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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

food robots

Beyond Burgers and Fries, Br5’s Robot Cooks Up Paella

Paella has an almost mythic quality about it. Making paella signifies some sort of special event. The dish has its own pan, for goodness sake. I addition to the technical aspects of making paella, there’s an emotional component to it. I mean , just read this bit from Fine Cooking’s paella recipe:

… paella perfection comes about when the person who is cooking it has an almost tangible affection for the dish itself, for the process of making it, and for the people who will be eating it.

If this is true, what happens when there is no person making paella. I don’t mean in a if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest philosophical kind of way. I mean that literally a person isn’t making the dish — is a robot. The Guardian has a story up today about just that — a paella making robot from the startup be robot 5 (br5) and paella stove maker, Mimcook.

The robot automates everything a human cook would do. It adds the rice and stock, mixes, lays in the shrimp and even gets that nice crust good paella is supposed to have. All without, presumably, any tangible affection for what it is making because, well, it’s a robot.

The folks at br5 told The Guardian that its robot is merely an automated assistant. Like other food robots, br5’s machine is meant to take over some of the mundane work associated with restaurants and making food. In fact, the br5 robot is only making paella because it is hooked up to the paella stove. It can work a grill or a fryer just as easily.

We’ve covered plenty of robots that will make you all types of food such as pizza, burgers, tokoyaki and more in the development. But those are all examples of food that is meant to be cooked quickly in high-traffic areas. They can all pump out lots of food consistently around the clock. Br5’s paella bot helps illustrate how sophisticated cooking robots are getting. This arm is doing more than flipping burgers or dunking frozen fries, it’s coordinating a complex, multi-ingredient dish.

Cooking robots are only going to get even more sophisticated. Take Blue Hill Coffee’s robot, for instance. It uses computer vision to “watch” and learn from human baristas. The robot can replicate the same motions as a human and even make latte art. Whether its through computer vision or motion capture, it’s not too long from now that cooking robots will be able to download the movements of famous chefs. This means they will be able to execute more advanced techniques and make even more complex meals. This automated chef replication may be great for our eventual home cooking robots, but how will they play in restaurants?

I think it will ultimately boil down to context and quality. People at the airport probably won’t care if a robot whips up a pizza for them as they rush to make their plane. They just want sustenance. But someone paying top dollar at a fine dining establishment is shelling out that premium for a more individual experience — something that can’t just be replicated the exact same way 400 times in an hour.

Superseding all of this, of course, is whether or not the food is good. People won’t eat bad food, no matter who or what makes it. The robot may not put love into it — but if the food is good people will love eating it.

We’ll be discussing these types of weighty questions around automated artistry and convenience at our upcoming ArticulATE food robotics virtual summit on May 18th. Companies like Karakuri, Yo-Kai Express, Piestro, Mukunda Foods and more will explain their approach to food robotics and what that means for the future of restaurants. Get your ticket today to be a part of the discussion!

Bear Robotics Now Serving Houston Rockets Fans at Toyota Center

NBA fans heading to Toyota Center to see the Houston Rockets now have the option of getting drinks and snacks served by a robot. Bear Robotics announced on Linkedin yesterday that it has partnered with Levy Restaurants and the Houston Rockets to use its Servi bot at games.

The Houston Rockets posted a promotional video to its official YouTube channel, showing the Servi robot in action along with a caption saying this was the “first-ever robot-assisted food and beverage service at a stadium or arena.”

Rockets Launch First-Ever Robot-Assisted Arena Food And Beverage Service

No further details were posted either by Bear Robotics or the Houston Rockets, so we don’t know where in the stadium the robot is serving or how a person can get the robot service. UPDATE: a Levy Restaurants rep emailed us the following:

During the Rockets remaining games of the 2020-21 season, hospitality team members at Toyota Center will be assisted by an autonomous food service robot. This pilot program will start in Toyota Center’s premium all-inclusive Suite Club to allow team members to focus on providing industry-leading service to fans while the robot performs more routine and physically demanding tasks.

The robot will circulate dining spaces inside the premium space while carrying pre-packaged food and beverage items for guests to pick from. This pilot program will allow Toyota Center staff to learn more about the robot and how it could be potentially utilized in more areas next season.

