Commercial robot developer Pudu Robotics has announced a team of its robots is now operational at several McDonald’s locations in Slovenia.
The Chinese robotics company has partnered with firms across multiple industries to grow its presence in Poland, the Netherlands, the UK and other European countries.
Its robots are designed to suit a variety of applications, including those in gas stations, retail electronics outlets, restaurants, hotels and more.
At the end of 2021, McDonald’s Slovenia began deploying Pudu’s BellaBot robots into the workforce, to support staff as well as the delivery and service of food, among other duties.
A video of BellaBot delivering food at McDonald’s has reached millions of views on social media app TikTok.
According to Pudu, the pandemic has led to shifts in consumer demands for the global restaurant industry, especially concerning delivery and sanitation.
It was with these concerns in mind that McDonald’s Slovenia adopted AI-powered food delivery robots.
In addition to reported cost savings and improved efficiency, bringing on the robots reduces person-to-person interaction and risks of transmission.
BellaBot has also been featured in several of the Slovenian government’s tourism campaigns.
Since the start of 2022, Pudu Robotics has signed agreements with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Jordan, Metro Group’s Media Markt, Japan’s Skylark Group and Shell Poland.
To date, Pudu Robotics claims to have shipped more than 40,000 robots globally.
The company also plans to grow its presence from serving food to cleaning, disinfection and building services as part of its ambition to develop robots that increase human productivity and improve quality of life based on consumer needs.
