SUBWAY has introduced a smart AI fridge that serves ‘grab-and-go’ sandwiches – and also records customers’ conversations.
Fast-food franchise Subway has launched its first AI-powered fridge on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
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The smart fridge features weight-sensitive shelves that tell the fridge what to charge you.
It also comes equipped with a UV-C light that cleans the machine after each use.
Most notably, perhaps, the fridge is powered by an artificial intelligence program with language recognition software.
Meaning, the fridge listens to and records what customers are saying when they are using it.
Guests can also talk directly to the smart fridge and ask about any of the products inside, per a press release that came out yesterday.
However, the concept fridge has faced some criticism from experts who believe it may be violating users’ privacy.
“We don’t exactly know when or if the microphone switches off or on,” Kevin Hurler writes for Gizmodo.
Hurler added we also don’t know what Subway is doing with any recordings they may be collecting.
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The Sun has reached out to Subway for comment but has not heard back at the time of publishing.
In the press release, Subway said that the fridge has been well-received by college students.
“Subway Grab & Go has quickly gained traction as consumers are drawn to sandwiches made fresh daily from a brand they know and love, versus competitor items that rely on a 14-day plus shelf life,” said Karla Martinez, director of innovation for non-traditional development in the press release.
“As Subway continues to expand off-premises concepts, guests can expect to find Subway Grab & Go and smart fridges in more convenient everyday places like airports, college campuses, and hospitals.”
The race to the future
Subway isn’t the first fast-food restaurant to foray into the world of technology and AI.
Restaurants like Chipotle, Wing Zone, Dennys, and White Castle have already begun investing in the field.
In fact, at two Denny’s in Pennsylvania, robots have taken over the role of servers.
Earlier this year, a robot that can learn recipes was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, per Food Management.
The bot could also recreate its learned recipes in restaurants via sensors that are attached to kitchen utensils.
AI bots only need 48 hours to learn how to make the food and then can easily reproduce the dish, the outlet noted.
Meanwhile, fast food giant McDonald’s revealed earlier this year that it was headed into the metaverse – or a social VR platform.
