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Kime is a waiter who is usually found behind the bar, preparing and serving drinks, but he is not just another employee. Kime is a humanoid robot designed by Malaga-based Macco Robotics to work in the hospitality industry. "I realised that in the hospitality and catering industry there wasn't much integrated technology, it was all very manual," explained Víctor Martínez, founder of this company, which last June was recognised by the Junta de Andalucía's regional ministry of university, research and innovation. Martínez his team created the first humanoid robot prepared to work in this field. "They can do the same as a human being and, to date, they are on a par, but they are improving as we add new technologies," said Martínez, who sees Kime as a complement to the waiters.
Kime has a human morphology because "it is the best shape" for him to perform different tasks. It currently performs the same functions as a bartender behind the bar, preparing and serving all kinds of drinks: cocktails, beers, coffees... "It has an artificial intelligence system that monitors the amount of liquid it is pouring," said Martínez, who does acknowledge that it is not as fast as a person. "Serving a soft drink has no added value. If a robot does it, the waiter can dedicate himself to other actions such as serving customers or preparing other more elaborate and complex things", explained the founder of Macco Robotics. . In addition, they have a lifespan of twelve years and are directly connected to the network, so they can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week
The robot as a complement to the waiter is the first concept, but there is another. Kime can also be integrated into a kiosk, where it is fully automated and there is no human intervention. "It can prepare any type of drink or ice cream, even serve and dispense any packaged food," said the industrial robotics expert. In addition, he said they are in the process of teaching robots to cook. "The idea is that by next summer, the same robot that serves you a beer will be able to prepare paella, a burger or a pizza," he said.
Kime's services cost 90,000 euros. However, the company has now launched a marketing campaign through a 'renting' system. From 1,500 euros a month you can have access to this technology with maintenance and updates included for five years, at which point the robot is replaced by a new one.
Macco Robotics began its venture in Seville, but moved to Malaga in the wake of the Covid pandemic, where it has its research and development department and is currently looking for a location for a factory. "We want to manufacture ten robots a week, but the goal in two years' time is 100 robots a day," said Martín. For now, they outsource part of the manufacturing process and assemble the robots themselves. "We want to maintain a quality process and reduce costs," he said.
The company currently employs 12 technical staff and two administrative staff. In addition, in January it wants to add a sales and marketing team. "We are pioneers in the world. We are in the top ten of the largest manufacturers of humanoid robots alongside companies like Tesla. There is only one company in the United States that does exactly the same as us, but it is one level below," he said.
The company's customers are concentrated in countries such as Portugal, Holland, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. "We don't have any clients in Spain. We have done a project for Mahou-San Miguel and another for Cervezas Guadalquivir. We want to build onthat," added Martínez. He considers that the Spanish hospitality and catering industry is "very conservative", but is in the process of "opening up" thanks to the young people behind new businesses who are seeing "the value that these humanoid robots bring".
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