This is a story about Flippy, Sippy, and Chippy. No, they’re not Snap, Crackle, and Pop knockoffs, but a trio of robots that could soon be serving up your fast food order.
Driving the news: Popular chains like Chipotle and White Castle are starting to use robots from Miso Robotics, a startup specializing in robot kitchen employees with jaunty names like:
- Flippy: A robotic arm that mans the deep frier.
- Sippy: A beverage dispenser, sealer, and labeller.
- Chippy: A device that fries and seasons tortilla chips.
Why it matters: These robots come at a time when the food services industry is struggling to hire enough people. In Canada, the sector saw a 12.7% jump in vacancies last quarter.
- Greasy food also helps grease the wheels of the economy. Canada’s ~31,320 fast food restaurants generate ~$28.9 billion in business annually.
Yes, but: The machines won’t come cheap. Miso charges $5,000 in installation fees, plus $3,500 in monthly rental fees per robot (which doesn’t count the robot support specialist we assume is on retainer).
- It could still be an attractive solution in the long run, though. Based on the federal minimum wage, the average annual fast food employee salary is $29,234.
- And that’s without even factoring in the productivity gain the machines offer, plus the expenses the company might have to cover like sick days or slacking off.
Bottom line: A full robotic cooking staff is a ways away, but given the repetitive tasks in many kitchens, food service workers are at high risk of losing their jobs to automation.