A robotic waiter is making an impression at Wheelers Hill cafe, 20g Coffee.
Cafe owner Rishi Gujadhur trialed Kettybot, in early March and after a week on the beat decided the new addition needed to stay.
“It’s very practical for me Monday to Friday because I work alone,” Mr Gujadhur said. “The robot can do routine things. It takes the food to the people when I get stuck in the kitchen. If I need to clear three tables at once, I can. I can say Ketty, table five please and it will go to table five. We clear the table on the robot tray and send it out the back to dishes.”
Ketty Bot, a product of JNS Robotics, is programmed with a floor plan of Mr Gujadhur’s cafe and operates on voice command. He said having the robot on the floor has freed up more time for him to interact with customers, a part of his business he is determined to maintain.
“I used to be rushing everywhere,” Mr Gujadhur said. “Instead I can still have the conversations. It makes the service a bit faster but it doesn’t do the job of a person. With the elderly, we still take the coffee to them. For the kids, we have to send the robot. We have a lot of customers coming with their kids on the weekend. It’s an attraction now.”