The new normal: Robot restaurant complex opens in China

It may not be our desired future, but it’s the inevitable future.

In pretty much no time at all, a catering company in China has opened a robot restaurant complex without human staff. It’s called Foodom and opened in Shunde, Guangdong province, on June 22nd.

The sprawling eatery, which covers 2,000 square meters, was developed in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Qianxi Robot Catering Group, the company behind the project, predicts contactless dining as a trend for the future.

Aesthetically, eating at the restaurant is akin to enjoying a meal inside a KitchenAid. Machines can serve up to 600 diners at a time and are capable of putting together 200 dishes in as little as 20 seconds each. Nearly 50 robots in total are required to bring the operation together, from taking orders to cooking and delivering food.

There’s a beer robot, a wine-making robot, and, well, a robot for literally everything.

Dystopian or hella cool? Decide for yourself:

Now that we’ve made it this far, you can bet there’s no slowing down. More robot restaurants are already in the works for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is home to twice as many people as all of Canada.