Many people dream of the day when they can have a robot that prepares food without the need for help. If you are one of them, you won’t have to wait long to see this dream come true. Although it seems something out of the future, there is a robot that not only cooks autonomously but also does the dishes.
A British technology company, Moley Robotics, has showcased the world’s first robotic kitchen at CES 2021. The system features a dexterous robot integrated into a luxury kitchen that prepares freshly-cooked meals at the touch of a button and even do the dishes afterward.
At the heart of the new technology are two robotic arms featuring fully-articulated ‘hands’ to make the cooking process flexible. Moley Robotics created these two arms in partnership with Schunk Company. The upper arms are said to be able to reproduce the movements of the human arms quite accurately.
The set has a wide range of sensors, cameras, and technology that allows the arms to take the ingredients they need from the shelves or the refrigerator, to select the utensils they are going to use to prepare the recipe, to prepare the dish, mix and plate up just as a human cook would. Unlike a human, however, the cooking robot even cleans up after itself – without complaint!
Currently, the menu that Moley robot can cook up to more than 5,000 dishes, and owners will also have the ability to add their favorite recipes. Every month, the Moley robot will be updated with new recipes to help the owner’s menu become more diverse. The cameras allow it to detect and clean up any spilled food, while an integrated ultraviolet lamp helps it to rid kitchen surfaces of germs.
The company points out that the price of this robot chef and its integrated kitchen ranges between £30,000 and £55,000, depending on the configuration chosen. The smart Internet of Things (IoT) enabled kitchen is also available on its own and includes a smart fridge and storage area that warns when ingredients are running low or close to their expiry dates, along with an oven, induction hob, and sink.
