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Robotics Businesses Technology

Burger Robot Startup Opens First Restaurant (techcrunch.com) 148

Posted by BeauHD from the taste-test dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Creator's transparent burger robot doesn't grind your brisket and chuck steak into a gourmet patty until you order it. That's just one way this startup, formerly known as Momentum Machines, wants to serve the world's freshest cheeseburger for just $6. On June 27th, after eight years in development, Creator unveils its first robot restaurant before opening to the public in September. Here's how Creator's burger-cooking bot works at its 680 Folsom Street location in San Francisco. Once you order your burger style through a human concierge on a tablet, a compressed air tube pushes a baked-that-day bun into an elevator on the right. It's sawed in half by a vibrating knife before being toasted and buttered as it's lowered to conveyor belt. Sauces measured by the milliliter and spices by the gram are automatically squirted onto the bun. Whole pickles, tomatoes, onions and blocks of nice cheese get slices shaved off just a second before they're dropped on top.

Meanwhile, the robot grinds hormone-free, pasture-raised brisket and chuck steak to order. But rather than mash them all up, the strands of meat hang vertically and are lightly pressed together. They form a loose but auto-griddleable patty that's then plopped onto the bun before the whole package slides out of the machine after a total time of about five minutes. The idea is that when you bite into the burger, your teeth align with the vertical strands so instead of requiring harsh chewing it almost melts in your mouth. TechCrunch has produced a video about the company on YouTube.
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Burger Robot Startup Opens First Restaurant More

Burger Robot Startup Opens First Restaurant

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  • ... eat it for me?

    I'm wearing my power tie.

  • Chewy? (Score:3)

    by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @03:40PM (#56824734) Journal
    If your burger requires "harsh chewing", you seriously need to start frequenting a different burger joint.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by zlives ( 2009072 )

      introducing Burger paste Robot.
      My robot takes the previous burger and puts it through a food processor so all you need is a straw, just in-case you experience harsh melting of the previous burger.
      next up regurgitated food paste robot to optimize soylant green consumption.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        Most people do not realise the burger robot is actually an exercise in economic futility. You go to a fast food joint to eat what you do not have to cook and in many instance are probably incapable of cooking. Of course if a robot cooks it, why bother paying for the food when you can buy the robot and it cooks for you. So robot cooks, why pay someone else a profit margin, when you can have what you want, when you want it, in your own home, from fresh raw ingredients, cooked carefully and no food shenanigans

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by hipp5 ( 1635263 )

          So robot cooks, why pay someone else a profit margin, when you can have what you want, when you want it, in your own home, from fresh raw ingredients, cooked carefully and no food shenanigans.

          Because I don't want to drop $50k on a robot just so I can have burgers made for me? Also, not wanting or being able to cook burgers is not the main reason I go to a fast food joint; I go because I'm at work or on the road or whatever and don't have a kitchen with me.

        • Did you see the size of this thing? To make one burger at a time? It's a factory assembly line, not a robot chef.

          Yes, there is now a "robot" which can make a burger. But it's nothing near a robotic kitchen. You're going to need decent AI to program an all-purpose robot chef. And we're far, far from that. FFS, current robot technology has issues simply holding things. I'd be surprised if there is a robot on the market right now that can pick up things as varied as peas, eggs, sticks of butter, liquids, flour

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by arth1 ( 260657 )

      Yeah, truly. All other places use ground beef, which is basically pre-chewed.

      And what makes it a hamburger.
      This is as much a hamburger as a salisbury "steak" is a steak.

      • All ground beef comes out of the grinder through the grinder holes in "strands" of ground beef. Since the grain of the meat is already ground, it doesn't really matter if you keep this alignment the same or not. This would be an extremely minor difference since the strands are somewhat compressed together compared to the patty as a whole.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Agripa ( 139780 )

      If your burger requires "harsh chewing", you seriously need to start frequenting a different burger joint.

      Since learning how to use a cast iron frying pan, I find myself disappointed in any burger that I did not make myself.

  • Cost twice as much as In-N-Out (Score:5, Informative)

    by jelwell ( 2152 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @03:48PM (#56824788)

    They're charging double what In N Out charges, which doesn't freeze any of their ingredients. I guess teenagers are cheaper than robots...
    Joseph Elwell.

    • Marketing people say:

      Hey, all we have to do is say it's a 'robot' and mention 'AI' and the public will think it's an android like from I, Robot and they'll come in droves and throw money at us!

      That's how this happens. You're smart enough to not fall for it, which is why you're confused. Also In-N-Out is better anyway, guaranteed. So is staying home and making your own.

