'Made in Vietnam' robot is serving coffee in Hanoi

Morta moves automatically, brings drinks to customers, avoids obstacles on the way and says some simple sentences.

The robot has a nameMorta is 1.3m tall and weighs 20kg. He is a waiter at a cafe on Lac Trung Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi.

It can be automatedmove and bring drinks, pastries to the programmed table number. The system will make a voice: "M"Please pick up your items" upon arrival and "MPlease make way" when encountering an obstacle.Employees just need to put items on the tray, choose a table and do not have to do anything during the robot's operation.After delivering the items to the customer, Morta will return to its original position. Its moving speed is slower than a normal human's walking speed, but still acceptable according to customers. However, it needs to use a special cup with a moderate height and a base that fits the two concave positions on the tray to avoid shaking and shaking when moving.

Morta robot serves coffee.

Morta is a robot manufactured in Vietnam. According to engineer Do Trung Thanh, a member of the Morta production team, the robot consists of two main parts: the operating block and the control block. The energy that powers the operating block is a self-assembled 42V battery pack, with its own protection circuit, ensuring the device operates continuously for 15 hours and can be fully charged after 6-8 hours. The control part is an Android tablet that has been programmed with its own software.

Morta moves on two omnidirectional wheels and one balancing wheel, both of which are specialized in robot design. The floor of the shop is marked with aluminum tape, which helps its magnetic sensors recognize the correct direction to each table. Ultrasonic sensors detect obstacles. If it collides with a vehicle and deviates from its path, the system will control the robot to return to its original position.

The Morta's frame was originally created using 3D printing, however, due to the lack of durability, it was switched tocomposite plasticAs for the appearance, the design team had to refer to foreign robots, toy models and even cartoon characters before drawing the new product themselves. The team also had to experiment many times to determine the appropriate height for the robot, so that visitors to the shop could see the face (display screen) as well as reach for items easily while sitting.

"The most time-consuming part was finding a way to form the mold and modify and test it. With a small-sized model, we had no problems, but when it came to actual production, we had to change and upgrade the sensors, the connection between the Android programming and the operating block, as well as the ability to display the face with four expressions on the screen," Trung Thanh said.

Morta costs more than 100 million VND to produce. However, Thanh said the high cost is because this is the first experimental product, and the materials are all purchased individually. If the scale is from a few dozen to 100, a robot like this will cost no more than 30 million VND each.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Phi, who came up with the idea of ​​this cafe with robot waiters, said he was inspired by a similar model in Japan. However, when applying it in Vietnam, he wanted to produce it himself, not import it because he was concerned about warranty issues as well as the ease of upgrading and improving it later. The idea and preparation started in March 2017 and the robot was completed after 9 months.Phi said he has registered the copyright for the brand and model of using this serving robot.

"In Vietnam, many people can make such a robot but no one puts it into business. Maybe it's due to cost issues, the ability to complete it, lack of ideas to apply it and lack of confidence," said a manager here.

For a normal cafe, a shift would require 5-6 employees. But with Morta, Robo Cafe only needs 2-3 people in a shift.

Service robot priced at 100 million VND first appeared in Hanoi

Morta's appearance has brought excitement to customers coming to the restaurant. The feedback here is quite good and most of them are interested in this special waiter. "At first I just thought it was a display, but when the robot started moving and bringing food, I was completely surprised," said one customer.

In the near future, Thanh and Phi plan to improve Morta with new functions such as using Wi-Fi connection instead of Bluetooth as it is now. In addition, it is possible to add movable joints so that the robot can move its arms and head, program the device to interact more friendly with customers, and even communicate by voice.

According to VNE