Dishcraft Robotics is using robots to save reopening restaurants from creating more waste - TechCrunch

Use its cleaning service that will drop off all the clean, reusable dishware and cutlery a restaurant or corporate kitchen could possibly need in the morning and pick up all the dirty dishes, cups and silverware that the foodservice location uses throughout the day.

“In this model we take care of the collection and cleaning of dishes,” said Linda Pouliot, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.

The restaurants, Pouliot says, have more inventory than they could possibly need — even as Dishcraft only runs one drop-off and pick up service throughout the day at corporate offices.

The company has just announced a $20 million round of funding that will expand its service beyond the corporate kitchen and into communities that are worried about the waste produced by the explosion in takeout that’s occurred as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The company has a collection system that works in a 25 mile radius and uses biodiesel to power its fleet of trucks that pickup and deliver the clean dishes, according to Pouliot.

The founder of an automated floor cleaning robotic service, Neato Robotics, Pouliot has a long history of applying high tech solutions to real world problems.

The two discussed the opportunity for a robotics business cleaning dishes over lunch at a restaurant.

The company’s technology involves the integration of sensors, computer vision, machine learning, UV lighting, and innovative mechanics to autonomously sort, scrub, inspect, and rack dishware, the company said.