Summary
A São Paulo bakery adopts robot servers to optimize service and compensate for labor shortages, combining technology and human interaction, reflecting a global trend of increasing automation.
Server robots are very popular with customers of São Paulo bakeries:
They move around the room calmly, precisely and politely. “Excuse me, could you let me pass, please. I have to pass,” asks the youngest member of the family. Currently there are three: Virgulino, Virgulina and Virgulino Júnior. Sometimes they stack dishes to be washed, sometimes they transport customer orders. In this era, control panels replaced function lists with digital smiles. After all, usability is a prerequisite for a good server — even if it’s made up of circuits and sensors.
In operation since September, the robot servers are causing a sensation in the Villa Grano bakery, in Vila Clementino, in the southern area of São Paulo. “I had the experience of seeing the robot, I invited other people to see it too, I found it cute and interesting,” said Priscila Kaji, 39, a customer and university professor, accompanied by her friend Aridiane Ribeiro, 37, also a professor. “It’s the first time I’ve come here. I even came to see the bakery and the service provided by the robot,” admitted Aridiane. “We were served by the nice lady who welcomed us here, one person, and then the robot came to bring us our order. I think the complement of the two is really cool.”
Server robots, the solution
Luis Pereira Ferreira, owner and manager of the bakery, doesn’t hide his smile either. Indeed, in addition to the free and organic media provided by the Virgulino family, the businessman saw in automation a way out of the lack of labor he has been facing since the Covid-19 pandemic. “We have 20 vacant positions in our store, in all sectors, bakery, confectionery, service, kitchen, valet, and we cannot (fill them),” he detailed.
While talking with a friend who imports technology from China, Ferreira learned about the robots initially used in hospitals. He agreed to do a test with one of them. “I loved it, the employees loved it. Today there are three of us,” Ferreira celebrated.
According to Ferreira, the intention to automate part of the service was to clean the tables: “Then when I found myself on the second day, the attendants were already sending the products to the customers. I said, ‘Man, but it was just up to us to do the collection.’ “Ah, sir, but it’s so simple, isn’t it? And then they started sending it to the tables.
The businessman adds that each robot waiter can serve four different tables. “It is equipped with sensors: as soon as the person removes the product from the tray, they realize that they have taken the product, thank them and move on to the next one in order.” Last month, for example, one of Virgulino’s traveled 37 km to the bakery, with a total of 184,000 deliveries. “He’s the one who works the most,” jokes the manager.
Robot server vs human servers
Despite enthusiasm for technology, Ferreira believes that a machine will never replace humans. “In all sectors, we need human service. We like it, people have to be served, people have to be there,” he explains. “Yes, the robot complements our workforce and helps our employees. »
Elizabete Delmondes, 50 years old, is an example of the importance of the human factor in customer relations. After all, the “nice” employee mentioned at the beginning of the article also received the Terra report with esteem and is full of praise for the new salon companions: “Since we are short of staff, they help us a lot. While he takes the dishes to the sink, I go to another service. Instead of two or three times at the table, I do this process in one go.”
To emphasize the human importance, Ferreira also recalls: “We had 20 vacancies before the robot, we continue to have the same vacancies and hiring. And, whoever wants to work, we have vacancies here”, he announces.
Robots in human roles, a trend
By 2050, we will see around 1 billion humanoid robots filling roles previously held by humans. At least that’s what a 2025 report published by the global financial institution Morgan Stanley underlines.
Approximately 90% of this technology will be used for repetitive, simple or structured work in commercial and industrial areas. “Adoption should be relatively slow until the mid-2030s, accelerating towards the end and into the 2040s,” projects Adam Jonas, head of global research on automobiles and shared mobility at Morgan Stanley, in a text published on the institution’s website.
The humanoid robot market is estimated to generate US$5 trillion by 2050 (equivalent to R$27.295 trillion, at current prices). This includes associated supply chains, repair, maintenance and support, such as that carried out in the Virgulino family by the IT assistant, Mateus Oliveira, 25, who works in the company responsible for installing and maintaining the server robots. “I map the store, the tables mentioned, where the robot understands that it will bring the meals to the customers, also the return of the dishes, so that it can take the dirty plates, the glasses, etc.,” he explains.
This is Oliveira’s first time working with robots, and he didn’t hesitate much to accept the proposal: “Today we have an increasing number of requests for robots. This technology helps the team in the trades, adds and gives this strength,” he concludes.
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