EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Elliana Davis was celebrating her 11th birthday recently and knew just where she wanted to eat and even who she wanted for a server.
Elliana chose Shanghai Bistro in Eau Claire in part because she loves its sushi, but mostly because she adores the Asian restaurant’s new “employee”: Jonny 5.
The 3 1/2-foot-tall robot server, named after a fictional robot in the 1980s “Short Circuit” films, has been delivering plates of sushi, fried rice and pad Thai to diners since the end of October, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported.
Jonny 5 has been a valuable addition to the staff and helped Shanghai Bistro navigate a labor shortage that has hit restaurants particularly hard, said owner Henry Chan.
“It’s definitely proven itself,” Chan said. “It’s working out really well.”
Chan’s goal in leasing the robot is to improve efficiency by having Jonny 5 do a healthy portion of the running back and forth between the kitchen and the tables, so servers can focus on offering personal service, filling drink orders faster and chatting with customers.
“It’s a huge benefit to us. Our efficiency just shot through the roof because of how fast food goes out,” Chan said, noting that the robot already has helped things go smoothly on days when the restaurant was short-staffed or someone called in sick.
While some folks worry that such robots will eliminate food-service jobs — leading to angry social media posts in some parts of the country — Chan said he doesn’t see it that way, especially amid a tight labor market that has many restaurants displaying “help wanted” signs.
“It’s not taking away any jobs,” he said. “It’s just doing jobs that are hard to fill or nobody wants.”
The cost of leasing the model, called Servi by manufacturer Bear Robotics, is about the same as the cost of employing a human server in the Chippewa Valley, Chan said.
Chan emphasized that the robot can’t fully replace a human being because it requires a person to run it. He calls the job of the person who primarily operates the robot an expedited robotics technician — a title he hopes makes recruitment easier.
Jonny 5, which gives a whole new meaning to meals on wheels, works by using a mix of cameras, sensors and LIDAR — sometimes called 3D scanning — to navigate around the restaurant without bumping into people or tables. If a person walks in front of it, the robot will stop and go around or say “excuse me.”
The process begins when a person in the kitchen sets the food on Jonny 5 and then tells the robot to bring it to a certain table or to the front counter for takeout orders. The robot then whisks the order to the programmed table, where it stops and says, “Please take your food.” When a weight sensor detects the food is gone, the robot says, “Thank you. Please enjoy your food,” before heading back to the kitchen.
Shanghai Bistro customized Jonny 5 with a note that reads, “Please tip the humans or they won’t plug me in,” and added foam reindeer antlers for the holiday season.
The robot also can be programmed to play Christmas music, as it has been lately, or even sing “Happy Birthday,” as it did much to the delight of Elliana on her recent visit.
“We didn’t know it sang ‘Happy Birthday.’ That was a big surprise,” said Elliana’s father, Mike Davis. “When it sang, she just smiled and got all blushy. She was so happy.”
Though it was the second visit to Shanghai Bistro since Jonny 5’s debut for the Davises, the robot hasn’t lost its luster with Elliana.
“She keeps bugging me about going back because of that robot,” Mike Davis said with a chuckle.
Chan has been impressed enough by the robot’s performance and reliability that he has already ordered a second one.
“We need more to stay efficient so we’re not waiting for the robot to come back to the kitchen,” he said.
Bear Robotics, the brainchild of restaurant and tech entrepreneurs, reports that the robots have traveled more than 189,000 miles and delivered to more than 16 million tables in locations around the world.
In Eau Claire, the novelty remains a strong marketing tool for Shanghai Bistro, with customers routinely pulling out their cellphones to take photos of Jonny 5 when he rolls up to their table.
While Chan isn’t predicting the robots will take over the world, he is convinced it’s only a matter of time before robots are seen more widely in restaurants and other businesses.
“It’s all coming,” Chan said. “The technology is here, and it’s here to stay. It just has to be implemented in different industries.”
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