Renesse: You can always count on a robot for perfect timing.
When Shaosong Hu saw robotic waiters serving food in China last autumn, he knew exactly what he wanted for his restaurant in the Dutch seaside town of Renesse.
But he never predicted how useful they would be.
The coronavirus pandemic has opened a window into a dystopian future, where a human touch may make people cringe with fear, and a waiter clearing the table sends a customer tense with stress. But these machines mean diners can breathe a sigh of relief - without breathing on any human staff.
"We didn't purchase these robots specially for the corona time. We ordered them before and they came in ahead of time, before the coronavirus outbreak. We haven't practiced with them that much but lately, we realised that they could be very useful. We are figuring out and testing what would be the best way to use them in conditions of 1.5-meter social distancing, that applies during the coronavirus outbreak," explains Hu's daughter Leah, who works at the Royal Palace restaurant.
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Now, two shiny robots glide across the dining room floor.
At the moment, Dutch restaurants remain closed so the robots are only serving the owner's family.
Once the restaurant reopens, chefs will be cooking up Chinese and Indonesian specialties like Babi Pangang and Char Siu.
The robots will help with basic tasks.
"They are driving laps around the restaurant and supporting the work we do here. Normally, we are very often busy cleaning tables, collecting glasses and plates from the tables. Then these robots can take over and serve our guests as extra helpers," she adds.
"They are pre-programmed. You can, for example, click on table number one on the tablet and a robot will drive to table number one because the entire floor plan of the restaurant is programmed in the robot," Leah Hu explains.
It's unclear whether diners will be expected to tip their digital waiters.
But it may prove just what customers crave when Dutch restaurants are allowed to reopen as lockdown restrictions are further eased.
Restaurants have been hard hit by the crisis and have been closed for over two months.
As of Monday, they will be allowed to reopen but with a maximum of 30 customers.
It will force some layout adaptations in the Royal Palace where the robots' programmed floorplan may have to be changed at the last moment.
"I hope that people will be more open to this idea because I heard also negative reactions, saying it makes it impersonal. Like, saying this is not a person, the personal contact is gone, etc," explains Leah Hu.
"We are not concerned about that. We are not disappearing. We are still here. They will always need people in this industry. The robots are supporting our work only," says Hu.
In the southern Zeeland province, Hus doesn't want to hear any complaints about the robots robbing young people of a job.
They say it's hard enough anyway to find staff in a rural region without any major city close by.
(AP)