    • "In the Ford Motor Company's executive dining room, Henry Ford II rarely ate anything but hamburgers. According to Lee Iacocca, Ford complained that his own personal chef at home couldn't make a decent burger. In fact, no one made burgers as perfect as the ones at the executive dining room. Curious, Iacocca asked the establishment's chef to show him what he did to make Ford so happy with his burgers. The chef went to the fridge, grabbed an inch-thick slab of New York strip steak, ran it through a grinder, p

      • "In the Ford Motor Company's executive dining room, Henry Ford II rarely ate anything but hamburgers. According to Lee Iacocca, Ford complained that his own personal chef at home couldn't make a decent burger. In fact, no one made burgers as perfect as the ones at the executive dining room. Curious, Iacocca asked the establishment's chef to show him what he did to make Ford so happy with his burgers. The chef went to the fridge, grabbed an inch-thick slab of New York strip steak, ran it through a grinder, patted up a patty and tossed it on the grill. "Amazing what you can cook up when you start with a five-dollar hunk of meat," said the chef with a sly smile. (Though it would be more like a $25 hunk of meat today.)"

        That story just shows that Henry Ford II had a fucking useless personal chef at home.

        When you see a gourmet burger recipe from Gordon Ramsay or someone, they don't start out with GBP 2/kilo mince from Asda.

        • Well, sure, but that doesn't mean you can't make cheap chuck taste fantastic either. I tend to go with the cheap stuff rather than waste a good steak, and still consistently make better burgers than I can find most places around where I live.

          My personal favorite is to do a fine dice on mushrooms and jalepenos and add them, a bit of roasted cumin, and salt and pepper into the meat. When you cook the patty, the mushrooms and jalepenos steam into the meat, adding a ton of moisture. The taste/texture doesn't re

    • In N' Out pays very well. They start at $13 an hour in my area. They train and promote from within, have good benefits, etc.

      • In N' Out pays very well. They start at $13 an hour in my area. They train and promote from within, have good benefits, etc.

        They also hire very few teenagers. They provide long term "careers" for adult burger flippers. I am not sure this is a good thing. It is harder to climb the economic ladder when the bottom rung is missing.

    • Cheaper right now. But wait until min wage goes to $15 (and then higher--this is just the latest figure)...throw in learning curve/etc (how many McDonalds are there anyway?) and it will end up quite a bit cheaper than that teenager.

      • Most minimum wage good jobs these days don't seem to have as many teenagers as much as in the past. Most teens don't want those jobs, they prefer working at the GAP where they are allowed to check their social media all day while ignoring customers. There are plenty of adults who need those minimum wage jobs.

    • Teenagers *are* cheaper than robots. At least for now.

    • To be fair, his restaurant is located in one of the most expensive cities on the planet.

      He also doesn't have the advantage of economies of scale like a big chain restaurant.

      And to be fair, his restaurant offers many more customization choices than In-and-Out. $6 for a burger is reasonable.

      All that being said, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.

      • I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.

        I would, at least once, just to see it in operation. I even live in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, I am a veggie.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Have you tried those fake-meat "impossible" burgers? They are expensive but they are remarkably good.

    • They use top ingredients such as hormone-free, pasture fed beef with decent cuts( brisket/Chuck ). In/out probably has feed-lot full of hormones/antibiotics with pure Chuck. In addition, they are paying 16/he, while your help was likely paid minimum along with food stamps, WIC, etc. I hope this place makes it to Colorado.

      • You obviously don't know anything about In-N-Out Burger, not their food ingredients [in-n-out.com] nor their pay scale [businessinsider.com]. You might consider not commenting on things you're completely clueless about.

        • You obviously don't know anything about In-N-Out Burger, not their food ingredients [in-n-out.com] nor their pay scale [businessinsider.com]. You might consider not commenting on things you're completely clueless about.

          Looks like limited distribution, this was posted recently to Reddit.com
          In-N-Out and Shake Shack locations mapped (Yellow)
          https://www.reddit.com/r/datai... [reddit.com]

          Not one even close to me.

        • But then he won't be able to comment about anything...

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by djinn6 ( 1868030 )
          As much as I like In-N-Out, the page doesn't say organic or grass fed beef, which in corporate speak means feedlot cattle with antibiotics & hormones.

          The roboburger also looks a bit bigger. If they got the taste anywhere near as good as In-N-Out, it'll be well worth the extra $2.

        • You obviously don't know anything about In-N-Out Burger, not their food ingredients [in-n-out.com] nor their pay scale [businessinsider.com]. You might consider not commenting on things you're completely clueless about.

