Universal Robots assist with burger flipping
As global demand for fast food sees burger chains racking up more than $75 billion in annual sales, keeping human cooks out of harm’s way has become a key concern, with slips, trips, burns and cuts all being commonly reported hazards. But now Universal Robots is supplying collaborative robots to a US-based business which is turning them into burger-flipping assistants.
Combining a UR cobot with its own AI technology, Miso Robotics says it is helping to solve the pain points in restaurants and food preparation. In particular, it is focused on the dull, dirty and dangerous work around the grill, the fryer and other prep work such as chopping onions. The idea is to help restaurants to improve food quality and safety without requiring a major kitchen redesign.
Miso Robotics describes its mission as developing technology that assists and empowers chefs to make food consistently and perfectly, at prices that everyone can afford. Designed for real working kitchens, its Flippy kitchen assistant is portable, collaborative and adaptable. It can assist with grilling, frying, prepping and plating, and according to Miso Robotics can be installed in just five minutes. On board cameras and sensors help the robot to determine when a burger is cooked.
The technology is initially being rolled out in collaboration with Cali Group, and will work alongside kitchen staff at CaliBurger restaurants to grill burgers. The success of a trial at a CaliBurger location in Pasadena will see the programme expanded to more than 50 CaliBurger restaurants worldwide by the end of 2019.
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