Dancing robot performance goes awry, sending plates and chopsticks flying in hot pot restaurant

Highly dexterous robots performing choreographed dances often draw attention for what their capabilities could mean in more serious contexts, from combat to emergency response.

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But in everyday settings, serving robots and other automated helpers have become a familiar sight for many diners.

At restaurant chains like Haidilao, a Chinese hot pot giant known for in-store performances such as birthday songs and tableside noodle making, some locations have even introduced dancing robots as part of the experience.

But one such performance went wrong recently at a Haidilao restaurant in California, United States. A video posted on the Chinese social media platform RedNote showed the robot smashing plates and flinging dishware and chopsticks during what appeared to be a performance gone awry.

The video was later shared by the American broadcaster ABC News**.** In the video, the restaurant’s staff appeared to try to intervene by grabbing the robot and trying to control it via a smartphone.

Haidilao later confirmed the incident in a statement to NBC News, but pushed back on suggestions that the robot had malfunctioned or gone rogue.

“In this case, the robot was brought closer to a dining table at a guest’s request, which is not its typical operating setting,” Haidilao said in the statement. “The limited space affected its movement during the performance.”

Many startups globally are working on bringing robots to the food service industry, from making fully autonomous kitchens to greeting customers to their seats and serving food.

Haidilao has experimented with a ‘smart restaurant’ in Beijing, which used robotic servers and broth mixing machines.

It seems that this Haidilao restaurant in the US was just using this robot for entertainment purposes, but things got out of hand when it danced a little too close to customers.