Singapore businesses are embracing robotics as they deal with a manpower crunch
With retailers deploying drones and factories using robots, can restaurants be far behind?
Singapore's food and beverage industry is experimenting with unmanned aerial vehicles, aka drones, as it deals with a severe labor crunch that is raising costs for businesses and forcing some to shut down or curtail services.
"The manpower situation's so bad, we're afraid to expand,'' said Edward Chia, managing director of Timbre Group, which has a chain of restaurants and live-music venues on the island. "Technology is going to be a real game changer; robotics is going to be the future.''
Advanced robots can boost productivity by up to 30 percent in some industries and lower total labor costs by a third in South Korea and 25 percent in Japan by 2025, according to a Boston Consulting Group report this week. Robotics are already widely used in Japanese factories, as well as in therapeutic functions and in banks.
Singapore's food and beverage industry is experimenting with unmanned aerial vehicles, aka drones, as it deals with a severe labor crunch that is raising costs for businesses and forcing some to shut down or curtail services.
"The manpower situation's so bad, we're afraid to expand,'' said Edward Chia, managing director of Timbre Group, which has a chain of restaurants and live-music venues on the island. "Technology is going to be a real game changer; robotics is going to be the future.''
Advanced robots can boost productivity by up to 30 percent in some industries and lower total labor costs by a third in South Korea and 25 percent in Japan by 2025, according to a Boston Consulting Group report this week. Robotics are already widely used in Japanese factories, as well as in therapeutic functions and in banks.