Major League Baseball franchise the Los Angeles Dodgers has linked up with Levy, E15 Group and Miso Robotics to trial what it claims is the first robotic kitchen assistant in a North American sports venue at its Dodger Stadium home.
From next month, the robotic assistant will work alongside stadium employees to cook and serve fresh chicken tenders.
The idea behind the initiative is for the robot to take on some of the more time-consuming, repetitive tasks, allowing staff currently working at the stand to take on more strategic guest-focused roles.
Employees will manage the assistant, as well as finish dishes and interact more with fans and guests in attendance.
Levy, which extended its long-term partnership with the Dodgers in December of last year, is currently involved in a strategic partnership with Miso to trial AI and robotic assistants in sports and entertainment venues.
Miso earlier this year rolled out ‘Flippy’, the world’s first autonomous robotic kitchen assistant, and the two companies are seeking to build on this initial launch.
Levy recently took part in Miso’s Series B funding round and the two companies collaborated with E15 and Dodger Stadium employees to expand the skillset of the robotic kitchen assistant.
Tucker Kain, chief financial officer of the dodgers and also managing director of franchise owner Guggenheim Baseball Management, said: “Levy and Miso are doing some very creative things to blend technology and food service, and as a forward-thinking company ourselves, we’re grateful for the opportunity to test and implement it at Dodger Stadium.
“When it comes to our food experience, we’re all for advances that help with quality and speed of service for our fans.”
David Zito, chief executive of Miso, added: “Adapting Flippy into a fryer assistant with the Levy team has been a great opportunity to demonstrate the scale of Miso’s platform.
“Levy, E15, and the Dodgers were the perfect partners; we shared the vision that this technology would be a win-win – improving working conditions for stadium employees and improving the game experience for fans.”
Image: Frederick Dennstedt
