OVER one in five Scots would trust a robot to cook their meals according to new research.
The research conducted by ePOS Hybrid found that one in five Scottish consumers are open to robots cooking their meals in a restaurant.
Along with 26 per cent saying they would be happy for a robot to serve them food and drinks in a venue.
45 per cent of Scots did state that they would prefer to be greeted by a human host.
However, 45 per cent of Scots asked emphasised the importance of being greeted by a human host and 17 per cent said they are scared that chefs will be replaced by robots which could impact the quality of food.
Scottish consumers are more accepting of seeing this technology deliver takeaways to their house, 37 per cent said they would be happy for this if it provides a more efficient process and costs less.
The research studied over 2,000 consumers and looked at the likelihood of robots dominating future hospitality experiences and replacing humans in similar roles.
Andrew Gibbon, head of growth at ePOS Hybrid, said: “While the development of robotics is increasing at a rapid pace, it’s clear this technology will not become mainstream anytime soon. The upfront cost, infrastructure and ongoing maintenance these devices require makes them out of reach for many operators in the sector.
The research studied over 2000 consumers.
“We have seen a significant change in the use of robotics across the hospitality industry. From robot servers to self-driving robots and drone delivery services, this technology can play a vital role in creating efficiencies for businesses and reduce long term operational costs. It also has the ability to dramatically reduce human-to-human contact which has been essential throughout the past 18-months.
“In addition, we’ve seen this technology paving the way in taking the customer experience to the next level, particularly in other parts of the world where it’s been integrated into various parts of venue operations. In China for instance, restaurants have been using robot waiting staff for years now, while Japan’s Dawn Avatar Robot Café is striving to create more job opportunities for disabled workers by using robots that are operated by employees remotely to serve food and drinks to patrons.”
Automated delivery robots are already used in parts of Britain, a self-driving delivery service called Starship in Milton Keynes has collaborated with shops in the area to deliver food.
