Barcelona Airport has collaborated with Areas to open SELF, which is said to be the world’s first robotic restaurant with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an airport.
SELF is located in the commercial area at Terminal 1 and covers 137sqm. Its offering focuses on the products most in demand at the airport, such as coffees, premium sandwiches, juices, pastries, salads and pokes, desserts and soft drinks, as well as unique recipes, all prepared daily to ensure freshness and quality.
This new project at Barcelona Airport culminates a process of several years during which Areas carried out studies and extensive market research to respond to the growing and demanding requirements of new traveller profiles and surprise them with this new experience.
SELF is a concept designed to offer travellers a new experience, with agile and efficient service. It uses a robotic arm with a claw and five tactile fingers to optimally manage and deliver orders. When the customer gets to the restaurant, they select their products and pay, and are issued a ticket with a number and QR code. SELF prepares and organises orders in trays to speed up delivery, notifying the customer on screen when their order is ready for pickup. Staff are always available to help in the dining room or with take-out orders.
SELF can handle up to six orders at the same time and helps the human team provide guests with better and more personalised service. It is equipped with advanced AI and a machine vision camera, which learns and makes optimal decisions in real time, allowing it to “see” and adapt to the environment to improve service quality and speed.
“This project marks a milestone in food & beverage and travel retail and reaffirms our entrepreneurial spirit, capacity for innovation and transformational vocation to lead new trends in the industry,” said Sergio Rodríguez, CEO, Areas Iberia. “Areas is a leader in this industry and one of our main goals is to offer travellers the best possible experience through pioneering projects, new service models and advanced technological solutions that optimise operational processes and improve their customer experience.”
