Once upon a time in the future, my near collision with a robot waiter

I took a left, it took a left, and my right was met by a pause from the big-eyed digital waitress who left a noble impression on me regarding China’s deliberate step towards everything digitally efficient.

I had the opportunity to land at the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport this week to not only consult on business but also to learn more about China’s intent to paddle into a digitally solid future.

Considering China houses headquarters of several major tech brands such as Huawei, and Honor among others, we quickly spotted an intentional step from China to nurture innovation in an effort to leave a long-lasting digital footprint.

We battled a little jetlag on our first day’s inhale of China, but an organic meal at one of China’s growing cities found our half-empty energy dial.

I experienced in real-time how a robot could and possibly will replace humans in the hospitality industry. In this case how a human waiter or waitress would soon be a distant memory.

While this is not necessarily a bad thing, since new tech also means new industrial opportunities, the realization that a bot had a plate, and was rushing to deliver its order to a set customer had our mind in a tailspin.

It had big digital eyes and was reasonably loud as it made it clear that it was en route to a delivery while whizzing past walk-ins in the restaurant.

What instantly had our attention was the plate on the bot. Yes, the bot almost took me out, okay, okay, I’m exaggerating. It announced its presence behind me while I too was walking to the same restaurant destination.

My first thought was vacuum cleaner, until I noticed a plate of food on top of the bot that if unaware would have crashed straight into me.

I took a left, it took a left, and my right was met by a pause from the big-eyed digital waitress. I label it a she due to the more female robotic tone coming from its speakers.

I appreciated the idea that this bot was highly aware of its surroundings considering how at some point I did try to stand in it’s way.

It adjusted its route without fail, only to redirect and carry on with its mission.

Pleasantly pleased, I walked behind it, analyzing what the future looks like for the hospitality industry sometime in South Africa’s future.

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