Pizza.com’s New Age Robotic Waitress

Pizza.com located in the city of Multan in Islamabad, Pakistan is a fast food restaurant that gives you an ultimate futuristic dining experience with their new robotic waitress. Dawn newspaper reported that the robot has been developed by pizzeria owner’s son, an electrical engineering graduate from National University of Science and Technology in Islamabad. “My son was interested in going to the United States for further studies, but I asked him to do something for our country, particularly this city (Multan). I am also feeling proud as a Multani; we have left Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad behind,” says Syed Aziz Ahmed Jafari, the owner. The outlet has been teeming with visitors from other states also.

“Soon after the news of the robotic waitress spread, there is a long queue of customers outside the shop who want to dine here,” says Jafari, the owner. “My son, Syed Osama Aziz, was interested in going to the United States for further studies, but I asked him to do something for our country, particularly this city (Multan). I am also feeling proud as a Multani; we have left Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad behind,” proudly states, Jafari.The Robotic waitress is an ingenious way to cut down on production costs but the technology is in itself is quite expensive. Jafari also wants the government’s assistance in advancing this technology.

“The robot is able navigate to the customer’s table,greet the customer, serve the meal and come back to the counter,” said Aziz, the developer. It weighs 25 kilograms and is capable of carrying up to five kilograms of food; the robot also detects and requests the obstacle in its way to move around freely.

“Much is needed to improve it. I took the basic idea from China where robots are working and serving in restaurants already,” he said. “The female body shape is helping the machine to maintain the weight it is carrying. We have put a scarf in her neck to make clear that it is a female robot,” Aziz said .

“People are asking it to take orders. They don’t give orders until the machine comes to their table. Moreover, the robot doesn’t have a name as yet. But I am thinking to give her a name,” he says. Any machine that brings you food deserves a lovely name and we hope that Aziz comes up with a name that fits the bill.