Robot Bartenders and Automated Cafeterias Take Over Beijing Olympics
China uses the 2022 Winter Olympics to showcase charming, automated robots that mix drinks, flip burgers, and enforce COVID-19 mask protocols in Beijing.
Robots are taking over the 2022 Beijing Olympics, serving as bartenders, burger flippers, and friendly mask enforcers throughout the event. China uses these machines to minimize human-to-human contact during the pandemic while putting a cheerful face on advanced automation. Thankfully for humanity, the robot-prepared burgers are not very good.
The automated workforce features cute, R2-D2-style machines that roll through hotel lobbies spraying disinfectant and scold visitors in the media center to fix their masks. Unlike intimidating robotic dogs, these units feature painted-on smiles and cheerful designs. However, their adorable appearance hides their true capability to constantly film and track everyone around them.
In the Main Media Center cafeteria, a complex system of ceiling tracks delivers covered dishes directly to diners' tables. Large mechanical arms flip baskets of hot fries and assemble burgers on conveyor belts right before the eyes of thousands of journalists. This highly visible automation serves as a savvy centerpiece for the Games, offering an irresistible soft-focus story for the international press.