          I'm not American and have never heard of In-N-Out but I can tell one thing: they've got a good social media marketing team.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      They're charging double what In N Out charges, which doesn't freeze any of their ingredients. I guess teenagers are cheaper than robots...

      Initial costs are bound to be high... Also In-N-Out are pretty cheap as far as burger joints go, especially for how good they are.

  • When can we expect an episode of Black Mirror that features this machine dispensing absolutely scrumptious burgers made with some unusual meats? Or has that been done already? Either way, I fully expect life to imitate art in the near future ....

  • A few thoughts after watching video (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @03:57PM (#56824836)

    The video is actually kind of interesting, two points from that:

    It doesn't take away as many jobs as you might think, they still have a staff (someone has to keep people from smashing the machine, or clean out its greasy innards at night). They even give workers 5% of time to do something for self-improvement, like reading a book. The owner said after cooking tens of thousands of burgers he invented the machine so the workers would have less tedious and more creative things to do.

    The other thought - for a fully automated system "precise" delivery of condiments is rougher than you would think. Even in the video where they could do a few runs, the robot has got some sauce on the box so that kind of shorted your exact measurements I would think (and was a bit messy).

    It looked like a decent burger, would love to try.

    • It doesn't take away as many jobs as you might think, they still have a staff (someone has to keep people from smashing the machine, or clean out its greasy innards at night).

      Until someone else comes along and decides they can make MOAR PROFIT!!1 by opening their own robo-burger joint, with a self-cleaning robot, taser drones for security, and automated ordering kiosks.

      The Lorax nailed it ages ago: "If I didn't do it, then someone else would."

    • I agree with your cautious optimism. In a 40-hour work-week, 5% equates to two hours, which is more generous than it sounds. They could spend that time taking an online class via MOOC, studying for a certification, or whatever. The staff are all paid $16/hr, which is decent. If this guy can sustain the model, I say more power to him. Interesting to see if his model gets tweaked and replicated.
      • I don't really get the 5% time. Just pay them more and have them work two fewer hours. They make the same amount of money and can use their time for whatever they want. I'm less optimistic and more realistic. Most people's 5% time will be spend screwing around on mobile games, checking Facebook, etc. 5% time just sounds like some kind of feel good bullshit or "breaks" thrown on the euphemism treadmill.

        And here's what's going to happen with this model: someone else will build a similar robot, find a way t

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by djinn6 ( 1868030 )
          The reason something like 20% time works is that it's actually work time, which means no screwing around or playing video games. If you get a bunch of smart people to do nothing for a while, they'll start coming up with interesting ideas. Out of those, a few end up being profitable for the company.

          Whether the same applies to food service employees waits to be seen. I'm sure some are just coasting along, while others are trying to better themselves. If the owner can afford it, I don't see why he shouldn't
    • I've been thinking the same thing while watching the video. The final result is somewhat messy and the mechanism does not make a "closed" sandwich (ending with the top half of the bread on top, it is necessary for the customer to close the sandwich). The idea itself looks good but I would make several changes in the mechanism, especially in the part of the speed of the preparation, precision and ease of maintenance (it is obvious to me that the parts that cut the ingredients will need constant cleaning)

    • Re:A few thoughts after watching video (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @06:46PM (#56825584) Homepage

      It looked good enough when it works but I really wonder what the prep/clean/maintenance work will be. And how much downtime you'll have because when the machine isn't working it doesn't look like humans can fill in easily. But hey, it's cool that they're finally moving out of prototyping and actually opening up a restaurant. Though I have a feeling that if it's a success you'll see McD and BK rolling out their own system soon, it looks a bit easy to copy and I doubt there's much you can patent there.

  • They WHAT?! (Score:3)

    by DontBeAMoran ( 4843879 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @04:06PM (#56824876)

    Once you order your burger style through a human concierge on a tablet, a compressed air tube pushes a baked-that-day bun into an elevator on the right. It's sawed in half by a vibrating knife before being toasted and buttered as it's lowered to conveyor belt.

    I'm lactose intolerant, you insensitive clod!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Once you order your burger style through a human concierge on a tablet, a compressed air tube pushes a baked-that-day bun into an elevator on the right. It's sawed in half by a vibrating knife before being toasted and buttered as it's lowered to conveyor belt.

      I'm lactose intolerant, you insensitive clod!

      I'm not lactose intolerant... but toasted and then buttered? I have a decent palate, you tasteless clods.

