Robot ‘Flippy’ Turns 2,000 Burgers A Day; Workers Flipping Out

PASADENA, CA — If you're among Americans worried that robots will take American jobs, hear this: At a burger joint in California, “Flippy,” a robotic arm bolted to the kitchen floor, is grilling 150 burgers an hour. Flesh-and-blood workers at Caliburger in Pasadena still prepare the patties, but Flippy takes over until it’s time to add the cheese and special toppings and put the burger on the bun.

Flippy’s debut at the international hamburger chain shows how some industries are using artificial intelligence to cope with high turnover. The $100,000 six-axis industrial robotic arm was created by Miso Robotics, whose co-founder and CEO, David Zito, said the idea isn’t to replace workers, but to improve their working conditions and help them.

But some workers are still flipping out — with good reason.

Automation already figures heavily in manufacturing operations, but at least 10 million jobs could be automated in the 5 or 10 years across a spectrum of U.S. service industries, according to an analysis last year by the research firm CB Insights. That’s more than the 8.7 million jobs shed during the Great Recession. The most at-risk jobs are cooks and servers, cleaners and janitors, and warehouse workers, but as many of retail jobs are at “medium risk” of being replaced by automation over the next decade, the analysis found.

A 2017 Pew Research Center survey confirmed workers’ worry about automation, whether from an onslaught of autonomous vehicles or the replacement of entire job categories by robots. That survey showed that nearly three-fourths of Americans are worried about automation and how they’ll be able to compete with advanced robots on the job market. Only 33 percent described themselves as “enthusiastic” about the trend, with the majority —76 percent — saying automation will increase economic equality. They also worried about the role of automation in hiring decisions.

But inventions like Flippy could solve a host of problems in the fast-food industry, where turnover is about 50 percent a year because of paltry wages, and about $3.4 billion a year is spent recruiting and retaining employees, The Washington Post reported. Other problems, from work-related injuries to workplace violence, could also be addressed, the newspaper said.

Miso Robotics says Flippy can turn 2,000 burgers a day at peak capacity and cook them perfectly every time. It rotates through spatulas for raw and cooked meat to prevent cross-contamination, and also can self-clean when the burgers are cooking. Flippy also takes a job almost no one wants — cleaning the grill.

“It’s not a fun job — it’s hot, it’s greasy, it’s dirty,” John Miller, the CEO of Cali Group, which owns Caliburger, told NPR.

Zito said restaurant workers don’t need to worry about losing their jobs.

“The kitchen of the future will always have people in it, but we see that kitchen as having people and robots,” Zito told KTLA in Los Angeles. “This technology is not about replacing jobs — we see Flippy as that third hand.”

Photo courtesy of Miso Robotics