While this may be the first robot server at a stadium, it is not the first time stadiums — or Levy Restaurants — have employed food-related robots. Both Dodger Stadium and Diamondback’s Chase Field used Miso Robotics’ Flippy robot to fry up chicken tenders and tater tots. And Centerplate Pizza at Safeco Park used Picnic’s pizza assembling robot.

Prior to the pandemic, stadiums were actually a great place to employ automation. Stadiums are packed with lots of people who want good (not necessarily artisanal) food quickly. Robots are able to crank out a steady stream of food made consistently, without taking a break. And as vaccines roll out and stadiums cautiously re-open, robots have another benefit — contactless delivery. Removing a human server eliminates another point of human-to-human transmission, which some wary fans might find more comforting when venturing back out into the world.

If you’re a Rockets fan going to the game, see if you can spot the robot and take a picture for us! If you’re just a fan of food robotics, then you should definitely attend our ArticulATE food robotics and automation virtual summit on May 18. It’s a full day devoted to discussing the most cutting-edge innovation in the robotics space. Get your ticket today!

The Delivery Robot Market Report

Allowing robots to handle the last mile of these deliveries could do much to make restaurant and grocery delivery faster, enable those deliveries to occur around the clock, and bring down both labor costs and prices for consumers. Self-driving delivery vehicles could also reduce congestion on city streets and bring more equity to our food system. 

But the biggest factors currently driving the acceleration of autonomous delivery vehicle adoption aren’t technological. Rather, like so many other aspects of our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the demand for both grocery and restaurant deliveries and fueling the desire for fewer person-to-person interactions in the process. 

Market research firm, Second Measure, reports meal delivery sales grew 125 percent year-over-year in September of 2020. With people forced to stay at home more, 34 percent of U.S. consumers ordered from a delivery service, up from 26 percent during the same time last year. 

Grocery delivery also saw surges in demand, particularly in the early days of the pandemic. While not all of the record-setting grocery e-commerce sales were delivery (curbside pickup was also a popular option), they made up a large portion of those sales. In April, grocery delivery service Instacart commanded 57 percent of the grocery e-commerce market. 

Robots, especially for one-off meals and small basket orders, have the potential to expand delivery options. They are small and nimble and can run all day, opening up new opportunities for retailers and restaurants. Grand View Research estimates that the global autonomous last mile delivery market size will hit $84.9 million by 2027 (includes both drone and ground-based robots).  

Before we can get to that idealized vision of delivery, there are still a number of challenges to overcome. State and city regulators need to establish rules and standards around infrastructure and safety while simultaneously maintaining revenues that might otherwise be lost. 

Though fleets of autonomous vehicles winding their way across city streets and bringing last-minute lattes is already happening, their mainstream presence in our lives is far from inevitable. This report will give readers an overview of the current state of food delivery by robotic vehicles, the key players in the space, as well as challenges and opportunities for the sector.

The full report is available for Spoon Plus subscribers. To subscribe or learn more about Spoon Plus, click here.

Should Food Robot Startups Build Their Own Food Brand or Borrow One (or Do Both)?

One question I ask food robot companies, especially the startups that build meal-making robots, is whether they are a food company or a technology company. The answer to that question has a definite impact on a startup’s ability to not only get to market, but scale up once there.

If a robot startup is a food company then chances are good that they will try to build their own food brand. Some example include robotic restaurant Spyce (which just opened its second location last week), automated vending machine PizzaForno, and Creator (R.I.P.). Each of those business is creating a unique menu with their own takes on popular foods (bowls, pizza, burgers, respectively).

If a startup is a technology company, then they are just interested in building the robotics that other brands will use. Some examples of this are RoboEatz‘s cafeteria style meal assembler, Miso Robotics‘ Flippy the griller/fry cook, and Highpper‘s self-contained autonomous kitchen. These companies aren’t interested in making a menu, only helping other companies make their food more effieciently.

The direction a robotics startup chooses will impact their ability scale, an especially important factor if they take VC money. Primarily, it’s an issue of workload and focus. If a robot manufacturer is also trying to build a food brand it has to juggle (and scale) two entirely different lines of business. It must design, manufacture and maintain the robots and design menus. figure out food supply chains and logistics.

