The idiom “too many cooks in the kitchen” may soon be replaced by “too many robots in the kitchen.” Startup Miso Robotics revealed its robotic kitchen assistant to help introduce more automation in the food services industry.
“According to a McKinsey & Company analysis, 73% of the activities food service workers perform have the potential for automation,” wrote Kyle Wiggers in VentureBeat. “This might seem like cause for alarm, but Miso Robotics, a startup developing automation products for fast-food and quick-service restaurant kitchens, asserts machines can boost productivity by working with humans as opposed to wholly replacing them.”
“To this end, Miso this morning unveiled the Miso Robot on a Rail (ROAR), which it describes as the ‘next generation’ of ‘cost-efficient’ robotic assistant solutions for restaurant chains,” Wiggers added. “It’s basically the evolution of Miso’s previous robot, Flippy, albeit affixed to a movable rail as opposed to a ground-mounted base.”
Per the company description, Miso Robotics “is revolutionizing the restaurant and prepared food industries with innovative robotics and artificial intelligence solutions. Miso was founded with a mission to leverage AI technology to help chefs cook food perfectly and consistently and enable restaurants to increase labor productivity, reduce costs and drive profitability while improving the overall dining experience. Miso employs a respected team of roboticists, engineers and industrial designers from Caltech, Cornell, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Art Center and UNC Chapel Hill.”
Leveraging the Robotics Trade
The robotics space is certainly in a push-pull dichotomy of investors capitalizing on the latest in disruptive technology, while at the same time, getting push back from those threatened by the wider adoption of robots. The fears are warranted given that robotics technology has the capacity to supplant human jobs.
It’s a contentious topic given that in the business world, it’s either adapt or die, but nonetheless, traders looking to leverage the rise of robotics can look at the Robotics & AI Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: UBOT).
Key characteristics of UBOT:
- The Indxx Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index (IBOTZNT) is designed to provide exposure to exchange-listed companies in developed markets that are expected to benefit from the adoption and utilization of robotics and/or artificial intelligence, including companies involved in developing industrial robots and production systems, automated inventory management, unmanned vehicles, voice/image/text recognition, and medical robots or robotic instruments, as determined by the index provider, Indxx.
- Companies must have a minimum market capitalization of $100 million and a minimum average daily turnover for the last 6 months greater than, or equal to, $2 million in order to be eligible for inclusion in the Index.
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