{"id":27236,"date":"2026-03-20T10:29:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/?p=27236"},"modified":"2026-03-20T10:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:29:03","slug":"employees-had-to-restrain-a-dancing-humanoid-robot-after-it-went-wild-at-a-california-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/?p=27236","title":{"rendered":"Employees had to restrain a dancing humanoid robot after it went wild at a California restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When we think about the existential threats of new technology, we\u2019re usually thinking about something like the recent negotiations<\/a> between Anthropic and the Pentagon over how AI can be used in the military. It\u2019s terrifying to think about \u2014 how long will it be before a nuclear weapon can be detonated without any human intervention? <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been spending so much time thinking about these potential catastrophes that we haven\u2019t braced ourselves for the more immediate danger in our midst: dancing robots.<\/p>\n

A dancing robot at the hot pot restaurant Haidilao in Cupertino, California, boogied a little too hard, got too close to a table, and started smashing plates and sending dishware and chopsticks everywhere, prompting the restaurant\u2019s staff to intervene, according to a video<\/a> posted on the Chinese social network Xiaohongshu by user Meooow.<\/p>\n

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A dancing humanoid robot got a little too funky during a performance in Cupertino, California and had to be restrained by staff after knocking items off a table. pic.twitter.com\/nZQsGoFHn6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ABC News (@ABC) March 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

From what we can see from the video<\/a>, at least three employees struggled to restrain the robot as it flung its arms around. One Haidilao employee seems to be looking at her phone, perhaps in an attempt to toggle something on an app controlling the robot. It\u2019s possible the robot \u2014 which appears to be an AgiBot X2 robot<\/a>, which was featured<\/a> at the CES conference in January \u2014 has a kill switch, but the staff might not have known how to operate it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with hot pot, you should know that, as its name suggests, it involves very hot pots of soup. No one likes spilled food, but if the robot were to knock piping bowls of bone broth over, it wouldn\u2019t just be a culinary disaster, it might seriously burn someone. Not to mention any potential blunt-force damage from the now-moshing automaton.<\/p>\n

When The Killers sang \u201cAre we human or are we dancer<\/a>,\u201d we did not realize they were asking us to take a stand in the future robot wars.<\/p>\n

Haidilao confirmed the mechanical contretemps in a statement to NBC News<\/a>, but denied the robot was \u201cmalfunctioning or out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIn this case, the robot was brought closer to a dining table at a guest\u2019s request, which is not its typical operating setting,\u201d the Chinese chain of hot pot restaurants told NBC News in a statement. \u201cThe limited space affected its movement during the performance.\u201d <\/p>\n

AgiBot did not immediately respond to TechCrunch\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Haidilao has experimented with a \u201csmart restaurant<\/a>\u201d in Beijing, which used robotic servers and broth mixing machines. It seems that this Haidilao restaurant was just using this robot for entertainment purposes<\/a>, but things got out of hand when it danced a little too close to customers.<\/p>\n

Many startups are working on bringing robots to the food service industry, like Shin Starr,<\/a> which is working on making fully autonomous kitchens. Pudu Robotics\u2019 BellaBot<\/a>, a cutesy, cat-like robot, can direct customers to their seats and bring out their food when it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s safer than humanoid robots, for now at least \u2014 the BellaBot does not have any limbs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n