Robotic waiters and nurses drive China's unmanned economy

At a hotel in Shanghai, a staffer placed a packaged meal into a robotic waiter and entered the room number of a suspected coronavirus patient on the waiter's touch screen. The robot then automatically made its way to the room. "Please take your meal," the robot said, notifying the guest to take the bento box -- eliminating the need for human-to-human contact. The coronavirus pandemic is boosting demand for robots in China's service sector, where automation is helping restaurant and hotel operators navigate staffing shortages and infection risks. The robot used by the Shanghai hotel was developed by Keenon Robotics, founded in that city in 2010.