Thanks, I didn't think the uwink droid was blood related to the "Robot Kitchen" story out of Hong Kong, but it was the only electronic waiter I could find for the role at the time;) Truth be told, I did an image search on Google and uwink was the only robotic-looking candidate that I could find.
In locations where it's permissible I could easily see how gaming could be a hit. For instance, in some restaurants and lounges in NY City a wall screne is constantly playing out numbers akin to Lotto. I think something like that could easily be adapted to uwink's brain. The list of gambling oriented games could be endless. BTW, is one supposed to tip these guys, and if so, what percentage do they get? Kibitzing aside, this is a little spooky. Just to stay on the safe side, one should always keep in mind Isaac Azimov's Three Laws of Robotics when designing this sort of thing:
In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which most robots appearing in his fiction must obey. Introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", the Laws state the following:
1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
from: en.wikipedia.org
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Late edit: I returned to my original post and much to my chagrin found that the link doesn't play through - at least it doesn't for me at this point. It was from the Mail&Guardian daily of S. Africa. I'll cut and paste the article below:
mg.co.za
Hong Kong restaurant boasts robot staff
Mark McCord | Hong Kong
25 October 2006 11:59
With a whir and a flash of lights, a robot whizzes to the restaurant table and takes a customer's order, while a second races to another table to deliver plates of steaming food.
This isn't a scene from a science-fiction novel. Rather, it's the daily routine at a new diner in a suburban Hong Kong shopping centre.
Robot Kitchen opened in July to cash in on the city's love affair with gadgets, claiming to be the world's first eatery staffed by machines.
"We thought robots would be a good gimmick," said Peter Chow, who built the automatons working at the diner. "Now they have caught on, we are having to upgrade and update them."
At the moment the diner has just two robots -- Robo Waiter 1 and 2 -- neither of which resemble the human-like robots one sees in the movies.
Robo Waiter 1, for instance, is a crudely designed box on wheels covered in shiny paper and with an illuminated bulb to represent a head.
The computer inside can recognise voice patterns, take meal orders and send them by infrared to the cooks in the kitchen. It is steered by a video camera, which detects objects in its way and guides the robot around them.
Robo Waiter 2 is much the same, but has a tray for carrying food.
A third robot, still in production, will be no more than an articulated electronic arm that can do simple manoeuvres such as flip burgers and prepare omelettes.
Due to the robots' limited abilities, the restaurant has had to hire extra staff to take up the slack and do the actual cooking. "They definitely aren't labour-saving devices," said Chow. "In fact, we need more staff than normal to keep the machines going."
Chow makes no apologies for the machines' apparent lack of sophistication. "Many people think robotics have come a long way -- they have in research -- but the commercially available robots are still pretty basic," he said.
Adding to the ambience, meals are given themed, if somewhat clumsy, names in the menu -- a ham and pineapple pizza, for instance, is rechristened "Robot Energetic Pizza" -- and the floor is strewn with toy robots that variously dance and sing or attack customers as they enter.
Former Nasa robotics expert Mark Tilden, the creator of the hugely popular Robosapien toy robot, said he admires anyone who tries to make a business out of robots, but warned the going will be tough.
"The problem is that there is a gulf between the technology and people's expectations," Tilden said from his office at Hong Kong-based Wow Wee Toys. "The technology is there to get robots to do very complicated tasks, but the problem is the people; they expect robots to do so much more than people can do.
"Whenever robots have been put to use in public places, they have been popular for as long as it takes for people to be bored by their narrow functions."
In Robot Kitchen, that day is still far off for two regular young visitors.
"It's like being in Star Wars," said 10-year-old Joey Loh, as he tucked into a special dish billed on the menu as "Robot Protecting the Earth" -- otherwise known as pork ribs and sausage.
"It's exciting and high-tech," agreed his friend Leung Wai-man, also 10. "I feel like I have travelled in time to the future." -- AFP
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