A Restaurant Hires Its First Robot Employee…And Other Small Business Tech News This Week

(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)Getty Images Did you miss them? 1 - A Wilmington restaurant has hired its first robot employee. A restaurant in Wilmington, North Carolina recently hired its first robot staff member. aRtisano Pizza & Gelato welcomed its newest employee, a robot named Chris. The robot was developed by an engineer that previously worked for Google and has since launched California-based company Bear Robotics. Chris delivers orders, assists with hosting, sings to restaurant patrons, and busses tables. (Source: WECT 6) Why this is important for your business: I feel that stories like this are pretty much marketing gimmicks. But not for long. Most of the robot tech being used in restaurants is still in early stages (although companies like Miso Robotics are doing some very interesting things). However, we'll be seeing more small restaurants leaning on robotic technology in the coming years to replace the workers they can't find anyway. 2 - Google unveiled a new machine learning add-on for Google Sheets. The new machine learning add-on -- known as Simple ML for Sheets -- enables users to take advantage of machine learning capabilities without having any prior experience with coding. The add-on is currently in beta with the goal to help everyone leverage the benefits of machine learning. For example, "if you're a car repair shop owner who keeps records of past repairs with data points like car make, repair type, and mileage, you can use Simple ML to predict the number of hours necessary to fix a car." 3 - Robco is bringing modular robotics to industrial small businesses. Founders of the Munich-based startup intend to use recent funding to add more clients and expand what the existing modules are capable of. Currently, there are three components that make up the offering which include palletizing, laser engraving, and lathe turning. (Source: Tech Crunch) Why this is important for your business: What's important to note here is that the company's price point for its products are in a very affordable range for smaller size company, which means that SMBs can have access to robotics technology that has to date only been enjoyed by larger organizations. 4 - Microsoft is adding screen recording to the Windows 11 Snipping tool. With the new feature, users will no longer need to use a third-party app in order to capture videos of their desktop. Users will simply have to open the app and select the option to record. (Source: Bleeping Computer) With the ability to record so quickly and easily this will help our business share more information about how to use our products with our client base. The touchscreen monitor can easily fit into a backpack and its 4K screen enables users to have flexibility similar to a tablet. The monitor can be connected via 3.5mm auxiliary ports, HDMI, or USB-C and used with tablets, game consoles, phones, desktops, or laptops.