You May Be Surprised That Robot Servers Actually Brought New Jobs To This Restaurant In South Carolina
By AnneMarie|Published March 13, 2024
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AnneMarie
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South Carolina has been home for AnneMarie since 2001. Her favorite part of the state is Lake Jocassee. An App State alumna, it's always the mountains; the lake bonus makes it heavenly. When not writing about the state, she may be spending time with family, relaxing by the pool, or out somewhere enjoying nature.
Robots sure have come a long way since the first one was invented in 1954 by George Devol, an American inventor from Louisville, Kentucky whose robot was called Unimate, a hydraulic arm to lift heavy loads. It was sold to General Motors for $18,000 in 1961 and worked on an assembly line at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant in Ewing Township, New Jersey, undertaking the job of transporting die castings and welding them onto auto bodies, a dangerous task for workers, who might be poisoned by toxic fumes or lose a limb if they were not careful. Unimate was later used to perform other tasks and was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in 2003. You may not know that today, there are robots assisting the waitstaff at a restaurant in Columbia, S.C., and you may be surprised by the impact they are having there!
The Peanut Man is a wonderfully unique restaurant located just off I-26 on Fernandina Road in Columbia, South Carolina.
The menu at this Columbia lunch spot is varied, with options ranging from salads to sandwiches, flatbreads, soup of the day, and more. The restaurant is open on Mondays through Thursdays starting at 10 a.m., with the kitchen closing every day at 3 p.m. except for Thursdays, when it closes at 4 p.m.
One of the most unique experiences when you dine at The Peanut Man is having your meal brought to the table by a robot! There are three of these characters at this restaurant, but Bella is the one that seems to have gotten all the publicity.
While some people are skeptical about integrating robots into our society, lamenting the possibility that they will replace human interaction and jobs, the way The Peanut Man has incorporated them into the workflow actually created the need for more human roles. The robots have taken the weight of more menial tasks off the waitstaff and the result has been that traffic through the restaurant increased to a level that they needed to hire additional staff!
As you can see from the image and video, the robot simply holds the food as it moves from the kitchen to the table. The waitstaff still does the "serving" of the food at the table. Genius!
... and a fun gift shop where you'll find candy and other sweets, home decor items, gift items, and more. It's a great place to find interesting stocking stuffers during the holidays or something special on any gift-giving occasion! It's the type of place to be sure you take your shopping tote along with you when you go.
Visit The Peanut Man website and The Peanut Man Facebook page for additional information and updates. Have you ever eaten at The Peanut Man before? Have you experienced robots in a unique way anywhere else in South Carolina?
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