Robot waitress can work 10 hour shifts

Restaurants and takeaways can now hire a 5ft3” tall waitress robot called AMY from £3 an hour.

Designed to serve drinks and/or food, AMY can also be programmed to greet guests and deliver a sales pitch, marketing message or other information. A screen on the front of the robot provides an opportunity to create a visual display which can include further marketing material, contact details or similar.

The robot can also interact with guests by giving greetings and marketing messages or delivering an entire sales pitch, making it a quirky marketing tool too. And it can work for as long as ten hours continuously between battery charges.

The machine is described as “providing an engaging alternative to traditional serving staff” in the wake of rising labour costs.

According to its creator, service robot, the catering industry is a big target for robotic companies, being in the top four automation targets for 2020.

Selling and hiring over 600 robots in 2019, the company says AMY is not designed to take someone's job but is classed as a cobot, meaning they work with people to enhance customer experience.

A company spokesperson for servicerobots.com said: "AMY is one of the best marketing tools to get customers sharing on social media about the venue they are working in."