Late last week, Google research scientist Fei Xia sat in the center of a bright, open-plan kitchen and typed a command into a laptop connected to a one-armed, wheeled robot resembling a large floor lamp. The robot promptly zoomed over to a nearby countertop, gingerly picked up a bag of multigrain chips with a large plastic pincer, and wheeled over to Xia to offer up a snack. The most impressive thing about that demonstration, held in Google's robotics lab in Mountain View, California, was that no human coder had programmed the robot to understand what to do in response to Xia's command. Its control software had learned how to translate a spoken phrase into a sequence of physical actions using millions of pages of text scraped from the web. That means a person doesn't have to use specific preapproved wording to issue commands, as can be necessary with virtual assistants such as Alexa or Siri.

Late last week, Google research scientist Fei Xia sat in the center of a bright, open-plan kitchen and typed a command into a laptop connected to a one-armed, wheeled robot resembling a large floor lamp. The robot promptly zoomed over to a nearby countertop, gingerly picked up a bag of multigrain chips with a large plastic pincer, and wheeled over to Xia to offer up a snack. The most impressive thing about that demonstration, held in Google's robotics lab in Mountain View, California, was that no human coder had programmed the robot to understand what to do in response to Xia's command. Its control software had learned how to translate a spoken phrase into a sequence of physical actions using millions of pages of text scraped from the web. That means a person doesn't have to use specific preapproved wording to issue commands, as can be necessary with virtual assistants such as Alexa or Siri.

More fast food chains than ever are testing robots and AI to cut costs. Advanced technology can be used to decrease the number of workers needed for food preparation and service. Robots are being used to take orders, prepare food, and even deliver it to customers. More fast food chains than ever are testing robots and AI to cut costs. Advanced technology can be used to decrease the number of workers needed for food preparation and service.

One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Craft Ventures. The Austin-based company's AI voice ordering assistants George and Becky work inside quick-serve restaurants to take orders via phone, chat, drive-thru and self-service kiosks, freeing up staff to concentrate on food preparation and customer service. Joining Craft in the Series A round were LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures and angel investors Federico Castellucci and Ashish Gupta. This new investment brings ConverseNow's total funding to $18.3 million, Vinay Shukla, co-founder and CEO of ConverseNow, told TechCrunch. As part of the investment, Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures, is joining the company's board of directors, and said in a written statement that "post-pandemic, quick-service restaurants are primed for digital transformation, and we see a unique opportunity for ConverseNow to become a driving force in the space."

One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Craft Ventures. The Austin-based company's AI voice ordering assistants George and Becky work inside quick-serve restaurants to take orders via phone, chat, drive-thru and self-service kiosks, freeing up staff to concentrate on food preparation and customer service. Joining Craft in the Series A round were LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures and angel investors Federico Castellucci and Ashish Gupta. This new investment brings ConverseNow's total funding to $18.3 million, Vinay Shukla, co-founder and CEO of ConverseNow, told TechCrunch. As part of the investment, Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures, is joining the company's board of directors, and said in a written statement that "post-pandemic, quick-service restaurants are primed for digital transformation, and we see a unique opportunity for ConverseNow to become a driving force in the space." At the time when ConverseNow raised its seed funding in 2020, it was piloting its technology in just a handful of stores.

Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, a fast-food chain in Ohio, hardly seems an obvious venue for cutting-edge artificial intelligence. But the company's drive-thrus are showcasing technology that reveals how the Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating the creep of automation into some workplaces. Unable to find enough workers, Chuck Cooper, CEO of Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, installed an automated voice system in many locations to take orders. The system, developed by Intel and Hi Auto, a voice recognition firm, never fails to upsell customers on fries or a drink, which Cooper says has boosted sales. At outlets with the voice system, there's no longer a need for a person to take orders at the drive-thru window.

The Big Mac might be McDonald's most famous item, but a lot of people don't know much about it. Check out the history of the fast-food chain's beloved burger. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of changes to restaurants. Since many casual restaurants had to close their doors and switch to take-out only, people were ordering fast food even more than usual. And because the "grab-and-go" factor is already a perk of fast-food restaurants, it was basically a no-brainer for those who hoped grab a meal and maintain social distancing.

Japanese convenience stores are testing out robots to stock store shelves in hopes of combating the country's labor shortage and allowing human workers to socially distance during a pandemic. FamilyMart, Japan's second largest convenience store chain, has partnered with robotics company Telexistence on an android stock boy named Model-T, after Henry Ford's famous car. Rather than use AI, Model-T is connected to a human operator who manipulates the robot's movements remotely using virtual reality (VR). The seven-foot tall robot has a wide range of motion, necessary for lifting and moving products, with a lag time of only 50 milliseconds between operator and automaton. This week Model-T was rolled out at Lawson, another convenience store that is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi.

We already had a robot that could make fast food burgers. And now we have an artificial intelligence that can take your order for one. Earlier this month, Colorado-based startup Valyant AI announced the launch of a voice-based AI customer service platform, which is now taking customer orders at the drive-thru at Denver's Good Times Burgers and Frozen Custard. "We're excited to deliver a customer service experience unlike anything you've ever experienced before," Valyant AI CEO Rob Carpenter said in a press release. Unlike multipurpose assistants such as Alexa or Siri, Valyant's fast food AI has just one ability: greet drive-thru customers, take their order, and send them down the line.

We already had a robot that could make fast food burgers. And now we have an artificial intelligence that can take your order for one.