Karachi (AFP) – Making her way between the tables of an Italian restaurant with flashing neon lights, located in the heart of Karachi, Pakistan's economic capital, a robotic waitress places a fresh pizza in front of a waiting family.
Published on: 08/11/2026 - 08:50
"Welcome to Sicilian. My name is Robia," the robot says in an electronic voice, looking at diners through its flashing red LED eyes.
Featuring a white spherical head and a dark visor, similar to that of a motorcycle helmet, this cyborg wears a dupatta, a traditional black shawl from South Asia, on its shoulders.
Pakistani engineer Syed Osama Aziz, founder of The Sicilian restaurant, developed two humanoids through his robotics company, Cobot, and with the help of friends.
He mainly used locally manufactured parts, designed their circuit boards and programmed them in his own laboratory.
However, he had to import some electronic components from abroad.
“The material, that is, what is needed to make robots, is not so easy to find here, so we had to make do,” he explains.
In China and other East Asian countries, robots are increasingly common: they bring food to customers at chain restaurants and perform a variety of tasks, from cleaning to greeting guests in hotels.
American investment bank Morgan Stanley predicts that the world could have more than a billion humanoid robots by 2050.
“People are delighted”
When they arrive at "The Sicilian" restaurant, customers must either take the dishes from their tray themselves or wait for a human staff member to come and help them.
Syed Osama Aziz, whose robot manufacturing workshop is located in Multan, in the central Punjab province, hopes to perfect his creations.
"In the future, we plan to add camera processing and image processing capabilities. This means that the robot will also be able to recognize you by looking at you, remember what you ordered last time and thus be able to make better suggestions," he explains.
For now, the robots are a big hit with local families, who flock to his restaurant to see the machines in action.
“The best thing is that it presents itself,” an enthusiastic customer, Ahmer Zameer, told AFP, adding that the robot “also tells you what you can order.”
Children reach out to touch the mechanical servers while their parents take photos and selfies.
Sonia Dilosker, a young customer, was particularly impressed by their greetings and appearance. She also preferred their emotionless approach to serving customers. “Because she’s a machine and she has no emotions,” she says.
Restaurant staff say this new feature has led to a marked increase in attendance, with some customers crossing the entire port city to meet the robots.
“Our activity has grown. People come from very far away for this. It’s the first time they’ve seen a robot here,” Hellen, an employee, told AFP. And added: “People are delighted to see this.”
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© 2026 AFP
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