  • Uh (Score:3)

    by sexconker ( 1179573 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @04:11PM (#56824902)

    Sauces measured by the milliliter and spices by the gram

    How about tenth of a millimeter for sauces and milligrams for spices?
    Having an excess milliliter of mayo or mustard can really ruin the balance of a burger, and of course make a mess of things.
    Having an extra GRAM of spices can cause someone to cough and choke or have allergic reactions (that they normally wouldn't).

  • Jason's Roboburger III: The next generation (Score:3)

    by smoothnorman ( 1670542 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @04:19PM (#56824938)
    "Meanwhile, the robot grinds hormone-free, pasture-raised brisket and chuck steak to order. But rather than mash them all up, the strands of meat hang vertically and are lightly pressed together...."

    So you're saying that it's a boring obvious excuse for a gory murder mystery?

  • Flippy (Score:3)

    by Impy the Impiuos Imp ( 442658 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @04:20PM (#56824942) Journal

    That's not so much a robot as an assembly line.

  • Wow, my kind of place.

  • I vote for Musée Mécanique in San Francisco.

  • Should all be automated. I'm amazed that drinks still have not been automated. So much wasted labor on that. Even fries can be easily automated.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • However, I'd rather fast food make ordering kiosks their priority. It would eliminate a major source of error and confusion.

        Especially if you could visually display the order! It shouldn't be too hard to have an image for all the stuff you'd put on a burger, and show what the person is configuring. Dominos already does this with their pizzas.

        The cost of implementing that would vastly reduce overhead, both in terms of staff taking orders and resolving errors. You could even do a "no refunds or exchanges" with that, because the customer knew exactly what they were getting and pressed OK. (Assuming they got what they ordered.)

        The l

    • I'm amazed that drinks still have not been automated.

      Most fast food places have automated drinks. Except for the drive thru, where they use a human to move the cup around. Cause it's the same human who's handling the money.

  • Ewww... (Score:3, Funny)

    by TheSouthernDandy ( 2730503 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @05:40PM (#56825320)

    They form a loose but auto-griddleable patty that's then plopped onto the bun before the whole package slides out of the machine

    I look forward to sinking my teeth into a burger that could have been cooked, but is apparently not by default.

  • "Harsh chewing"? (Score:3)

    by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @05:47PM (#56825360) Journal
    I have never contemplated the harshness of the chewing involved for a burger ... big ol slab of pork, yes, burger, no ...

  • Strands (Score:5, Funny)

    by sheramil ( 921315 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @06:16PM (#56825482)

    > But rather than mash them all up, the strands of meat hang vertically and are lightly pressed together.

    > They form a loose but auto-griddleable patty that's then plopped onto the bun before the whole

    > package slides out of the machine after a total time of about five minutes. The idea is that when

    > you bite into the burger, your teeth align with the vertical strands so instead of requiring

    > harsh chewing it almost melts in your mouth.

    So if I rotate the burger by 90 degrees, I'll be eating against the grain and it'll require even MORE harsh chewing? Not a problem if they can also toast an arrow into the bun to show you which way up it goes.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mentil ( 1748130 )

      Unfortunately it's an open-face burger, the customer has to put the top bun on themselves. I agree it should say "face this end toward face" on the bun.

    • Don't eat the burger vertically and you'll be fine. It's pretty easy to find and eat from the narrow edge.

  • Self improvement time? (Score:3)

    by TJHook3r ( 4699685 ) on Thursday June 21, 2018 @06:31PM (#56825540)
    Apparently human workers get 5% of their time for 'self improvement' and it made me realise that I spend about the same amount of time writing crap on forums :(

  • I can't think of any burger I've had in a few decades that has required "harsh chewing".

  • What is the quality control abilities of these automated food preparers? If a cockroach crawls onto the burger does the robot flick it off? Can it recognize foreign matter on the burger like plastic bits or a sheet metal screw? Creating burgers, like much food prep, is part art (chef) and part repetitive motion (teenager). Sure, I have to go to Chick filet to get my pickles evenly distributed, unlike the other burger joints where they stack them in the middle, but at least humans are looking at the pick

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mentil ( 1748130 )

      Giving cockroaches the finger doesn't improve the sanitation of your food. That said, if one threatens to jump onto your sandwich, the computer vision system will see it 6 seconds beforehand but do nothing and alert noone due to too many false positives.

  • 8 hours sure
    8 days yea doable
    8 weeks months year no way

  • The best name for a restaurant they could come up with is 'Creator'?

  • They missed a great opportunity. Successful businesses can't do that too frequently.

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