Odisha’s First Robot Restaurant Opens in Bhubaneswar

A Bhubaneswar restaurant has thrown open its doors as the first dining joint in Odisha where customers are served by robots. The two humanoid servers, named ‘Champa’ and ‘Chameli’, can be found at Robo Chef, in the DLF Cyber City area, and are the first indigenously-developed robot servers in India. In other robot restaurants in cities like Chennai and Bengaluru, the robots have been sourced from China.  

#WATCH: Robo Chef, a first of its kind restaurant in Bhubaneswar, has robots to serve food to the customers. The restaurant currently has two robots. #Odisha pic.twitter.com/OHfdjDlybM

— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2019

Champa and Chameli reportedly wish guests, take orders and serve food, thereby completely eliminating the need for waiters. Post serving customers, the robots have been programmed to enquire ‘apana mane khusi ta?’, or ‘are you happy?’ in Odia. Developed using SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) technology, the pair do not need any guided paths or decor modifications to their job. Instead, they create a map based on radar (similar to Sherlock’s mind palace, it seems!) of their immediate surroundings and then orient themselves accordingly. 

After a full charge (which takes around 30 minutes), they are operational for eight hours and can lift up to 20 kilograms. Equipped with 17 sensors, Champa and Chameli can sense the environment, heat and smoke, and even identify visitors. Jeet Basha, the owner of Robo Chef, says he was inspired by robo-dining joints in the United States, and wanted to recreate the novelty in Bhubaneswar, a smart city and growing IT hub. 

Address: Robo Chef, 125, Chandaka Industrial Estate, DLF Cyber City, Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024. Open on all days, with varied timings: Monday to Friday from 12-3pm and 7-9.30pm; Saturdays from 12-5pm and 6-10pm; and Sundays from 12-3.45pm and 7-10pm. Timings may differ on holidays.