0:29Alphonso the AI robot has been helping serve customers in a Brandon cafe and restaurant
An AI robot waiter named Alphonso is delighting a cafe’s customers while helping staff, according to its manager.
No. 30 Coffee Lounge in Brandon, Suffolk, recently welcomed Alphonso that has the capability of serving and interacting with customers.
Manager Nicki Plume said it had become the talk of her customers and the robot had been “very helpful”.
She stressed however he was not there to replace staff.
“It’s just helpful for the girls during the day and we open in evenings as an Italian restaurant, so it’s helpful to bring the food over, clearing the tables,” she explained.
“He’s not going to replace anyone, he’s just helping.
“The kids really like him… we were the talk of the old people’s home as well they were talking about him down there, so we’ve had lots of old people come in and ask to be served by Alphonso.”
Other restaurants across the country are using similar robots, which can in some cases cost about £18,500 to buy.
It is not just robots changing our High Streets however, as even more technology influences consumer habits and experiences.
Digital Ipswich Innovation Showcase has been taking place, showing how technology can “revitalise” town centres through artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
James Lee Burgess, 51, is the founder of Urban Tech Creative and attended the event to give visitors the chance to experience a ‘phygital’ – physical and digital – retail experience through headsets.
“The idea is we have digital content for brands that can be provided anywhere or any place using [an empty shelf] as a backdrop.”
He likened it to “an infinite shop front” enabling a number of brands to show their products through the headsets.
Also at the Ipswich event was Nana Parry, 38, co-founder of Cluso.
It is a tool that makes it easier for the public to give feedback on consumer experiences through voice note recordings, which he believed could improve Ipswich.
“One of the great things about Ipswich is everything in terms of regeneration,” he said.
“So we know that it’s really important to get people back into the towns, experiencing the High Street.
“One of the ways of doing that is by using Cluso, getting the public to share exactly what they want from these experiences.”
Jack Norris, 35, is director of Zubr, offering people the chance to experience AR and VR through digital binoculars.
It was being used at the Ipswich event to show what the town’s waterfront may have looked like during the 1890s.
He believed the technology could become “street furniture”, giving visitors looks into the past.
“The very familiar looking nature of it also appeals to older people who perhaps would never install a 3D app on a phone.
“They’ll just come and have a look through it thinking they might see the real world and being surprised hopefully impressed by seeing our historical visuals instead.”
