Robots are yet to take over our kitchens but they can be a crucial part of the hospitality teams. A multi-cuisine restaurant located beside National Highway 34 in West Bengal is using a robot named Ananya. The 5-foot robot is painted in white and has a rectangular face which is also a sensor-driven digital screen that makes it easier for the kitchen staff to transport food ordered by customers. The robots were reportedly assembled by the restaurant's IT team in collaboration with an unnamed Indian software company.
The robot has four vertically placed shelves to carry the food, but it does not have any hands. Human staff at the table take the food from the tray and serve it to the customers at their tables and Ananya is also equipped to turn right or left without spilling the food or toppling over.
The robot, which can walk and talk, can politely ask bystanders to clear its path, saying phrases like "Please let me go. Please don't stand in the way and allow me to serve." The restaurant which is located near Kalindi is called Mother's Hut and is run entirely by women from the local community. The restaurant is currently using four ‘Ananya’ servers; the name is a tribute to a former staff member named Ananya, who was one of the restaurant's first three employees.
The introduction of the 'Ananya' robots has ramped up footfall in the restaurant and is attracting customers from nearby areas. The robots were assembled by the restaurant's IT team in collaboration with an unnamed Indian software company.
"We have four robots, all named Ananya (Invincible), to project the resilience and fighting spirit of every woman. Our restaurant is run entirely by women hailing from the neighbourhood. They take care of everything - from housekeeping to cooking, from housekeeping to cooking, from handling the cash counter to helping the reception desk. So, we thought Ananya would be the most appropriate name," said Subhankar Mondal, manager of Mother's Hut restaurant.
Mondal also shared that there are plans to introduce more robots within a year, which will make services fully automated at the diner with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence. "This will lessen the work pressure on our women staff allowing them to make important value addition to service. Once this kitchen automation happens in a year's time, you can label us the only AI-driven, AI-themed restaurant in the country's eastern region," the restaurant's co-owner, Anath Bandhu Garai, said.