It’s hard enough to scale just the production of robots, scaling up a restaurant biz on top of that is a much harder task. It’s not that it can’t be done, it just requires additional operational skills, different sets of expertise and more money.

Of course, some robotics companies are choosing a hybrid model where they do both owner operator and co-branded robots. Piestro, Chowbotics and Yo-Kai Express are all using this blended approach where they run some of their own machines but also license out the platform to other, better-known restaurant brands. This allows the robot company to put a few of its machines in operations to show the benefits, and then build up the biz dev relationships on the backs of any success.

My guess is that licensing technology to a third party will become the dominant business model for most robotic startups as the industry matures. This means less overhead for a company (none of the food side of the business), and it can leverage a more powerful brand name. Hungry consumers will be more inclined to buy a pizza from a Domino’s-branded pizza robot than from a new brand they’ve never heard of. This, in turn, should create more revenue early on, allowing robot companies to raise more money and scale up their operations more quickly.

Ultimately, 2021 is going to be a big year for food robots and there will be many different paths taken. For those of you with young food robotics startups, now is a good time to ask yourself what business you want to be in.

Orders for Food and Consumer Goods Robots Grew 56 Percent Last Year

Often when we write about the growth in food robotics, it’s based on anecdotal data. For example, over the past year robot startups have told us that thanks to COVID-19, they’ve seen a surge in demand.

Now, thanks to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), we have some hard numbers to reaffirm what we’ve already been reporting. The A3 announced yesterday that for the first time last year, orders of robots for non-automotive purposes surpassed automotive robot orders. According to the press announcement, sales of robotic units in North America in 2020 were up 3.5 percent over sales in 2019. North American companies ordered 31,044 robotic units at a value of $1.572 billion last year.

For our specific purposes here at The Spoon, the A3 said that orders for food and consumer goods robots grew by 56 percent in 2020. And not only were more robots being ordered for the food sector, they were being used for higher-level tasks. Mark Joppru, Vice President, Consumer Segment & Service Robotics, US ABB Robotics and Machine Automation, said in the A3 press release:

In food applications, for example, where robots were traditionally used to automate simpler processes like case loading, they are increasingly being commissioned for higher value processes, like directly preparing food, resulting in improvements to food safety and hygiene. While these trends have existed for several years, COVID has changed perceptions and priorities for customers, accelerating the adoption of robotic automation.

This echoes what we’ve been hearing from food robot startups throughout the pandemic. Cleanliness and hygiene are the new priorities for the companies buying food robots. Robots provide a contactless way of preparing, ordering and delivering food, create more social distance in kitchens and can help alleviate staffing issues.

Just as important, robots are getting more sophisticated and, as Joppru points out, able to complete higher value tasks. Flippy is working the fryers at White Castle. Woowa Brothers delivery bots are integrating with elevator and security systems to increase navigation within buildings. And robot kiosks like RoboEatz can prepare 1,000 meals before needing a human to refill the ingredients.

Given the constant stream of robot news we’re been writing, it’s not too hard to imagine that this time next year, we’ll be writing about record growth for the industry in 2021.

Ottonomy’s Delivery Robot Drops Food at Your Door and Indoors

There are a few common threads among most delivery robot startups like Starship, Kiwibot and Postmates: They are all using cooler-sized rover ‘bots. Each of their robots has just one cargo compartment. And they are all focused on outdoor delivery. This is where Ottonomy aims to separate itself from the rest of the pack.

Yes, Ottonomy makes rover robots like those other players. Ottonomy’s four-wheeled robot is twice the size of Starship’s robot, has autonomous driving capabilities, and can carry 40 to 45 kg (88 to 100 lbs.). But Ottonomy’s approach to delivery is a little different.

First, Ottonomy’s robot has two compartments, allowing it to make two separate deliveries during a single trip. This means the robot can generate more revenue per trip because it doesn’t have to return to a restaurant or market after every single drop-off.

