Futuristic Robot Chef Uses Hands To Help In The Kitchen

Everyone loves a home cooked meal, but would it taste the same if it was made by a robot? Moley Robotics just revealed its robot-chef, which uses sophisticated robotic hands to cook just like a human. It doesn't cook any faster than a human, so it's not going to revolutionize the industrial side of cooking. This bionic-chef is designed for home kitchens. The robo-chef has the aptitude to learn from a real chef's delicate movements. Motion capture technology relays all the actions of an actual person preparing the meal and translates the actions into moves for the robotic hands.

The automated chef even has the endorsement of BBC's 2011 Masterchef champion, Tim Anderson, who is responsible for training the robo-chef.

"You tell it to do something – whether it's a bit of prep or completing a whole dish from start to finish – and it will do it. And it will do it the same every single time."

The robot's complicated hands were created by Shadow Robotics. The 20 motors, 24 joints, and whopping 129 sensors allow the pair of hands to recreate the motions of a skilled chef, from kneading the dough to beating eggs. In the future, Shadow Robotics hopes the hands will be able to analyze sensor data to adapt its cooking style, making stiffer meringue or the fluffiest omelette.

Moley Robotics is demonstrating the bionic chef's abilities at Hannover Messe industrial trade fair in Germany. The company plans to launch a market version in two years that will be more compact and will include a built-in dishwasher and refrigerator. However, there's no word yet if the robot will do the dishes. The consumer model is expected to retail at £10,000 which is about $14,756 USD in today's market.

Source: BBC