Sadly technology often times gets rolled out before its ready making for interesting problems and challenges unexpected by its creators. This was the case with Flippy the burger-flipping robot this week. It had only just started work in a California restaurant but apparently it was forced to take a break because it just flipped those burgers too slowly!
The robot was installed at a Cali Burger outlet in Pasadena and replaced human cooks. But after just one day at work the robot has been taken offline so it can be upgraded to work faster.
Maybe I'm being too critical of the people involved but shouldn't there have been some math and a practical test done before allowing it to take over the show? This does seem to be a case of mismangement in poor Flippy's depoloyment. In addition it may have something to do with the unexpected difficulties in human robot relations and as a result, it has been reported that its human helpers are also getting extra training to help the robot keep up with demand.
USA Today reported that the robot was still in place behind the grill at the burger joint but was switched off. A sign said the robot would be "cooking soon" but gave no date for when it would once again be flipping hamburger patties.
This is an epic technology fail as far as I'm concerned. But then I think about it a bit more and it is actually good! People can keep their jobs just a little while longer as engineers go back to the drawing board to make the needed changes necessary to start a new burger flipping paradigm...
The robot is believed to have been given time off because news about it spread widely, and led to more interest and orders than the restaurant could handle.
I'll be the first to admit this article may be a tad one-sided I mean, I wasn't there to see it for myself. Is this an excuse or the true reason behind the failure. I definitely can understand why getting the first burger flipped by a robot may be a fun and desirable event for some. Maybe this is true and that they were simply flooded with orders not expecting this news to really affect their business so dramatically!
And who is going to lose profits, move over robot the humans need to keep running the show here, we are faster! For now...
In a statement Miso Robotics, which made Flippy, said it was testing the code that controls the robot to ensure that it can cook quickly enough to fulfil orders at peak times. Prior to starting work, Flippy was said to be capable of cooking up to 2,000 burgers a day.
I would imagine that poor Flippy was most likely only tested extensively in a way that could ensure a proper flow of burgers could be produced during normal conditions. Clearly it was not ready for burger battle conditions!
What do you guys think about this Flippy hoopla? Is this a fail or is it simply a setback? Would you prefer a burger cooked and flipped by a robot or by a human? If it tastes good, does it even matter?
Leave your comments below, lets get a good chat going about Flippy and its shortcomings!
Source:
Burger-flipping robot taken offline after one day - BBC
Image Source:
BBC