Why is it taking so long for robots to replace coffee shop workers?

submitted by trident765 from self.nonmorons

The technology exists. For example, look at this robotic arm that makes lattes:

https://cafexapp.com/

They sell for $200,000 each. I'm sure a big corporation can make something similar for cheaper.

I don't understand why Starbuck's doesn't just get robotic arms like this to make their lattes.

For McDonald's it's more understandable because you need some fine motor skills for unpacking meat, and being careful not to use too much force to crush the meat or bun, which I am not sure robots are advanced enough to do. But for coffee shops I have no idea why they don't just mass lay off their workers and replace them with robots.

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[–]trident765[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

I think I found the answer to my question. Here is a link from their website which shows the costs:

https://www.calconic.com/calculator-widgets/cafex-calculator/5f4c7b2cd38e1a001e61c269

Based on this, it looks like even if you ignore what it costs to buy one of these, it costs around $2800/month to run this. Might as well hire a worker. I wonder if human labor is more efficient than society makes it out to be.

[–]trident765[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Another thing to keep in mind: Even if a robot is cheaper to run, this does not mean the robot is intrinsically more efficient. One thing that may be inflating the cost of human laborers is that there are laws protecting them from being enslaved, whereas there are no such laws protecting robots. The cost of feeding and housing a slave is the true cost of human labor.