From the rubble of Iraq’s war-ravaged city of Mosul arises the sight of androids gliding back and forth in a restaurant to serve their amused clientele.
“Welcome,” “We wish you a good time in our restaurant,” “We would be happy to have your opinion on the quality of the service,” chime the automated attendants, red eyes blinking out of their shiny blue and white exteriors.
“On television, you see robots and touchscreen tables in the United Arab Emirates, Spain and Japan,” said Rami Chkib Abdelrahman, proud owner of the White Fox, which opened in June.
Photo: AFP
“I’m trying to bring these ideas here to Mosul,” Abdelrahman said.
The futuristic servers are the result of technology developed in the northern city, once the stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) group.
“We saw the concept on social media in more than one restaurant,” said Abdelrahman, a dentist by profession.
Photo: AFP
Occupied by IS from 2014 to 2017, the northern metropolis of Mosul still bears the scars of war.
However, at dinnertime, patrons of the restaurant — which is packed every night — can escape from the city on a voyage through space.
An astronaut floating in a mural spanning the wall sets the scene, while views of Earth and other planets as seen from space give customers the sense of peering out through the portholes of a spaceship.
The ceilings are speckled with glowing constellations.
However, the star attractions remain the two androids, sporting a scarf and black beret, shuttling back and forth across the restaurant on rails to deliver orders.
As they approach, smartphones come out and children promptly line up next to them for a souvenir snapshot.
The robots are imported, Abdelrahman said, without giving the source.
Everything in the restaurant is digital, including the 15 touch-screen tables with built-in menus, he added.
A team from the University of Mosul’s department of mechatronics — integrating several fields of engineering, as well as robotics — was in charge of programming and connected a network and server to the restaurant.
However, humans have not been completely replaced by machines, as four young waiters are busy picking up the dishes from the robots’ trays and placing them on the tables.
Having dinner with his wife, Bashar Mahmud was won over. He took a selfie, smiling broadly.
“I’ve traveled abroad and I’ve never seen anything like this, not in Turkey, Jordan or Saudi Arabia,” the 50-year-old blacksmith with a salt-and-pepper beard said.
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