A new cafe has opened up in Tokyo, Japan in which robots take orders and deliver coffee to the table. What’s remarkable is that these robots are controlled remotely by severely disabled people.
Technology can certainly deliver surprises, and in this case it is the fact that robots are giving jobs to disabled people rather than taking jobs from everyone else.
The robots can be controlled using joysticks, eye trackers, blow tubes, and other devices commonly used to operate wheelchairs and computers.
The cafe is a temporary project for now, but it is hoped that it will be a catalyst for raising enough money to launch a full time cafe. That cafe could one day employ dozens of disabled people that wouldn’t have to leave the house to be and feel as productive members of society.
Here’s a video from the opening ceremony:
The following promo video gives a glimpse of how the concept works:
And here’s a more realistic demonstration of how the operator controls the robot:
Link: Ory product info page…