Apparently, robots are actually very easily taught to do things, for example, serving customers. They just need to learn certain movements and operations and they could potentially replace cashiers, waiters or receptionists. This fact has been successfully proven by a small coffee shop opened in San Francisco. It’s called Café X and it’s the first robotized establishment that serves food or drinks.
There are few employees in this tech coffee shop because all customer service tasks are done by robots. All machines are programmed to do a particular activity, like making coffee, taking orders or taking care of visitors. Every robot is taught to perform various movements which are necessary for the task. That way, a robot-waiter knows how to set dishes and utensils on the table or bring coffee while a robot-barista makes a hundred cups of coffee in 1 hour.
Obviously, in the future we may see even more places with robot employees. However, despite this popular trend, not everyone takes the risk to replace people with robots. Firstly, it is wildly expensive because robots’ maintenance costs a lot and they will probably need repairing at some time. Not everyone can afford that. Secondly, human contact is still favoured by most employers. Therefore, despite the rapid development of hi-tech and robotics, it’s hard to predict its future in the consumer sector.
