Chipotle unveiled two robots that can perform tasks typically completed by human workers amid rising labor costs.

“Chipotle Mexican Grill announced today Autocado, its avocado processing cobotic prototype developed in partnership with Vebu that cuts, cores, and peels avocados before they are hand mashed to create the restaurant’s signature guacamole, and the Augmented Makeline, a cobotic makeline built in collaboration with Hyphen, are being tested in Chipotle restaurants for the first time,” the company announced.

“Autocado is currently operating at Chipotle’s Huntington Beach, Calif. location at 20972 Magnolia St and the Augmented Makeline is being utilized at the company’s Corona del Mar (CDM), Calif. location at 3050 East Coast Hwy,” it added.

With recent legislation in the state bumping the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour, it’s little surprise Chipotle debuted the robots in California.

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Daily Mail reports:

The controversial wage hike – $4 more than the minimum wage in the state for any other job – was introduced by California Governor Gavin Newsom at chains with more than 60 locations in the US, and came into effect on April 1.

Chains including Burger King have already ramped up the roll out of digital ordering kiosks to cut the number of cashiers needed in Californian restaurants.

It is not yet clear how the production costs of using Chipotle’s new machines compares to human labor when making Chipotle menu items.

It is also not yet apparent how many items the digital assembly line can make per hour compared to staff.

However, Chipotle argued that using the machines was not just about ‘efficiencies’ but also about the consistency of its menu items.

“These cobotic devices could help us build a stronger operational engine that delivers a great experience for our team members and our guests while maintaining Chipotle’s high culinary standards,” said Curt Garner, Chief Customer and Technology Officer.

“Optimizing our use of these systems and incorporating crew and customer feedback are the next steps in the stage-gate process before determining their broader pilot plans,” Garner added.

From the New York Post:

Many restaurant chains have in recent years rolled out technology that reduces the need for cashiers, such as self-service kiosks. Other California-based chains, Sweetgreen and Jack-in-the-Box, have also invested in private tech startups pitching a vision of burgers, fries and salad bowls made in large part by robots.

However, generally fast-food workers juggle other tasks like greeting customers, sweeping the floor and retrieving supplies from a backroom — which most robots cannot handle, currently.

Chipotle, which had revenue of nearly $9.9 billion last year, has not connected automation to the state’s wage hike. It has said employees who work with the automated bowl-and-salad maker will continue to make burritos and tacos, add side items and monitor the machines’ quality.

The automated bowl-and-salad maker, which Chipotle calls its “augmented makeline,” automatically dispenses rice, corn, lettuce and other ingredient into a bowl beneath the counter. Chipotle said 65% of all digital orders are bowls and salads.

 

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