White Castle's robot, Flippy, expedites cooking process

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White Castle's newest employee, Flippy, cooks your burgers to perfection and serves up fries with the most splendid crisp for every single order.

Flippy gets it right each time, well, because it's a robot. At 100 White Castle locations nationwide, restaurant guests can see Flippy in action, helping its human colleagues with the cooking and expediting the process.

"Flippy will drop everything into the fryer and then at the perfect time, take everything out, give it a little shake and put it into the area for the packaging for the team members," White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson told "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy on Thursday.

Last February, America's first fast-food hamburger chain announced plans to expand its use of Miso Robotics’ "Flippy 2" technology. After putting Flippy to work, White Castle saw a positive impact on daily operations and productivity of team members, according to a press release.

The robot, which has more than 120 configurations built into its technology and costs approximately $3,000 per month, utilizes an AutoBin system for lower volume and specialty foods like onion rings or chicken tenders. Each bin can hold as much as a full fry basket, be customized for a kitchen's specific needs and be delineated for individual products like vegetables and fish to prevent cross-contamination.

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"For us, it's around [sic] helping our team members and being empowering," Richardson explained. "Nobody wants to use the ‘p’ word, but the pandemic was a kick in the knees for all of us. Our team members are on the front lines every day. Giving them more tools to help serve our customers hot and tasty food is what it's all about for us."

A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association found that as of December, 65% of restaurant owners report hiring difficulties as their biggest challenge in the industry. Even Richardson admitted it's been "hard" to recruit new employees since the pandemic.