Let The Dinner Of Future Be Served…Digitally

Think about a day into the future- you visiting a restaurant, food served by robots, you don’t call out for a waiter and don’t even wait for him to bring the cheque.

- Shreya Bhattacharya

Everything is digitalized and everything has been taken over by technology. Tech, like everything else, is soon going to engulf the food sector too, changing the way we eat out and order.

PRESENT SCENARIO: IN INDIA AND ABROAD

Let’s take Japan’s newly opened Hennna Hotel as an example. The name itself means “weird hotel”. And why weird, if you may ask! Because you are greeted by not humans, but by a friendly dinosaur, a humanoid with fluttering eyelashes and an Android, i.e human-like robot. They all greet the guests in fluent Japanese and English.

Once checked in, guests can proceed to a counter where a camera clicks their photo, which — with the use of facial recognition — can be used as a ‘key’ to the rooms instead of swipe cards. Welcome to the world’s first hotel run entirely by robots (with the exception of security and cleaning staff) and boasting of features like robot-operated locker systems, and a self-serve café.

And this is not something that is happening abroad. Look at our own country. No we are yet to be greeted by robots talking Hindi and regional languages. But…Jaffer Bhai’s Delhi Darbar, the 42-year-old restaurant in Marine Lines, is using a simple device to make ordering food simpler. Every table has a tissue paper holder that doubles up as a high-tech call bell. The holder has four buttons — to call for the cheque, call for a drink, call for service and to cancel an order.