DailyDirt: Fast Food, Faster!

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Fri, Feb 1st 2013 5:00pm — Michael Ho

The fast food industry is always trying to be more efficient about its services. There have been lots of different ways to accomplish quicker fast food, and adding technology to the restaurant recipe sometimes works, but oftentimes doesn't (eg. uWink Bistros). Here are just a few examples for getting your hamburger orders filled faster.

Momentum Machines has a hamburger-making robot that can churn out about 360 burgers in an hour, each custom made to order. This hamburger chef can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever... until you are full. [url]
In 2003, McDonald's tested some automation equipment for grilling its burgers and cooking its french fries. We covered this story about a decade ago, but we don't seem to be living in an all-robot McD's future now. Oh well. [url]
If you're in San Francisco, you can get ~~an In&Out~~ Super Duper burger delivered to you for just $10, fulfilled by TaskRabbit via a simple web-based order form. It's not available any time, so there's no option to get french fries during the Renaissance. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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Filed Under: automation, fast food, food, hamburgers, robots
Companies: mcdonald's, momentum machines, super duper burger, task rabbit

6 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2013 @ 5:19pm

robot served food. yum.
at least no spit in it...
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- Bergman (profile), 1 Feb 2013 @ 10:45pm
  
  Re: robot served food. yum.
  ...just motor oil.
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Rekrul, 2 Feb 2013 @ 2:56am

Robot?
I want robots that actually look like classic robots, not some conveyor belt thing! :)
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Andrew D. Todd, 2 Feb 2013 @ 6:35am

Frozen Entrees Instead.
I would point out that it is an arbitrary convention that a hamburger meal combines certain foods in certain ways-- that is you have a hamburger with cheese and salad and bread, and then you have potatoes as a side dish. If you make the salad and the bread into side dishes, you can make the meat and cheese and potatoes (or pasta) into an entree, served in a little plastic dish. Entrees are easily frozen and reheated in a microwave oven, and they seem to be more or less comparable in quality to McDonald's or Burger King burgers. Of course the frozen entrees are made in a factory, and the factory will no doubt adopt robots at some point. A salad, by itself, with no meat, no cheese, and no salad dressing, will keep handily in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Likewise, bread will keep for a reasonable period of time, provided it is kept dry. I get my salads from the local Subway, where I can watch them make the salad, and the ingredients seem to be fresher. Even if you are on the move, you can always eat something like chili from an insulated paper cup with a spoon.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Feb 2013 @ 8:33am

I would like to supersize that fat laden mystery meat sandwich accompanied by greasy almost potatoes with drink of high fructose corn syrup please
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Feb 2013 @ 4:37pm

For $10, it doggone well better be VERY Super Duper.
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