Robot waitress from Japan delivers smiles in war-torn Afghanistan
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Afghanistan's first-ever robot waitress glides up to a table of curious diners in central Kabul and presents them with a bowl of French fries.
"Thank you quite definitely," the device says in Dari, one of Afghanistan's two main languages.
Restaurant manager Mohammad Rafi Shirzad says the humanoid robot, imported from Japan and made to look vaguely such as a women wearing a hijab, has already pulled in clients because it started working last month.
"It is interesting for many people here to visit a robot in true to life," he said. "Sometimes kids jump in joy and surprise if they see the robot bring them food."
While robots are becoming increasingly commonplace in Japan and China, they aren't unusual in conflict-wracked Afghanistan.
After decades of war which has left a lot of the country's infrastructure in ruins, the sight of a battery-powered waitress has provided some light relief in Kabul.
Nine-year-old Ahmad Zaki was desperate to start to see the machine.
"I saw the robot on TV, and asked my father to take me to the restaurant," he said.
Named "Timea" and measuring about 150 centimeters high, the robot performs only rudimentary tasks. It provides plates to tables, which diners then take from a tray, and will say basic phrases including "Happy Birthday".
In addition, it can stop as it pertains across an obstacle, and customers can place orders with a touch panel.
But the story isn't without controversy. Some Afghans see Timea as a threat to the country's dire unemployment situation.
"That is ridiculously wrong," Facebook user Kashif Abobaker wrote. "They hire a robot whenever there are thousands of young people desperately buying a job."
Source: https://japantoday.com