High-tech jobs may be moving overseas but one low-tech job Americans could always fall back on was flipping burgers at McDonald"s.
That could change in the not-too-distant future. Later this year, a Chicago-area McDonald"s restaurant will fry up hamburgers with an automated grill that dispenses patties directly onto the griddle from a separate freezer compartment, reducing labor and promising fresher sandwiches.
The newfangled equipment, developed in Sweden, is just one of several futuristic concepts the world"s largest fast-food company is testing at its Romeoville, Illinois innovation site.
McDonald"s is also experimenting with automation to increase the amount of french fries it can produce during the busy lunch rush. Electronic kiosks that let customers key in their own orders have already moved beyond the lab into actual restaurants in two U.S. markets, and will be evaluated for broader use at year-end.