The future is now: Robot kitty will bring you food at Kelowna Smitty’s
It makes noise, flashes lights, has a set of wheels and enjoys head scratches.
This unusual server, known as the BellaBot, has been rolled out at Kelowna’s Smitty’s restaurant since Mother’s Day weekend. The cat robot assists servers by carrying out food trays, said Maxine DeHart, director of sales with the Ramada Hotel, where the restaurant is housed.
It was a busy weekend for the restaurant as a lot of people have been visiting to see the robot in action, she said. “The reception has been overwhelmingly great.”
The robot only helps servers carry trays, so DeHart emphasized it’s not taking away any human jobs.
“You do need staff, this only enhances the staff,” she said. “We still take the orders, clean the tables, put the orders on, wipe it down when it comes back. People love it, from seniors to kids.”
The robot is also responsive to touch. With a cute cat-like interface, it gives praise when you rub its ears.
READ MORE: This cat robot will serve you sushi at a Kamloops Japanese restaurant
They’ve only had two complaints about it. Smitty’s is currently performing a trial run with the robot, which concludes at the end of the month. DeHart said there’s been no indication one way or another if the restaurant owner has decided to keep it as a permanent server.
There are only two BellaBots in the Interior, the other being at Oh! Sushi Murai in Kamloops, said Liang Yu, founder of GreenCo Robots, an Edmonton-based company that supplies the service bots to restaurants.
“I think it’s going to be more and more popular in the future,” he said. “We are definitely talking with some other potential users in the hospitality industry that are looking to set up a demonstration in their location.”
The robots are a great novelty item and a video shared on TikTok from Chili Hot Pot restaurant in Edmonton by a customer reached more than 500,000 people. Business almost doubled for them, he said.
Yu thinks the robots are also gaining popularity because there’s a global shortage of workers in the service industry.
“We heard that some of the restaurants have to shut down more days in the week because there are not enough staff members and now with a robot as an assistant, they’re able to make the existing staff member much more efficient and more flexible to adjust the schedule,” he said.
In B.C., there are roughly 50 to 80 robots, including one golf course that’s using a Bellabot in its clubhouse. There are 200 to 300 robots working in Canada, Yu said.
It was designed as a cat because the company wanted something cute.
The BellaBot is a popular design but GreenCo Robots has other serving models including one that’s like a spaceship, he said.
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