McDonald's in Texas, US has begun testing its first-ever robot restaurant. The restaurant is fully automated and has no human contact to order and pick up your meal, reported Newsweek. A video of the fully-automated McDonald's is going viral on the internet.
The video shows that customers can place an order by using automated screens and collect it via a machine. The restaurant is outside Fort Worth, Texas and it features an "order ahead lane". In this customers receive the meal via a conveyor belt, kiosks to place orders to go and pick-up shelves for meals reported New York Post.
Check out the video here:
"The technology in this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in new, innovative ways, it gives our restaurant team the ability to concentrate more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone," Keith Vanecek, the franchisee operating the test restaurant, explained in a statement.
The 29-second clip was posted by a Tiktok user foodiemunster, it shows an empty restaurant with no seating.
McDonald's in a statement said, "When you step inside the test restaurant concept, you'll notice it's considerably smaller than a traditional McDonald's restaurant in the U.S. Why? The features-inside and outside-are geared toward customers who are planning to dine at home or on the go."
Inside the restaurant, there's a delivery pick-up room for couriers to retrieve orders quickly and conveniently. There are also kiosks, where customers can place their orders to go, and a pick-up shelf for orders, the restaurant said. "Outside the restaurant, there are several parking spaces dedicated to curbside order pick-up, as well as designated parking spaces for delivery drivers," the statement further read.
The fully-automated restaurant has divided people online. A user wrote, "Heartbreaking: McDonald's executives launch its first fully automated locale as a direct response to the successful struggle for a higher minimum wage in Texas. The numbers don't lie."
Another user wrote, "Saw this over on Tiktok - First fully Automated McDonald's in Texas. While this is cool to see, the cooling effect it will have on the job market will be felt soon."
The third user commented, "The minimum wage is $7.25 in Texas.McDonald's still did this, so what point are you trying to make here?"
