Technology

Meet the 'auto-taco' — potential QSR game-changer

We've already met the automated pizza line and dumpling automat, now make way for automated taco production.

Frame from video of automated taco assembly line. (Provided)

February 2, 2021

Automated tacos are surely the things that some folks dreams are made of — including some restaurateurs — and now a Austin, Texas company has figured out how to do just that.

Automation integration business Austin Automation Design has developed an automated food assembly line that can save restaurant operators potentially millions of dollars per year in labor and food costs and it's starting its models in this endeavor with the QSR staple of tacos, according to a press release.

Tacomation is an automated food line for assembling tacos, burritos and bowls. All food is prepared from scratch, then customized orders take only seconds to be automatically assembled, made to customers' personalized nutritional specifications every time they order, according to the release.

"We've taken technology that exists on an industrial scale — automation — and brought a smaller-scale solution to the quick-serve restaurant industry, starting with our favorite dish: the taco," Austin Automation CEO Doug Foreman said in the release. "An automated food line can save in both food and labor costs, potentially doubling a restaurant owner's bottom line in just one year. It also allows staff to focus on food preparation and guest relations while ensuring health, safety, and quality."

With Tacomation customers place orders on a mobile app while the automated food line crafts the order to their exact specifications. Each item is labeled with their name and their personal nutritional statement. Customers can then drive up to a digital locker for touchless pickup and never wait in line at a drive-thru again.

"Funneling cars through a drive-thru is history," Foreman said. "Consumers don't want to wait in line anymore! The future is here, and it is drive-up contactless lockers."

QSRweb has a call in to the company for further details and will follow up with a more detailed article on the technology.