Vending machine with freezer, automated deep fryer, flattop, etc. Basically a robotic McD's in a box.
I would love to work on that problem. Maybe I should apply to YC with it...
I would love to work on that problem. Maybe I should apply to YC with it...
https://www.google.com/?tbm=pts&gws_rd=ssl#tbm=pts&q=inassig...
(My favorite? US Design Patent #D277,235: The McRib.)
McDonald's likes to come up with these solutions and then license the patents to the OEMs that actually produce the equipment. I've worked for some of these OEMs in the past and McDs drives new ideas downward just as often as the OEMs drive new things upward. But it doesn't mean those ideas are always economically or even technically feasible when deployed to 30,000 stores...some in very remote locations.
If McDonald's had a way to start moving more into fully robotic prep-and-assembly (more than they already are), then you would see it in the stores. It's still too expensive and too fragile. Humans are more versatile and cheaper.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Distributeurs-febo.jp...