Spain’s first robot waiter, capable of interacting with its customers, suffered an unexpected setback just before being able to take its first order at the Alimentaria fair. “Follow me to the table,” said the humanoid operated with artificial intelligence, but he was surprised by a sudden stumble that caused him to fall face-first to the ground. Quickly, the technicians at his company’s stand picked it up. “It’s just a prototype,” the employees explained sadly to the public. Luckily, the fair had barely started and only a few witnessed the incident. A white plastic finger was the only trace left of the battery-operated waiter on the floor of pavilion seven of the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona in l’Hospitalet.
How long until robots replace real-life waiters in Spain? Still not known. But the proposals for the insertion of artificial intelligence in the gastronomic sector star in the Alimentaria pavilions
“We offer robotic solutions for the new hospitality industry,” explained the Hiopos experts to the curious who approached their stand. Although its robot waiter is just a prototype of the company and is not yet fully developed, the company has already taken significant steps at the technological forefront of the sector. The Hiobot, a machine that can search and bring orders to the tables, is already a reality in numerous establishments in Spain. It has eight trays for orders of various sizes and, similar to the operation of Roomba vacuum cleaners, they can precisely avoid obstacles that appear in their path.
The Intercarn sector also attracted numerous visitors during the first day of the Alimentaria fair. Not only because of the powerful aroma of meat that permeated its hallways, but because of the spectacle offered by one of the pavilion’s stalls. Behind the glass of a shop window, a 3D printer worked endlessly on nine seemingly ordinary cuts of beef. However, far from being common and ordinary, these pieces of meat are the result of the innovation of the Cocuus company and are part of its new meat category: upgraded meat.
These healthy cutlets are made with lean meat and, using 3D technology, vegetable fat and ingredients such as Omega 3, vitamin D and other micronutrients are printed. Similar to the benefits found in foods such as fish, but in a more versatile form for consumers. Its flavor is practically indistinguishable from that of a conventional chop, and it is available in both pork and beef varieties.
