Madison Heights restaurant uses a robot to deliver food to tables

A Chinese noodle restaurant in Madison Heights may be the first in the area to employ the BellaBot, a robotic cart with a digital cartoon cat face that rolls food from the kitchen to the customers' tables. 

Noodle Topia on John R is known for its house-made, hand-pulled noodle dishes, dumplings and Chinese tea drinks. The casual eatery has gained some non-human assistance in the form of BellaBot, which has four trays for carrying food (no arms) and has a precise positioning and navigation system for moving around the dining room.

Made by Pudu Robotics and announced in January 2020, BellaBot has a cheerful personality and says "thank you" when bringing the food. A human server or customer must lift the food from BellaBot's trays. The robot doesn't accept tips, but will respond positively to pats on the head. 

First reported by Eater Detroit, Noodle Topia's use of BellaBot is believed to be the first and only in Metro Detroit. A rep for the restaurant said it's not used because of the staffing shortages that are affecting restaurants nationwide; it's just for fun. 

Noodle Topia, open daily for lunch and dinner, is at 30120 John R in Madison Heights. Call (248) 591-4092 or visit noodletopiami.com.

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Twitter: @melodybaetens