Robot server delivers meals at east Edmonton restaurant
At Tambayan Ni Kabayan restaurant in east Edmonton, one server stands out from the rest. That’s because she stands on two wheels. Peanut is a robot, who rolls to the beat of her own tunes, and greets customers with a smile and a wink.
“They bring their kids and they want the robot, 'I want the robot to serve our food,' so they're really, really happy,” owner Joe Baddas told CTV News Edmonton.
“It's easy because the customer, after they grab their food, we just press OK and it will say, ‘Thank you, have a good meal,’ and it will go back to the kitchen.”
Baddas says the family-owned restaurant invested in Peanut to bring in new business.
“During pandemic time it's really slow, so we for a small business like us, we cannot afford to hire servers and everything like that,” he said.
“We wanted just to innovate and get more customer, especially for the teenagers, they are more on the social media.”
It was a big investment for the small business, but one that’s paying off.
“It’s really nice. It’s amazing,” one customer said. “My son, four years old really like it.”
Baddas says Peanut can be customized to deliver personal service.
“If they have birthdays or something like that we can customize.”
“We just press happy birthday and the robot will go, ‘Happy birthday, happy birthday,’ and keep on singing.”
Peanut the robot server.
Peanut doesn’t just sing and deliver food to the table, she can also take empty plates away.
“It’s like everything. The serving and bringing back all the plates and everything. So it really helps,” Baddas said.
KEENON Robotics, the company that makes Peanut, says it sold more than 100 robots in Canada in the past two years.
The company, which is Chinese but has distributors in Canada, expects to see sales climb with a labour shortage here.
In addition to server robots they sell cleaning robots, hospitality robots, and advertising robots.
Prices range from $25,000 to $40,000.
While Baddas is happy with Peanut and everything she brings to the business, he says he won’t be getting rid of his human servers any time soon.
“Some people, especially for the teenagers, they love the robot and the kids, but for the older people they want some interaction.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Manitoba mom praises quick-thinking fire department for freeing daughter stuck in playground equipment
A Manitoba mother is praising firefighters for their quick work in helping her daughter who got stuck at a playground in Lorette, Man.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.