A McDonald’s in a Chinese city piloted humanoid robots to serve meals and entertain customers, according to reports.
Videos posted on social media captured the myriad of lifelike robots at a McDonald’s in Shanghai performing routine tasks typically completed by human workers, such as greeting customers and delivering food.
Diners were seen interacting with the robots dressed in the fast-food joint’s iconic red-and-yellow uniforms behind counters, while children chased more of the moving machinery disguised as cute animals.
The robots, supplied by Chinese firm Keenon Robotics, were deployed as part of a trial at the McDonald’s location, Digitaltrends reported.
“Our Humanoid series are leading the squad and hitting the streets,” Keenon Robotics posted on social media alongside a clip of the robots interacting with diners.
“It’s a showcase of how service automation is becoming a seamless part of global dining, and how technology brings more smiles to every mealtime,” the company added.
McDonald’s did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on details of the trial at the restaurant or whether the integration of humanoid robots is a part of a larger company initiative.
The footage comes amid concerns over artificial intelligence and robots replacing tasks typically completed by human workers at large corporations.
In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon will soon use more robots in its warehouses than human employees, with more than 1 million machines already deployed across facilities.
Many of these robots handle the heavy lifting in warehouse work, picking items from tall shelves and moving goods around facilities. Others are advanced enough to help humans sort and package orders, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Three-quarters of Amazon’s global deliveries are now assisted by robots in some way, according to the company.
