Robot waitresses rolling in the dough
Pizza restaurant in Pakistan using robots to serve customers
Pakistan's first robot waitresses are serving up smiles for customers at an upscale pizza restaurant in the ancient city of Multan, better known for its centuries-old Sufi shrines, mango orchards and handicrafts.
Rabia, Annie and Jennie greet customers and bring them their pies at Pizza.com, where owner Osama Jafari - who built the prototypes himself - says the result has been a surge of new business.
He was inspired by videos of robot waiters in China.
The 24-year-old, who studied engineering at Islamabad's National University of Science and Technology, said he began working on a prototype with the support of his parents.
He sourced and fabricated all parts for the robots locally, building them for 600,000 rupees (S$12,813).
He is already working on the next generation, which he says will be more interactive, even responding to customer's questions.
He hopes to spread his robot staff to his family's other restaurant in Hyderabad. - AFP
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