Robots have been used for a variety of purposes, from saving lives in hostile environments to handling heavy materials. But one company, a robotic developer named Moley, wishes to bring such technology to your kitchen in the form of a pair of robotic arms that act as a mechanical chef's assistant.
"Created by Mark Oleynik, the robotic arms are programmed to precisely replicate recipes. It's not totally automatic - you still have to lay the ingredients out in a specific way - but in a demo for the IBTimes it seems like the robot was an able and patient cook. It took 30 minutes to make a soup dish with no human intervention," TechCrunch reported.
The robotic arms are installed in the ceiling of a mini-kitchen so they can access and use any tool and appliance that the owner requires them to. They also have the ability to serve meals "with the flourish of a professional," according to The Economist.
The arms were built by British tech developer ShadowRobotics for a variety of scientific and research-oriented functions, and they typically cost $15,000.
While the robot has a lot of technical potential, it will require extensive programming in order to establish what recipes or processes it can perform. "The machine's finesse comes because its hands are copying the actions of a particular human chef, who has cooked the recipe specially, in order to provide a template for the robot to copy. The chef in question wears special gloves, fitted with sensors, for this demonstration. Dr Oleynik's team also shoot multiple videos of it, from different angles. These various bits of data are then synthesised into a three-dimensional representation of what the chef did while preparing the dish. That is turned into an algorithm which can drive the automated kitchen," The Economist reported.
The robot may have a few flaws (it doesn't wash dishes), but it could be a useful way in the future to replicate recipes over and over without giving that responsibility to a person.
"Whether you love food and want to explore different cuisines, or fancy saving a favourite family recipe for everyone to enjoy for years to come, the Automated Kitchen can do this," Oleynik said, IBT reported. "It is not just a labour saving device- it is a platform for our creativity. It can even teach us how to become better cooks."
Moley plans on making the robotic chef commercially available in 2017 for people to use at restaurants as well as at home.
