Miso Robotics has unveiled the newest model of Flippy, its flagship product, aptly named Flippy 2. Based on key learning and feedback from the innovation partner who deployed the original Flippy to a location in the Chicagoland area in September 2020 and planned to expand to additional locations once the pilot is over, the new cybernetic chef takes over the work for an entire fry station and performs more than twice as many food preparation tasks compared to the previous version including basket filling, emptying and returning.
Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) have historically been labor-intensive, physically demanding, and can be hazardous given the proximity to hot oil and grills in compact kitchens. And now, due to the current economic situation, many restaurants are suffering severe staff shortages, resulting in rising prices, reduced menus, shortened opening hours, and even complete closures.
Flippy 2 looks to alleviate these pain points and create a better working environment for its human coworkers while also maximizing the efficiency of the kitchen.
The improved Flippy 2 kitchen robot makes the fry station, even at peak times, less than a full-time task and allows team members to focus on other important duties. It features the brand new AutoBin system that solves that problem, specifically for lower volume and specialty foods like onion rings and chicken tenders. Each bin can hold as much as a full fry basket, be customized for a kitchen’s specific needs, and be delineated for individual products like vegetables and fish to prevent cross-contamination.
The machine’s AI vision can automatically identify the food, pick it up, cook it in the correct fry basket, and place it into a hot-holding area. According to Miso Robotics, Flippy 2 can operate on its own without human intervention in the middle of the process. This makes the system faster, increasing throughput by 30% – or around 60 baskets per hour – which is more than what is needed in high-volume fast-food restaurants. In addition to that upgrade, Flippy 2 also features a new, sleeker design that takes up less space within the kitchen – including a 56% reduced aisle intrusion, 13% height reduction, and less overall cleanable surfaces.
“Like all technologies, Flippy 2 has evolved significantly from its predecessor, and we are extremely grateful for the insights collected from White Castle to truly push its development forward in a real restaurant environment,” said Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics. “Flippy 2 takes up less space in the kitchen and increases production exponentially with its new basket filling, emptying, and returning capabilities. Since Flippy’s inception, our goal has always been to provide a customizable solution that can function harmoniously with any kitchen and without disruption. Flippy 2 has more than 120 configurations built into its technology and is the only robotic fry station currently being produced at scale.”
Miso Robotics has several other pilot agreements in place with leading national brands, including its recently announced partnership with Inspire Brands. The company hopes its technology will pave the way for a technological change already underway in the $278.6 billion markets.
