Chipotle pilots in-store robots that help with kitchen prep work
Chipotle Mexican Grill has moved its testing of two robotic kitchen assistants from the lab to real life in-store pilots.
The fast-casual restaurant giant has been testing an automate avocado processing prototype (known as "Autocado") and an artificial intelligence-based automated digital makeline in its lab since last year. It is now live-testing the devices (which Chipotle refers to as "cobats," or collaborative robots) in restaurants for the first time.
Autocado, which Chipotle developed in partnership with Vebu, cuts, cores and peels avocados before they are hand mashed to create the restaurant’s signature guacamole. It is currently operating at a Chipotle store in Huntington Beach, Calif.
On average, it takes Autocado approximately 26 seconds to fully flesh out the fruit inside an avocado. The current iteration of the bot features an updated design and size-agnostic avocado processing abilities, meaning that the machine recognizes variability in the fruit and automatically adjusts itself to accommodate the size of the avocados being loaded.
Augmented Makeline, created in collaboration with foodservice platform Hypen, creates bowls and salads and then moves the entrées through the bottom production line, where ingredients for the order are dispensed automatically. In tandem, a Chipotle associate can leverage the top makeline to create burritos, tacos, quesadillas and kid's meals for the same digital order. According to Chipotle, approximately 65% of its digital orders include bowls and/or salads.
Chipotle is piloting Augmented Makeline at its restaurant in Corona del Mar, Calif. The company has also made unspecified investments in Vebu and Hyphen as part of Cultivate Next, its $50 million venture fund.
[READ MORE: Chipotle launches $50 million venture fund to foster innovation]
"These robotic 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, Chipotle's 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."
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. operates more than 3,500 restaurants as of June 30, 2024, in the United States, Canada, U.K., France, Germany and Kuwait, and it is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe.
