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Miso Robotics’ Flippy 2 frying robot is expanding its role with White Castle. | Credit: Miso Robotics

White Castle is installing Miso Robotics‘ Flippy 2 frying robot at an 100 fast food locations. Rollouts of Flippy 2 are being phased by region and will be planned out and scheduled in the months and years ahead.

White Castle and Miso Robotics first started working together in September 2020. The original Flippy robot was deployed at a White Castle in the Chicagoland area. It was then upgraded to the newer Flippy 2 model in November 2021.

According to Miso Robotics, Flippy 2 can handle about 60 frying baskets per hour, takes up 56 percent less aisle space and is 13% shorter than its predecessor. It also has fewer surfaces that need cleaning, allowing for greater cost reduction.

The improved Flippy 2 also includes a new AutoBin system that can handle specialty foods like onion rings and chicken tenders in customizable bins. Miso Robotics said Flippy 2 can perform twice as many food preparation tasks as the original robot, such as basket filling, emptying and returning.

“Our partnership with Miso continues to lead the way on what’s next for back of house restaurant operations looking to empower team members with technology to better satisfy customers,” said Jeff Carper, Chief Operating Officer at White Castle. “Having Flippy 2 be a new hire at 100 of our White Castle locations keeps us on a path to achieve big goals at White Castle.”

By taking over the work of an entire fry station, Miso wants the robots to alleviate the pain points that come with back-of-house roles at quick-service restaurants. The company initially started with a burger-flipping robot, but pivoted its focus to frying stations. The company is also developing chicken wing frying robot for high-volume chicken restaurants.

“We could not be more grateful for the confidence White Castle has shown in us as we enter into the next phase of our partnership,” said Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics. “White Castle was the first large brand to embrace our technology and we are thrilled that our Flippy pilot made such a positive impact on their operations that they want to integrate 100 more. We can’t wait to continue on this journey with such an outstanding partner.”