Robots Might Be Taking Your McDonald's Order Soon And We Are *Officially* Living In The Future
The world's largest fast food chain is working hard to make your fast food even faster. Forget self-serve kiosks. That was so 2015. On to the next, people.
According to The Wall Street Journal, McDonald's has finally started trialing "voice-activated drive-throughs and robotic deep-fryers" at a location right outside of Chicago. Senior Vice President Mason Smoot told the paper, “the idea of technology is to help our crew—to make it easier and better for them."
When it comes to those robotic deep fryers, we couldn't agree more. While there doesn't seem to be much detail on exactly how this thing works yet, we're hoping that it'll lead to a safer work environment for employees. Anyone who's worked in a kitchen knows just how dangerous hot oil can be, so McDonald's is taking a huge step in the right direction.
Logistically speaking, it sounds like the system—which allowed "customers [to] read off their orders" and then "confirm them on a digital display"—is pretty simple to navigate. In their coverage, WSJ only noted one customer who needed human assistance after he "hesitated during his order, tripping up the software." Surprisingly, even more complicated orders such as "a Hot ’n Spicy McChicken sandwich without lettuce" went through flawlessly.
As promising as this all sounds, we can't help but picture future headlines about that ticked-off customer who just couldn't get the automated drive-thru to work. Also, let's remember that this is just one location, and testing only started last week. If this is going to work nationwide, quality control will be key!
Speaking of expansion, it sounds like McDonald's is going to give the robots a shot at other locations pretty soon. Sadly, we have no idea where, and it sounds like they don't plan on giving customers a heads up. So...I don't know...maybe just don't freak out when no one responds to your super-complicated McDonald's order. They've probably got it. Probably.
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