The Robot Chef: A "robot chef" - such as the one featured in the video below on the left - can be trained to make any food you like, with precision and freshness. Its most valuable quality during a pandemic is not this technological advance, but the fact that it is not susceptible to a virus. Moley Robotics claims that this robot should be ready to debut for consumer use in the next year. Robot kitchens like Spyce - featured in the video below on the right - already exist and have proven that tasty food can be prepared with limited human contact. These robots could ensure high sanitization standards. Rather than risking ordering from many different restaurant kitchens with different sanitization standards, customers' food would come from one reliable kitchen. In addition, robots would allow kitchens offer a variety of food as well as operate and serve customers at all hours of the day and night.

Live streaming: For accountability, the kitchen could offer customers a livestream of their food being made and handled. Moreover, these videos could engage customers in a way that most restaurants do not - the videos can teach viewers about the techniques used to cook their food.

Self Driving Cars: Car companies like Ford and ride share companies like Lyft are on the forefront of autonomous vehicle innovation, which you can learn more about in our site's autonomous vehicle case study. If ghost kitchens partner with food delivery companies that adopt self driving cars in the future, they can further assure the sanitation of the food they provide to customers.

Others forms of disruption

Addressing Inequity: Ghost kitchens are also in a unique position to address inequity. Ghost kitchens could serve - and survive in - food deserts. With a hold on what food these residents want/need in addition to well developed delivery networks, they can help provide food for an underserved population. Ghost kitchens can also leverage their delivery networks and demand forecasting to deliver goods, such as medications, in rural areas.

In-car ovens: As restaurants continue to evolve, there has been a lot of innovation in the space. In 2015, Domino's Pizza created a delivery car with a built-in oven as shown above. If ghost kitchens adopt a car like this, they could significantly reduce prep and delivery time, improving customer satisfaction.