14 DAY TRIAL // Whenever we read or write about a flying drone of whatever sort, it's usually in the context of surveillance, search & rescue or recreation, but movie making has also started to be addressed. Now, something much more mundane is being tried.
A company by the name of Infinium Robotics has some drones up for order, but it probably did not expect the customers it recently got.
Sure, they were human and, yes, they were quite sure of what they wanted, but the purpose they had in mind for quadcopters was out of the box, to say the least.
To make a long story short, the Timbre Group restaurant chain has decided to use quadcopters instead of waiters.
Enter a Timbre Group restaurant and you'll get served by a drone
Singapore is an island city that comes up in the news quite often, for various reasons. Sadly, the latest reasons haven't all been good. Manpower appears to be a problem for the whole city.
It is here that robot waiters come in. The Infinium Robotics quadcopters in the video embedded below will be delivering your orders from now on.
The drones will use infrared sensors placed around the restaurant in order to make their way through the establishment, while onboard cameras and sensors will make sure they do it without bumping into anyone or anything.
Getting a facefull of quadcopter would not be fun for anyone. Well, actually it might be for some, but it would get old fast.
They will work at least partially independently and carry up to 2 kilograms of food and drink. That means that one flight would be enough for a pizza, two glasses of wine, and a pint of beer.
Not that they will all fit on the serving tray. With just one of them set in the middle, above the main body and right between the four propellers, the pizza at least will have to be sent over on its own.
The reason Singapore is in such straits
The island city recently passed a law that curbed cheap and foreign labor, in order to slow down immigration. Unfortunately, young Singaporeans tend to dislike the idea of service jobs, hence the manpower shortage.
It is fortunate that quadcopters have become so smart lately, otherwise there would have been large economic and touristic consequences.
