How Will Robotic Chef Flippy Impact Low-Wage Workers In Burger Joints?

Written by Staff

Mar 07, 2018

Enabled by artificial intelligence, a robotic line cook started work this week, joining the human crew at Caliburger, a fast food restaurant in Pasadena, California, during the lunch shift.

From TechCrunch. Story by Brian Heater.

A year after announcing a partnership with Caliburger, Miso Robotics’ resident chef has finally graduated Hamburger University.

The deal has been in the works for some time, with plans to bring the robot to 50 of the chain’s international locations. Back in September, around the same time Miso CEO Dave Zito was onstage at Disrupt SF, Flippy was being demoed at the Pasadena restaurant — the robotics’ company’s home turf. (This is) the first real-world implementation of the technology.

The initial appeal of the system is pretty clear for a restaurant like Caliburger, which will no doubt drum up some publicity for its early adoption of robotic kitchen equipment. But along with the other investors that have helped Miso raise a total of $14 million in disclosed funding, there’s hope for long-term benefits in an industry where turnover is a big obstacle in keeping a kitchen up and running.

Flippy’s entry level price tag is $60,000 — considerably higher than your average burger chef makes in a year. There’s also a 20-percent recurring annual fee for the robot’s leaning and maintenance, but Caliburger is confident in its return on investment through decreased wait times, consistency and decreased food waste.