Robots Served My Daughter and Her Friends Pizza… and It Was Awesome
By Wayne Cavadi ( Systems Contractor News )
A Southeast entertainment center turns to some friendly droids for guest fun and efficiency.
(Image credit: Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Center)
I recently took my daughter to her friend’s birthday party at Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Center in Woodstock, GA. As we were walking down the ramp to meet the awaiting chaos of elementary school hyperactivity, my daughter tugged on my shirt.
“Look, Daddy, a Star Wars guy!”
Lo and behold, coming at us, then passing us and going down the very same ramp, was a smiling-faced robot delivering pizza to one of the bowling alley lanes. The Pro AV writer in me took over: I left my daughter with the party and headed to the manager’s office to find out more.
Meet BellaBot
(Image credit: Wayne Cavadi)
For the record, it was not the “Star Wars guy” (R2D2), but you can see where an imaginative mind can make the mistake. The robot is called the BellaBot from Pudu Robotics, and these fun little characters joined the Stars and Strikes force this past December. There are two in use at the Woodstock location, and they are currently being used at all 16 locations throughout the Southeast in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.
“We actually initially tested a different robot in a couple locations,” explained Caleb Wisterman, senior regional manager, FOH and bar operations, on how the company landed on the BellaBots. “We saw [at the IAAPA convention] a booth that was set up with the BellaBot and quickly realized that the features they had and what they were able to do were really more on point for what we needed for our buildings.”
Stars and Strikes is a venue built for kids of all ages (parents included, with a sports bar in the middle) that is loaded with fun activities like a bowling alley, video gaming area, laser tag, and bumper cars. What’s more fun than surprising a group of kids with a talking robot that has an array of digital facial expressions and can carry pizza and cake?