The test is in Mountain View, California, and is accessible through the 7NOW app. At the end of 2021, Nuro announced it would partner with 7-Eleven on an autonomous delivery pilot using Nuro’s fleet of Toyota Priuses, with plans of later introducing Nuro’s R2 bots, the company’s autonomous custom-built robots designed to transport products and goods without any occupants in the vehicle. Nuro specializes in driverless vehicles and is partnering with some major players in the space in an effort to shift delivery fulfillment. Brands like Nuro, a California-based robotics company focusing on driverless vehicles, are also making headway. Hospitality bots are just one part of the automated delivery conversations. “Whether it’s in California, where minimum wage is $15.50, or Texas where the minimum is $7.25, there are significant savings from the jump,” Higueros says, adding the hourly cost of one of Bear’s hospitality servers runs about $2.50. As minimum wage in many states climbs and competition to bring in staff drives up starting salaries, tapping automation can make the difference between a business scraping by and one experiencing comfortable margins. There’s also the ongoing topic of wage inflation. Compared to the investment associated with recruiting, training, and retaining talent, the upfront fee can save operators plenty of capital, Higueros says, especially in today’s climate where turnover continues to soar and labor costs in general have skyrocketed. Owning one of Bear’s hospitality bots requires a one-time purchase. “There are significant, significant savings,” he says. By using automated servers in a collaborative nature, operators can increase productivity while simultaneously making their employees’ lives easier. Higueros says servers at many restaurants can walk upward of 20 miles per week, adding physical stress to an already challenging occupation. Bear’s hospitality bots can save employees miles of walking during shifts, leading to a more rested, focused staff. It creates better culture, which results in more return customers because they’re getting that true customer experience through customer service.”įrom an operator’s viewpoint, there are other advantages to consider as well. “It gives them more time to spend on the people their serving and it creates a much more embodied working environment for the employee. “It allows the employee more time to be more creative,” he says. Higueros says there are several advantages associated with using these, but none more important than the time it frees up for employees to be, well, more hospitable. The company, which creates hospitality robots, is one of several brands focusing efforts and resources on reshaping the restaurant landscape.īear’s hospitality robots act like servers by delivering drinks, dropping off food, and helping bus tables. If automation was a baseball game, I’d say we’re just now entering the second inning.”īear Robotics is a California-based company helping to lead the charge toward automation. “You’re going to see automation playing a huge role in the foodservice and hospitality space, both inside and outside of the restaurant.

“It’s going to become very ubiquitous,” says Juan Higueros, chief operating officer of Bear Robotics. Autonomous delivery being one of them.ĭriverless delivery vehicles, drones flying through the sky with pizzas and groceries, and automated robot servers gliding through dining rooms, are all now realistic functions, as much as it might sound like an episode of “The Jetsons.” And it’s particularly evident in foodservice-a sector long considered a laggard to tech evolution-where futuristic solutions are popping up on the back-end of a global pandemic.

Today, innovation is advancing at an even faster clip. Touch screens, apps, and other features would soon become a standard for mobile technology. The sleek, paradigm-breaking design captured the imagination of consumers. Fifteen years ago, the first-generation iPhone hit the U.S.

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