Robotic servers spotted at Austin Chick-fil-A

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Chick-fil-A is rolling out a new kind of hospitality in at least one of its Austin restaurants.

A KXAN viewer shared footage of a robot server delivering meals to guests at a Chick-fil-A location near southwest Austin and Dripping Springs. And it's not the first time the beloved fast food chain has employed robot technology.

Atlanta's WSB Radio reported robot server use at an area location back in October. In a statement, a Chick-fil-A representative told WSB Radio “the robots are being piloted as a helping hand to assist Team Members with serving guests in the dining room." They added the technology was being tested at a small number of locations at that time.

Chick-fil-A previously introduced robot technology in the Texas capital with the rollout of autonomous delivery robots last year. The self-driving vehicles first appeared at two downtown Austin locations as a means of providing energy-efficient meal deliveries.

The delivery robots use artificial intelligence and depth-perception cameras to navigate area traffic, traveling up to 15 miles per hour.

The robot server technology spotted at the southwest Austin location was created by American Robotech, a Plano-based company that specializes in commercial service robots.

KXAN reached out to Chick-fil-A to see how many area locations feature the robotic server technology. We will update this story once a response is received.