Over the last few decades, the fast food industry has remained a bulletproof option for the low wage worker, but thanks to robotics those days appear to coming to an end. A new device promises to revolutionize the fast food world while delivering high-quality meals, Rube Goldberg style.
A company called Momentum Machines has designed a robotic burger maker called Burgeon designed to replace short order cooks in fast food restaurants. The company claims that the Burgeon can make up to 360 burgers per hour. And, in case there's any doubt about the intention of the device, the company's message, posted on its website, is clear, "Our alpha machine replaces all of the hamburger line cooks in a restaurant. It does everything employees can do except better."
Of course, the Burgeon doesn't appear to account for the human skill of actually creating a "tasty" burger, but the company claims that the machine can stamp out beef patties, grill the meat, toast the buns, and even apply pickles, tomatoes, and condiments. The company doesn't show off much of the Burgeon burger bot on its site, but during a recent tour given to the Mercury News, the team offered a rare close-up look at the machine.
The fact that this development is occurring right around the time that U.S. fast food workers have launched the biggest wage protest in the history of the industry doesn't bode well for the future of the usually solid gig. Future versions of the Burgeon will be designed to reduce the burger-making time down to 10 seconds per burger.
Via MercuryNews