More important, however, is where Ottonomy will make those deliveries. In addition to making last-mile deliveries, Ottonomy robots will make deliveries indoors. Think large transit hubs like airports or shopping malls. So, for example, a consumer waiting at an airport could order a meal from a participating airport restaurant and have it brought directly to them, wherever they are inside.

Ottonomy Co-Founder and CEO, Rutikar Vijay told me by phone this week that his robots can accomplish this indoor delivery because they do not rely as heavily on GPS to get around. The robots just need to map out the space once, and can then start making deliveries (Ottonomy robots cannot, however ride escalators or elevators).

In addition to opening up a new delivery market, making indoor deliveries could also be an easier path to market for Ottonomy. Unlike Kiwibot, which uses humans to plot delivery routes on public sidewalks, Ottonomy, as its name indicates, is all-in on autonomous driving (though there is still someone monitoring the robot). States and cities are all developing their own rules around autonomous delivery robots with varying levels of restrictions (which streets, operation house, whether a human needs to accompany the robot, etc.). Ottonomy isn’t avoiding outdoor deliveries in the U.S., but by going indoors and off city sidewalks, it can sidestep dealing with the patchwork of regulation and start generating revenue right away.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has kept most people from going to airports or congregating in large indoor areas, at some point we will again, and chances are good that robots will join us. In addition to Ottonomy, Cheetah Mobile in China has its FANBOT, which is basically a mobile vending machine that roams around hotel lobbies and cinemas.

That pandemic has also spurred more interest in robot delivery because of their contactless nature. Not only do they reduce a vector of human-to-human transmission, robots provide an additional method of delivery, which is more important than ever to restaurants.

Ottonomy has already been making deliveries in India and did a pilot last fall in an undisclosed transit hub. Vijay didn’t disclose pricing, but said that the company is exploring both a straight up robotics-as-a-service business model as well as one that includes revenue sharing.

Miso Robotics Equity Crowdfunds $17M, Extends Campaign to Raise $30M

Miso Robotics, the company behind Flippy the cooking robot, announced today that it raised $17 million during its equity crowdfunding campaign from April through November of last year.

In its press announcement, Miso said that its campaign was the highest-grossing technology deal ever on the SeedInvest equity crowdfunding platform. The $17 million was only a little more than half of the $30 million the company had intended to raise, but Miso will be extending this equity crowdfunded Series C round into this year to try and hit that $30 million milestone. Miso has previously raised $15 million in financing and $3.3 million in venture debt.

Miso’s crowdfunding came during a tumultuous time for the restaurant industry, and running an equity campaign during a global pandemic was both bad and fortuitous for the food robotics company. On the one hand, COVID-19 decimated the restaurant industry, shuttering thousands of restaurants and limiting Miso’s potential customer base. Stadiums, where Flippy was already making in-roads as an automated fry cook, were also shut down.

But this crisis also meant opportunity for Miso. While many restaurants were closed, deep pocketed QSRs were able to weather the tumult and were in more of a position to afford Flippy. In a high-profile example, after an initial pilot in July of last year, White Castle quickly expanded its use of Flippy to 11 of its locations.

Buck Jordan, Co-Founder, President & Chairman of Miso Robotics, told me by phone this week that the pandemic caused a “massive” increase of QSRs interest in Miso’s technology. According to Jordan, that interest is being driven by QSR staffing issues, the ability to create social distancing in the kitchen and the ability to transition workers into roles that more involve cleaning and fulfilling delivery and takeout orders.

With restaurants emphasizing delivery and takeout options, there will most likely be sustained interest in technology that can keep workers engaged with off-premises order fulfillment and customer service.

In addition to the funding news, Miso also announced the appointment of Mike Bell as CEO and Jake Brewer as Chief Strategy Officer. Bell was previously COO at Ordermark and President and COO at Bridg. Brewer was formerly VP of Restaurant Excellence at CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.

Cafe X Re-Opens SFO Robot Barista

Those of you still going to airports can once again grab a robot-made coffee at the San Francisco International Airport. Cafe X re-opened its automated barista kiosk in Terminal 3 at SFO earlier this week.

