The McDonald’s drive-through voice could soon be replaced by a robot

The voice-recognition technology 'is expected to allow for faster, simpler and more accurate order taking at the Drive Thru with future potential to incorporate into mobile ordering and kiosks', the company said in a news release. — dpa

McDonald's has announced plans to acquire a voice technology company to help speed up ordering at the drive-through, the latest in a series of high-tech investments by the fast-food chain as it strives to improve wait times and draw customers to its restaurants.

McDonald's declined to disclose the terms of its agreement to buy Mountain View, California-based Apprente, which it described as an early-stage leader in "voice-based platforms for complex, multilingual, multi-accent and multi-item conversational ordering".