install and maintain and upgrade these robots. There’s $$$ to be made in those fields.


10 posted on 06/22/2019 6:04:02 PM PDT by Impala64ssa (Virtue signalling is no virtue)
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To: minnesota_bound

“so many condiments that you cannot taste the hamburger”

It wasn’t cow.

;)


11 posted on 06/22/2019 6:04:29 PM PDT by dynachrome (Build the wall, deport them all.)
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To: minnesota_bound

I would not consider McDonald’s hamburgers as having any taste.


12 posted on 06/22/2019 6:04:55 PM PDT by LibertyOh
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To: simpson96
To me, this is ridiculous. Places like McDonalds are traditionally the places where high school students make money and learn about working and responsibility. Why replace them with robots? Makes no sense to me.
13 posted on 06/22/2019 6:06:29 PM PDT by neverevergiveup
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To: simpson96

$15.00 minimum wage will do that don’t ya know?


14 posted on 06/22/2019 6:09:03 PM PDT by Joe Boucher ( Molon Labe' baby, Molon Labe)
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To: minnesota_bound
"They pile on so many condiments that you cannot taste the hamburger."

Are you sure you want to? ;)

15 posted on 06/22/2019 6:12:49 PM PDT by MV=PY (The Magic Question: Who's paying for it?)
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To: simpson96

Brilliant move. Only robots could eat that dreck.


16 posted on 06/22/2019 6:13:29 PM PDT by Veto! (Veto! (Political Correctness Offends Me))
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To: mkmensinger

The first ever Jack in the Box opened in my neighborhood in CA. One look and I said No Way. We called it Jack in the Crack. Because those who ate there had to have been on crack.


17 posted on 06/22/2019 6:14:55 PM PDT by Veto! (Veto! (Political Correctness Offends Me))
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To: simpson96

Oh goody..! This is great..!

Right before we get a ton of robots for ag, fast food, and construction..?

We throw the borders open and turn BP into a welcome wagon.

It’s bad enough now, but after they all lose their jobs —which is to say ALL their jobs— who are they going to blame?

They’re not going to be sorta ticked off, I wonder, here in “the land stolen from them” by the thieving, rich honkies...?

Oh, no...!! It will be FIIIIIIIINE...!!!

Uh-huh.


18 posted on 06/22/2019 6:15:49 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: neverevergiveup
"To me, this is ridiculous. Places like McDonalds are traditionally the places where high school students make money and learn about working and responsibility. Why replace them with robots? Makes no sense to me."

Yep, it's good for high school kids.

But, from the owner's perspective, robots show up on time, consistently do what they're told, don't steal food, and don't pee on the policeman's lunch.

19 posted on 06/22/2019 6:16:10 PM PDT by MV=PY (The Magic Question: Who's paying for it?)
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To: dynachrome

No, it’s designed to be raciss.


20 posted on 06/22/2019 6:17:39 PM PDT by MrEdd (Caveat Emptor)
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