Cafe X had shuttered both of its airport locations (the other one was at the San Jose Airport) last year as the global COVID-19 pandemic decimated air travel. We reached Cafe X Founder and CEO, Henry Hu via Twitter today. He told us that the SFO location was actually closed by the airport because Terminal 3 was seeing so little use. Hu said SFO gave Cafe X the greenlight to re-open recently, as traffic there has ticked back up.

When we last spoke with Hu in August, he said that despite the SFO and San Jose airport closures, Cafe X was still in talks to place its robo-barista at a number of other airports. Airport installations had been a key go-to market strategy for automated vending services and kiosks like Cafe X and Briggo (which is now Costa Coffee). Briggo had even signed a partnership with SSP America to place its robotic baristas in 25 airports throughout 2020 and 2021.

But as noted, the pandemic closed off airports as high-volume locations. Automated food services had to look elsewhere for places where a lot of people want food and beverages quickly.

However, with multiple vaccines beginning to be distributed this year, we could actually see an increase in airport deals for automated vending companies. There will be a lot of pent up desire to travel as the population gets vaccinated, and those returning to the friendly skies will want/need a fresh hot cup of coffee. Cafe X’s robot barista can not only make a mean latte, it also does so in a more contactless way than traditional coffee shops. Perhaps this combination will help Cafe X take off.

Here are the Kitchen Robots We Saw at CES & Food Tech Live 2021

One thing I miss most about heading to Vegas every January for CES is walking the basement of the Sands convention center. There, in the startup area known as Eureka Park, I’ll wander for hours and get lost amongst thousands of exhibitors in search of a few undiscovered food tech gems.

I usually find a few and, since we’re talking CES, they sometimes come in the form of a food robot.

From there, I usually head across the street to Treasure Island where The Spoon has its own product showcase during CES week called Food Tech Live, where I can also get my fill of food robots while also doing such things as eating a cookie with my face on it.

While both CES and Food Tech Live didn’t take place in person in Sin City this year, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some cool food robots to check out at their virtual versions last week. Below is our roundup of home food robots I found at virtual CES and The Spoon’s annual first-of-the-year product showcase, Food Tech Live.

Moley Robotic Kitchen

Since 2015, the Moley robotic kitchen has captured the imagination of the tech journalists and robotics industry with its robot chef concept that can that can prepare full meals from prep to cook to clean up with a pair of articulating robot arms.

And while we’ve yet to actually see the Moley cook a full meal from start to finish, the system’s inventor told The Spoon that it’s finally on sale and will find its first home in 2021. The company, which had a virtual booth at CES 2021 and debuted a bunch of new highlight videos, will sell both a home and pro version of its robotic kitchen. Prices for the fully robotic kitchen will be about $335 thousand.

The Moley Robotic Kitchen System at CES 2021

Oliver

Else Labs Oliver is a single-pot cooking robot that dispenses fresh ingredients and automates the cooking process with the help of temperature sensing and machine vision capabilities.

Else Labs, which went on sale via Indiegogo last fall, was on display at Food Tech Live last week. The product’s inventor and company CEO Khalid Aboujassoum says the major difference between Oliver and other guided cooking appliances on the market is Oliver pretty much handles the entire cooking process for you.

“The Oliver can do unattended stovetop cooking,” Aboujassoum told me last fall when the product went on sale.

Oliver, the smart cooking robot

iWonderCook

The iWonderCook is a automated cooking machine that cooks one-pot meals. The meals are provided in the form of the company’s own meal kit service, which the user orders through the device’s touchscreen. From there, as can be seen in the video below, the user inserts a bowl, embeds the food “cartridge”, and then adjusts the amount of oil and water needed.

I haven’t gotten a chance to see the iWondercook in action or taste the food, I will say is the product’s reliance on its own meal kits might be a turn-off for some users.

iWONDERCOOK robotic chef does the cooking for you.

Yo-Kai Express Takumi

Technically the new Yo-Kai Express Takumi home ramen machine is something closer to a Keurig for food than a food robot, it’s worth looking at this machine given the company’s smart vending roots.

The Takumi, which debuted at Food Tech Live last week, follows Yo-Kai’s move into the home market with its home delivery service. The Takumi takes the frozen ramen bowls, which are centrally produced in Yo-Kai’s California facilities, and steams and reconstitutes the ramen in just a few minutes.

