(WJW) – Chipotle Mexican Grill workers may soon have a “helping hand” while preparing your digital order.
The fast food chain announced Tuesday it’s testing a robotic service line to create bowls and salads below the counter while the employee handles burritos, tacos, kid’s meals and more entrees above.
To make it happen, Chipotle is partnering with Hyphen, a food service platform that helps restaurants automate their kitchens.
So, how would it work? According to company officials, if a digital order included a bowl or salad, the meal would be routed on the robotic makeline, adding the necessary ingredients along the way.
At the same time, the employee would be preparing other foods for the order.
Once finished, the meal would rise up through an opening in the counter, where the employee would add lids, utensils and anything else needed for the order.
Chipotle officials say about 65% of digital orders are bowls or salads, so the new makeline would save time for employees to focus on everything else.
“Chipotle’s new digital makeline built by Hyphen embodies our commitment to leveraging robotics to unlock the human potential of our workforce, ensuring an elevated dining experience for our guests,” said Chief Customer and Technology Officer Curt Garner in a press release. “Our goal is to have the automated digital makeline be the centerpiece of all our restaurants’ digital kitchens.”
Right now, the robotic makeline is being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, California.
Source : FOX 8
