Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is testing a robot that it hopes will slash in half how long it takes to prepare guacamole.
(Bloomberg) — Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is testing a robot that it hopes will slash in half how long it takes to prepare guacamole.
The “collaborative robot,” dubbed Autocado, will cut, core and peel avocados before they’re hand mashed by the restaurant’s staff. Workers spend an average of 50 minutes to make a batch of guacamole, according to Chipotle.
The restaurant industry is pushing to automate tasks from drive-thru ordering to preparing french fries as companies juggle high demand with a tight labor market and inflation. Chipotle says it’s looking to streamline operations.
“We are committed to exploring collaborative robotics to drive efficiencies and ease pain points for our employees,” said Curt Garner, the company’s chief customer and technology officer.
The restaurant is working with tech outfit Vebu to develop Autocado. Vebu’s team is looking to improve the device’s processing speeds, which could ultimately result in a 50% reduction for guacamole preparation time. Future iterations could include machine learning and sensors to evaluate the quality of avocados.
Guacamole is a popular add-on to Chipotle orders, running at about $2.95 at a Manhattan location. Chipotle’s other automation efforts include Chippy, a robot that makes tortilla chips.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.