In a neon-lit restaurant in the Pakistani megacity of Karachi, a robot waiter named Robia rolls up to a table and hands a family a fresh pizza. Her partner Jojo also works the floor. Both are homemade creations of Pakistani engineer Syed Usama Aziz, who decided to add science fiction to the city's restaurant scene.
The robots have spherical white heads with dark visors resembling motorcycle helmets, and black dupatta-style shawls on their "necks", like those worn by women in the region. Aziz, who founded The Sicilian restaurant, assembled the machines mainly from local parts and developed the circuit boards and wrote the programs in his own laboratory.
"The equipment, everything needed to build robots, is not so easy to get here, so we had to organize it," he told AFP. The project was carried out through his robotics company Cobot with support from friends and using some imported electronic components.
In China and other East Asian countries robots are already commonplace: they deliver food in chain restaurants, clean premises and greet hotel guests. In Pakistan, however, the sight is still a novelty, and Aziz's creations attract curious visitors.
When a robot reaches a table, customers either take the food from the tray themselves or wait for a human waiter to help. Aziz's workshop is in Multan, in the central province of Punjab. In the future the engineer hopes to improve his creations.
"We plan to add image processing using cameras," he says. "That means the robot will recognize you by face, remember what you ordered last time and accordingly give better recommendations."
For now the robots are a hit with families who come to the restaurant specifically to see the machines. "The coolest thing is that it introduces itself," visitor Ahmer Zamir shared his impressions. "And it also says what you can order." Children reach out to touch the robots, while parents take photos and selfies.
Young visitor Sonia Dilawer noted that she liked the androids' appearance (robots resembling humans) and their manner of service: "Because it is a machine, without any emotions."
Restaurant staff say the novelty has brought a surge of guests - some travel across the vast port city to meet the robots. "Our business has grown. People come from far away. They have seen a robot here for the first time," employee Hellen said. "People are delighted."