Robots are taking a slice of the pizza business, with robot startups that can make pies faster than humans.
Key Details
- Artificial intelligence is taking over many business sectors and the latest—pizza.
- In the wake of worker shortages, many restaurants have been engaging robots. There have been robots added into restaurants that make burgers, fries (in-action video), and coffee.
- The newest one added to the bunch is pizza makers and it could potentially be the most helpful.
Why it’s important
Some of the brightest minds in engineering have turned their attention to pizza, building contraptions that can stretch dough, apply tomato sauce, and sprinkle cheese and toppings without human intervention, according to Axios writer Jennifer Kingson.
Pizzas are a popular food item that don’t require a lot of work, making it an ideal fit for automation.
A few robotic pizza makers expanding or coming soon, according to Axios:
- Stellar Pizza, founded by a former SpaceX rocket scientist, will open this month in Los Angeles with a fleet of trucks staffed by robotic pizza chefs (and human drivers).
- PizzaHQ in New Jersey has converted a traditional pizzeria into a robotic one, with plans to expand.
- Picnic Works is a tech company that leases the Picnic Pizza Station, a modular assembly line that can make up to 100 pizzas an hour under the supervision of a single human attendant.
The robots not only make pizzas efficiently, but they also help businesses suffering from labor shortages. “Nobody in the food service has enough workers,” says CEO of Picnic Works Clayton Wood.
Another advantage is the ability to produce mass quantities at low prices. The machines can make the food fast and with no labor fees.
Skepticism
Robot pizza makers might be the major way to make the food in the future, but most consumers are still skeptical for now.
“One of the speed bumps is really going to be getting people used to pizza made by a robot, there’s a lot of pushback on, ‘Hey, that product can’t be good.'” said PizzaHQ co-founder, Jason Udrija. “But 20 years from now, all pizza is going to be made like this.”