Service robots malfunction at restaurants in California and Texas
A humanoid service robot malfunctioned at a California hot pot restaurant, flailing its arms and breaking dishware, while another robot server in Texas spun erratically after being placed back in service following a reset. Both incidents raised concerns about robot safety and reliability in restaurant environments.
What happened
A humanoid AgiBot X2 robot at a hot pot restaurant in Cupertino, California, began moving erratically and swinging its arms unpredictably, breaking plates and scattering chopsticks. At least three employees were required to physically restrain the machine while another employee appeared to attempt control via an application.
A robot server at Sergio's Restaurant in Houston, Texas, malfunctioned by spinning in circles, ignoring commands, and rattling customers. The restaurant reset the software and returned the robot to service after the incident.
Reported impact
In the California incident, the robot's uncontrolled movements created risk of knocking over containers of boiling broth, posing burn risks to nearby customers and potential blunt-force injuries to diners and staff due to the nature of hot pot dining involving extremely hot soup served at tables.
In the Texas incident, diners moved their chairs in response to the malfunctioning robot and expressed visible discomfort, with some laughing at the spectacle.
Index analysis
The California restaurant attributed the incident to the robot being brought closer to a dining table at a guest's request, which is not its typical operating setting, and stated that limited space affected its movement during the performance.
Reports indicate increasing regularity of robot server malfunctions as deployment scales up, with some robots stopping dead in narrow aisles during rush hours, and sensor errors causing units to approach wrong tables or fail to detect small children and pets at floor level.
Governance controls
The incident raised concerns about staff knowledge of how to operate an emergency kill switch for the robot, if one existed, with employees' apparent difficulty in shutting down the machine suggesting a possible gap in training or emergency procedures.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.