The company has plans to not only to start selling ramen to users in the office and home, but on the go with an autonomous ramen delivery cart.

Day With Yo Kai Final

Samsung Bot Handy

Samsung announced a trio of home robots aimed at helping humans around the house. The one that was most interesting when it comes to lending a hand in the kitchen was Bot Handy, a mobile bot with large articulating hand that can help with anything from pouring a glass of wine to doing the dishes.

It’s worth noting that Samsung -- like many big consumer electronics brands -- has a history of showing off cool new product prototypes at CES that are more conceptual than anything close to actually coming to market, including last year’s they showed off a Moley-kitchen style robot system. Let’s hope the Bot Handy is something the company delivers on.

[CES 2021] Next Generation Robotics | Samsung

Julia

The Julia is another single-pot home cooking robot that allows the user to set it and forget it for pretty much an entire meal. The Julia is made by a Nymble, an Indian-based startup with plans to start selling the product in 2021. Nymble CEO Raghav Gupta showed off the product at Food Tech Live, told us that they are expanding their alpha trial program in the United States in February.

ColdSnap

Like the Takumi, the ColdSnap isn’t quite a full-fledged food robot, but something closer to a Bartesian style automated appliance that makes cold ice cream (as well as frozen margaritas and smoothies). While we weren’t able to get our hands on the ColdSnap, the company gave CNET a hands-on preview of the appliance and the editors were impressed. The appliance, which is going to a fairly spending $500-1,000, reminds me of the Wim fro-yo appliance that never made it to market after an acqui-hire of the founding by Walmart.

RoboEatz Shows Off Ark 03 Autonomous Robotic Meal Making Kiosk

It’s pretty remarkable to think of how much food robots have evolved over the three years I’ve been covering them. At the start of that time period, we had Flippy the robotic arm that could grill up burgers, and even that required human help. Fast forward to 2021, and RoboEatz is showing off its fully autonomous robotic meal-preparation system that can put together 1,000 meals on its own before a human is needed to refill its ingredients.

RoboEatz Ark 03 is a 200 sq. ft. standalone kiosk featuring an articulating arm, 110 fresh ingredients (30 of which are liquids like soups and salad dressings), an induction cooker and a number of cubbies that hold orders for pickup. After an order is placed (via mobile app or tablet), the robot arm grabs ingredients, places them in the rotating induction cooker, and puts the finished meal container in a cubby. You can see it in action in this video:

RoboEatz creates both cold and hot food, can produce a meal every 30 seconds, cleans and sanitizes itself, and only needs a human for refilling any ingredients that run out. Food can also be customized to meet certain taste and dietary preferences.

You won’t be seeing RoboEatz-branded robo restaurants, as the company plans to license out its technology to third-party restaurants. As I’ve said before, this type of co-branding makes a lot of sense for food robot companies. Hungry consumers won’t know what a “RoboEatz” restaurant would serve, but they would know what to expect from a robot kiosk with “Olive Garden” branding (or whatever, I’m just naming a random.

There is more interest in food robots now, thanks to the global pandemic. A fully robotic kitchen/restaurant means a truly contactless meal creation and pickup experience.

But food robots have the potential to help with the operational costs of running a foodservice operation. There’s the aforementioned savings from not employing a human (a bigger, ethical and societal issues to be sure), but robots can also dispense ingredients with precision and consistency, reducing ingredient waste. Robots can also keep ingredients out of the open keeping them away from outside germs and preventing cross-contamination. Plus, they can run 24 hours a day without a break, eliminating any downtime.

All of the above is why we’re seeing so many fully autonomous robot restaurants coming to market right now. Karakuri, YPC and Highpper all have various versions of fully autonomous robot restaurant kiosks in the works.

All of those companies are also eyeing the same high-traffic locales when placing their robo-restaurants: hospitals, transportation hubs, schools, etc. RoboEatz says it will be opening its first location “soon” in Latvia (where the company is headquartered), with another location at an undisclosed airport opening as well as a prototype store in the U.S. later this year.

