(Bloomberg) -- Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s robots that expedite avocado mashing and burrito bowl assembly are ready to serve real-life customers.
The chain said Monday that it’s piloting the two machines in restaurants for the first time after they passed tests in a lab. For now, two California locations are each getting a robot, and the company will see how workers and guests respond before they’re installed elsewhere.
Chipotle’s move into robotics highlights an industrywide-push to make restaurants more efficient. The robots take time-consuming or undesirable tasks off workers’ plates, according to Chipotle, meaning employees can focus on prepping other food items or helping guests. Such technology can also allow restaurants to serve a higher number of diners per hour without necessarily having to hire more staff, boosting profit.
Known as Autocado, the guac prep robot can cut, core and peel avocados in 26 seconds on average. The newest version adjusts itself automatically to whatever size the fruit comes in.
Workers then mash the avocados by hand to make the chain’s popular guacamole add-on. Chipotle said it expects to go through 5.2 million avocado cases this year at restaurants in the US, Canada and Europe.
Meanwhile, an automated assembly system known as the Augmented Makeline builds bowls and salads, which account for about 65% of Chipotle’s digital orders.
It dispenses an exact amount of each ingredient in a dish, which Chipotle said can improve accuracy and consistency. The chain said in July it would instruct workers to serve “correct and generous portions” after customers, particularly those ordering online, complained about skimping.
The Augmented Makeline also adjusts ingredients based on the customer’s selections, a Chipotle spokesperson said. For example, it automatically regulates portions for an order with several sauces, sour cream, guacamole and cheese dip so the end result isn’t soupy.
Chipotle developed the machines alongside Vebu and Hyphen, two tech firms the chain invested in through its venture fund. Meanwhile, the company has said it won’t deploy a robotic tortilla maker, Chippy, because it was too hard to clean.
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