McDonald’s is joining forces with IBM to implement AI tech to take orders at drive-thru lanes. “In my mind, IBM is the ideal partner for McDonald’s given their expertise in building AI-powered customer care solutions and voice recognition,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said during an earnings call, as quoted by CNBC.
It might not sit well with everyone, as not everyone would fancy communicating with an AI to place their orders. It could be frustrating at times to explain yourself to an AI. In 2019, the restaurant chain acquired a tech startup called Apprente and gave it a moniker McD Tech Labs. As part of the deal, IBM will acquire the firm.
High accuracy rate in testing
The company has already tested the tech developed by Apprente at several restaurants in Chicago. At the time, the company has claimed the system can handle around 80 percent of the orders that come its way, filling them with around 85 percent accuracy.
Surprisingly, Kempczinski claimed human workers wanted to help the system. “We’ve had to do a little bit of training of ‘just keep your hands off the steering wheel, let the computer do its work,’” he said at the time.
Taking robotics to another level
Similarly, one restaurant chain in Florida has taken things to another level by renting robot waiters. Sergio’s Restaurant took help from a Servi robot that leverages a system of cameras, laser sensors, and motorized wheels to take food from the kitchen to the customer’s tables. Besides, the robot is said to be synergizing well with the interests of the restaurant’s human staff.
Alibaba also recently revealed its plans to launch 1,000 delivery bots across China. Alibaba says robots can build up a comprehensive understanding of their surroundings while moving. The bots are capable of plotting the trajectories of people and vehicles and predicting their movements -10 seconds in advance with a 99.9999 accuracy rate.
