Remember the robotic kitchen that automatically prepared meals in the 1960s cartoon The Jetsons? Well, it looks like the future is now. UK-based Moley Robotics is planning to launch a line of robotic kitchens designed for installation in single-family homes by the end of 2017.
Moley Robotic says it is developing a robotic kitchen that can cook food using recipes downloaded from the web on your smartphone or other device.
The firm hopes to be selling an affordable consumer version of the robotic kitchen within a couple of years. The firm just introduced their new product at the Hanover Messe industrial robotics show in London this week.
More on new robotic kitchens
The new robotic kitchens are basically two very smart robotic arms with hands. The arms have been programmed with the movements of chef Tim Anderson, the winner of the show “MasterChef” in 2011.
The owner of the robotic kitchen puts the required ingredients into bowls and cups, and then hits start on the computer so the robot start preparing the recipe. Based on a demonstration, the high-tech gizmo can make a delicious crab bisque in a half an hour.
Moley Robotics plans to sell a complete robotic kitchen for close to $14,600.
The company notes future users will have access to an “iTunes style” recipe library. The firm is also developing a mobile app so consumers can remotely tell their robot chef to prepare a specific recipe. There will be more than 2,000 recipes in the digital library.
The smartphone app will allow users to control the robot from anywhere across the globe. The new consumer version will be completely automated as it also comes equipped with a built-in refrigerator and storage system that the robot can access to get ingredients to cook.
Statement from Tim Anderson
“To be honest, I didn’t think this was possible,” commented Anderson, who has been employed at gourmet restaurants Le Gavroche and the Fat Duck, and owns a pop-up restaurant named Nanban in London.
“I chose crab bisque as a dish because it’s a real challenge for human chef to make well, never mind a machine,” he continued. “Having seen – and tasted – the results for myself, I am stunned. This is the beginning of something really significant: a whole new opportunity for producing good food and for peopleto explore the world’s cuisines. It’s very exciting.”
