World's first AI-powered restaurant soon opening doors in Pasadena

Pasadena will soon be home to the world's first fully-autonomous and artificial intelligence powered restaurant, which plans to open its doors in the coming weeks.

The restaurant, called CaliExpress, is powered by technology from Miso Robotics, the creators of Flippy, the world's first AI-powered robotic fry station, and PopID, a technology company that simplifies ordering through biometrics. It can be found at 561 E. Green Street near Madison Avenue. 

"To our knowledge, this is the world's first operating restaurant where both ordering and every single cooking process are fully automated," said John Miller, CEO of PopID and board member of Miso Robotics. "The marriage of these various technologies to create the most autonomous restaurant in the world is the culmination of years of research, development, and investment in a family of revolutionary companies."

The CaliExpress kitchen utilizes the most advanced systems in food technology with fully automated grill and fry stations, powered by the leading-edge technology in AI and robotics, Miso Robotics said. 

The process begins when customers enter the restaurant and order their food from the self-ordering kiosks with their PopID accounts. They can then watch as the grill robot "grinds the high quality beef in real-time after the order is placed, resulting in a burger patty that melts in the mouth."

At the same time, Flippy "will serve up crispy, hot fries made from top grade potatoes that are always cooked to exact times."

CaliExpress offers a simple menu, consisting of a hamburger, cheeseburger or lettuce wrap accompanied by fries and a drink. 

"AI-powered, robotic order-taking and cooking enables the major chains that feed America to substantially improve quality, consistency and speed," said Rich Hull, CEO of Miso Robotics. "Miso is proud to partner with Cali Group and PopID to make CaliExpress by Flippy a reality. Flippy has been an incredible success story and now everyone in Southern California can come take a look — and a taste — for themselves."

Cali Group, the holding company behind CaliExpress, says that the process creates an even safer kitchen for employees. They say that Flippy represents a revolutionary safety breakthrough as both slippage and burns are all but eliminated, on top of waste reduction or both food and oil used during the process. 

"The CaliExpress by Flippy kitchen can be run by a much smaller crew, in a less stressful environment, than competing restaurants — while also providing above average wages," the group said. 

Additionally, the location acts as a "pseudo-museum" that shows the Flippy timeline, including robotic arms once used on since retired Flippy models, photographic displays and 3-D printed artifacts from past development, amongst other displays. 

The group encourages local schools to reach out for tours as they look to inspire the future in AI and automation development. 

Guests can make reservations for the restaurant on their website.