Editors’ Picks




Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.65
…space is becoming more common today—see Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. In the case of Amazon and Kohl's, it's not on the sales side but the returns side. Why would Kohl's allow Amazon users to return items to its stores? Returns helped its foot traffic for buying. How have this evolution and micro-fulfillment affected warehouse processes? Kohli: Robotics and automation can make half their problems go away. As human beings, we think of different brands, but the challenges for warehouse managers are how to manage resources and getting personnel trained on picking and packing. The analogy here is that robots…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 60.79
…Hatco Corp. to develop a compact fully autonomous robotic pizza-making system designed for commercial markets. The companies said they will be displaying their joint system at the NAFEM Show next month in Chicago. The system combines Nala Robotics' cooking automation and design technology with Ovention's Shuttle Oven and Hatco's Flav-R 2-Go Pizza Locker System within a 10' x 10' footprint. Ovention, which develops compact ovens, is a subsidiary of Hatco Corp. Nala Robotics is based in Arlington Heights, Ill. It develops robotic systems designed for the kitchen, including Pizzaiola, its pizza-making robot system, Spotless, its dishing washing robot system, and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.91
…electronics retailer Media Markt in Poland, McDonald's in Slovenia, Pizza Hut, and KFC in Poland. “The popularity of BellaBot means that customers welcome innovation, and we are ramping up our effort to bring our smart delivery bots to more consumers in Europe,” said Pudu Robotics founder and CEO Felix Zhang. Earlier this year, the company started rolling out the PuduBot 2, its shelf-serving robot designed for industrial facilities, retail stores supermarkets and more. Last year, the service robotics company raised about $155 millon in Series C funding. To date, it has raised a total of $184 million, according to Crunchbase.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 39.16
Picnic Works, a Seattle-based developer of pizza-making robot systems, this week launched a new network program designed to bring together technology companies to help it automate more kitchens. “The new partner network offers leaders in food technology, services, ingredients, and more the opportunity to combine strengths and better serve kitchen operators in their efforts to automate kitchen operations to increase profitability and customer satisfaction,” Picnic Works said in a statement. The company already has a list of partners it is working with but is inviting more to join, as long as their business falls within one of six categories: kitchen…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 72.82
…companies said they are working together to create factory-built pizza kitchens for commercial foodservice providers. ContekPro will manufacture kitchens with an integrated Picnic Pizza Station that uses robotic automation to assemble up to 100 pizzas per hour with just one member of the kitchen's staff. ContekPro said it uses leading-edge software and proprietary applications to run efficient and sustainable manufacturing operations. The modular kitchens are designed and manufactured in the U.S. ContekPro builds kitchens fast The company added it focuses on predictable scheduling, transparent processes, and cost accuracies while producing kitchens 50% faster than traditional construction methods. With more than…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 70.98
Picnic Works has added Domino’s Pizza Enterprises LTD to its growing customer base. The Seattle-based company announced earlier this week that a Domino’s store in Berlin is trialing the company’s pizza making machine. The goal of the pilot in Berlin is to understand how automated pizza assembly can assist Domino’s employees in producing fresh, consistent pizza as efficiently as possible, the companies said. This program is part of an initiative between Picnic and Domino’s that started in 2021 that has included research, product testing and multi-national planning. After workers load the dough, the Picnic station takes care of applying the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.05
…dessert? While ice cream-making robots aren't as popular as pizza-making robots, there are still players trying to disrupt the space. There are humanoid robot ice cream servers, as well as ice cream cafes equipped with robot arms preparing and serving up dishes. They have begun popping up in malls around the globe and are expanding into new areas all the time. Many of these robots not only prepare ice cream but also serve coffee, yogurt, sorbet, and gelato. These autonomous systems are a testament to the advancements being made in robotic precision and are an example of how robots are…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.79
…PuduBot 2 for indoor deliveries. PizzaHQ last week said it is partnering with Picnic Works to further automate its pizza-making processes. Piestro yesterday said Capriotti's Sandwich Shop will begin a pilot test of its Piestro Pod in its flagship Las Vegas location.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.41
…to Burnstein's point about applications. “Is making salad or pizza the most economical use case?” he asked. “Many of these high-profile redirections reached 'unicorn' status [with $1 billion valuations], but they couldn't meet revenue targets.” “We saw companies getting ahead of themselves and expanding their teams too fast,” he added. “Once certain companies get to be large, they act like sports teams—'I don't just want three midlevel engineers; I want one of the best.'” “We can't control the market, but we can de-risk it. At ffVC, we focus on founder-friendly and accurate valuation,” Mitchell added. “Robotics is a tough industry,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 78.76
Pizza robot maker Piestro announced yesterday it is partnering with Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk delivery company spun out of food giant Postmates. When a customer places an order, Piestro’s scheduling system will notify Serve’s fleet and the nearest available robot will pick up the pizza for transport from a Piestro pod. The partnership will roll out in the coming months, as Piestro deploys units within Serve delivery areas. Santa Monica-based Piestro said it is an automated pizzeria that combines robotics, precision control/actuation and culinary excellence to create pizzas full of authentic flavor. Serve is headquarted in Los Angeles and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.36
…100 food and beverage brands, such as Haidilao Hotpot, Pizza Hut, Xiao NanGuo Restaurant, Grandma's House, and more, adopting its products. Keenon Robotics successfully closed Series D In September, Keenon Robotics completed a $200 million Series D financing round led by Alibaba's exclusive strategic financing and the SoftBank Vision Fund. The company achieved successful results and was ranked on the Hurun “global unicorn company” list last year. Meanwhile, Keenon Robotics was named one of the top 10 “best investment cases in advanced manufacturing” by the CVINFO 2021 Annual List. The company has launched with six global business areas: North America,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 71.97
Pizza-making robot maker Picnic Works this week announces an expanded university partnership with contract food service management company Chartwells Higher Education. The announcement follows successful pilot programs at Texas A&M and the University of Chicago. Chartwells said it realized the efficiency benefits of Picnic’s technology during the pilot program and has decided to deploy the Picnic Pizza Station across an initial five universities to streamline dining operations and promote timely service and consistent food quality for students and guests. The first five universities will include Texas A&M, the University of Chicago, Missouri State University, Carroll University, and Indiana University –…