Robots that can cook are in growing demand in the United States. The increased demand comes at a time when restaurants are trying to put some distance between their workers and customers during the COVID-19.
In a few weeks, White Castle restaurants will test a robot arm that can cook French fries and other foods. The robot, called Flippy, is a product of Miso Robotics, a company based in Pasadena, California.
Robot food service was becoming popular even before the coronavirus pandemic (冠状病毒). Hospitals, college dining areas and other places tried to meet demand for food while keeping labor costs low. Robot chefs appeared at places like Creator, a restaurant in San Francisco. Now, some say, robots may become necessary for the food service industry. “I expect in the next two years you will see much more robotic adoption (采用) in the food space because of COVID-19,” Jain said.
Some people say, robots can lower the demand for labor. At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, cafe workers used to spend six hours per day making salads, notes Tonya Johnson, the school’s director of nutrition services. But two years ago, the university added a Sally, a kind of robot that now makes around 40 salads per day. By adding Sally, the school was able to cut a job opening in its cooking staff. Johnson said, “I think the pandemic has made us realize how much we need more equipment like Sally.”
Miso Robotics co-founder and chief Buck Jordan said fast food restaurants are already having trouble finding workers, partly as a result of a losing population of young workers. Jordan added that his company’s position is that “automation (自动化) is not a choice”. He added, “You must automate in order to survive in the future.”
【小题1】Why is robot food service becoming popular?| A．It can take the place of human beings in the future. |
| B．It can shorten the distance between workers and customers. |
| C．It can make all kinds of delicious food in a very short time. |
| D．It can meet the demand for food and reduce the cost of labor. |
| A．It is just a common robot like others. | B．It is useless to improve the speed of work. |
| C．It helps the school employ fewer workers. | D．It makes as many salads as workers. |
| A．Worried. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent |
| A．To tell us an increasing need for robot cooks in US restaurants. |
| B．To advertise robot cooks. |
| C．To introduce a new food service to deal with COVID-19. |
| D．To complain about the difficulties in finding enough labor workers. |
