Robots that can cook and make drinks already exist, but could this be the way of the future where more of our F&B outlets will start turning to robots for that? That’s why Sony and Carnegie Mellon University want to find out as both organizations have teamed up for research on AI and robotics.Their initial researcher will be robots in the F&B industry where they will look into robots that can do food prep, cooking, and delivery, with plans to eventually create robots that can be used for specific food types and be used in all kinds of kitchen spaces, big or small. Now food might seem to be a rather specific area of focus, but there’s a good reason for that.
According to Sony, because cooking involves a lot of processes and handling small and oddly shaped objects, that it can also be applied to other fields. “Applications could include those where machines must handle fragile and irregularly shaped materials and carry out complex household and small business tasks. Additionally, robots that are developed for food preparation and delivery would have to be able to operate in small areas, an ability which could be valuable for many other industries.”
We expect that this research will probably take years, so don’t expect to see any practical applications of it anytime soon.