Smile Robotics Makes an Autonomous Table Bussing Robot

Last year was a big one for restaurant server robots, those self-driving trays on wheels that shuttle food from the kitchen to your table and take your empty dishes back. Yes, the pandemic closed many restaurants in the U.S., but companies like Bear Robotics, Pudu Robotics, and Keenon Robotics all made news with their particular autonomous service bots.

All of those autonomous robots, however still require a human to manually transfer food to the table or pick up the dirty dishes and place them back on the robot. And as we live in a COVID world that values fewer human-to-human interactions, this is where Smile Robotics‘ robot could come in handy. The Japanese company has developed the ACUR-C, which can autonomously serve food and drinks or collect trays of dirty or empty dishes and carry them off.

You can check it out for yourself in this video Smile Robotics posted last year:

Autonomous Clear Up Robot (ACUR-C) [Smile Robotics]

That video only shows off the bussing aspect of the robot, and even that capability won’t set any speed records. A human would be able to clear those tables in a fraction of the time it takes the robot. But it’s a start, and as with all things robot, the technology is only going to improve.

The ACUR-C is fully self-driving robot. In other words, it doesn’t need ceiling or floor markers to “see” and navigate around a restaurant. It can carry multiple trays, and the “hands” of the robotic arm can be swapped out to either collect or serve items. We reached out to Smile Robotics to find out more and will update this post when we hear back.

It’s super easy to see the ACUR-C fitting into a restaurant like the Country Garden robot restaurant complex in Guangdong, China. That restaurant has robot servers and food descending from ceilings, but nothing (as far as we know) that will automatically bus the tables.

Smile Robotics, however, could be thinking a little closer to home. Japan has an aging population and is facing a resulting labor shortage. A robot table server + busser combo will undoubtedly find a lot of use there.

From Dosas to Biryanis, Mukunda Foods is Automating Indian Cuisine

One of the things I miss most during this pandemic is work travel. There is so much great innovation happening in food tech around the world right now, and I can only read about or watch video of it.

Case in point, I’d love to hop over to Bangalore, India, where Mukunda Foods has been developing an array of devices to automate restaurant cooking since its founding in 2012. Among Mukunda’s food robots is the Dosamatic dosa maker, the Doughbot roti maker, and an automatic Biryani maker. The company has also developed a smart fryer, a steam microwave and an induction cooker to make bowl foods.

Dibyananda brahma, Vice President of Growth at Mukunda Foods told me during a call last week that his company already has machines installed in more than 2,000 locations.

Here in the U.S., one of the reasons restaurants are adopting automation is because of labor issues. Back before the pandemic, it wasn’t uncommon for a QSR to have more than 100 percent churn in its workforce. I asked brahma what is driving automation in India, and he said that access to labor isn’t as much a problem as finding workers with the right skills.

Automatic Table top dosa making machine (NEW) by Mukunda Foods

Because Mukunda Foods’ machines automate so much of the work in making food, there isn’t a need for as much skill in making dosas or biryanis. According to a case study provided by Mukunda Foods, traditionally, biryanis require 2 skilled cooks and and 90 minutes to make. Mukunda says its automation can reduce that to 1 operator (per shift) and just 60 minutes to prepare biryani.

Like everywhere else, brahma said that the COVID pandemic has spurred inbound interest from restaurants. As noted, Mukunda touts its ability to create more food with fewer people, which reduces the amount of human-to-human contact in the restaurant and provides more space in the kitchen for social distancing.

Robots also have general benefits outside of pandemic-related issues. Machines can operate all day without taking a break, they can reduce supply costs through precise ingredient application, and they can create consistent meals with little variation (i.e. not burnt).

The cost for Mukunda machines varies. The fryers start at $400, a flatbread maker costs $1,000 and the Dosamatic costs $2,000. These prices aren’t bad, considering that Zimplistic’s Rotimatic home roti making machine costs $1,000.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mukunda Foods’ machines pop up here in the U.S. joining other food automation players such as Picnic, Middleby and Miso Robotics. Mukunda is also working on applying its technology to other types of cuisines like Italian and other Asian fare.

Hopefully, though, the day won’t be too far off when I can travel to India and see (and taste!) the results for myself.

Make sure to check out food robots and other food tech at The Spoon’s Food Tech Live on January 11th!