KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Local eatery, Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar is taking a step to the future by introducing robot servers.

The robot servers are responsible for sending food and drinks to customers and are programmed to serve up to three tables at one go.

According to the eatery’s owner and managing director, Burhan Mohamed, they introduced the robot servers in March this year.

It was introduced as the robots have proven to be convenient.

The move to use the robot servers was also part of their Covid-19 counter-measures as the robot offers contactless service.

"The idea for the robot was made by our procurement advisor and we’ve agreed to give it a go.”

"We ordered one at first for a trial and it’s proven to be very effective so we’ve decided to order another one for another outlet,” Burhan told Malay Mail adding that the robot servers were currently available at their SS2 and Citta Mall outlets.

Burhan added that they have ordered four more robots which are expected to arrive in the middle of April this year.

Although the robot servers are convenient, they also come with their own set of challenges mainly involving space as the robots take up walking space and not all of their outlets have a large enough walking space.

Also, the robot servers would not be used during peak hours as they could get in the way of customers and other food servers.

"So the space is very important for the robot.”

"Maybe we’ll need to do table rearrangements before introducing it to our other outlets.”

"We need to see that arrangement of tables as the robots cannot operate if the space is too small or on an area with stairs,” Burhan said.

Burhan also said that the robot servers are programmed to deliver food and drinks only and they would not clear up tables due to hygiene purposes.

Since being introduced, the eatery’s robot servers have been receiving positive feedback from their customers.

"The customers love it.”

"It’s easy for them and it’s also safe now that most of the public prefer contactless service due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

"Because last time, before the first movement control order (MCO) we didn’t have any contactless services or even an e-wallet payment system. So, we’ve learned a lot since the last MCO,” Burhan said.

The cost for the robot server is around RM43,000 per unit.

The Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar started out as a stall in a coffee shop in SS2, Petaling Jaya back in 1974 and has grown to become amongst the most popular Penang heritage cuisine restaurants in Klang Valley and Penang.