Intelligent robot waiter serves food in KFC Shanghai

Entering the age of artificial intelligence, even the fast food industry has to ride with the tide by digitising its in-store experience for customers.In collaboration with Chinese internet giant Baidu, fried chicken fast-food chain KFC has opened its first intelligent robot concept store in Shanghai.Located inside the National Exhibition and Convention Center, the outlet will feature Baidu’s robotic personal assistant Duer to serve customers with voice interaction, smart food-ordering and holographic projection capabilities.This is the first time that Duer will work in a commercial setting.Name “Du Mi”, the robot waiter will help customers with everything from ordering to paying, as well as providing other types of entertainment such as music charging tables.Meanwhile, people can take a 360-degree tour to see how KFC’s dishes are made through in-store holographic imaging technology.The AI software powering the robotics is also built into Baidu’s mobile app, allowing customers to order food from KFC via their smartphones.Introduced to the public at the Baidu World Congress 2015, Duer is an integration of Baidu’s AI technologies such as voice recognition and intelligent search.