In several sectors, the use of robots and process automation is influencing how goods are designed and how businesses are organized. Robotics is being utilized to replace monotonous manual processes, add intelligence, and generate more ease in anything from autonomous driving to warehouse support. This essay investigates the present and potential future of robotics in our kitchens.
A Kitchen Robot Is What?
The majority of robotic kitchen appliances that combine the activities of multiple other appliances have been used in household cooking and food preparation up to this point. The rise of the multi-cooker was recently highlighted by Smart Cooking Technology in an article that can be found at the following link. When it comes to kitchen robots, we’re seeking for something that offers a higher degree of automation and intelligence throughout the cooking process, despite the fact that a multi-cooker is an all-in-one smart device. However, there are a few countertop smart kitchen equipment that are noteworthy.
Vorwerk Thermomix TM6
Nearly 5 years after the TM5 model debuted as one of the first multi-cookers to incorporate a built-in display, Thermomix® TM6 by Vorwerk went on sale in March 2019. The TM6 offers more than 30 functions, including modes for sous-vide cooking, high temperature cooking, fermentation, and weighing. The complete integration of its Cookidoo® platform, which automatically syncs and updates via the TM6’s inbuilt Wi-Fi, was what distinguished it from the competition at launch, though. Theromix®’s official digital recipe platform, Cookidoo®, offers more than 80,000 (as of this writing) recipes that can be stored and synchronized to the appliance, enabling users to follow step-by-step directions on the built-in display.
The TM6 has more intelligence than rival models because to the incorporation of IoT technology and automated software upgrades, even if the preparation and cooking process itself still requires manual assistance from the user. Although it’s a fantastic all-in-one tool, it hasn’t yet developed the ability to learn and adapt in the manner that we might expect from a kitchen robot buddy.
All of this capability is not free, though! The Thermomix® TM6 retails for about $1,500 (£1,225) at the time of writing (Dec. 2022) on the company’s website. The cost of a Cookidoo® subscription, which is presently $49 (£40) annually, is not included in this.
It incorporates 35 distinct cooking techniques into a single appliance and sports an 8-inch touchscreen display integrated right in for viewing recipes and controlling settings. With multiple independent compartments for stewing, boiling, grilling, and steaming, it has the capacity to prepare up to three dishes at once along with a soup. Xiaomi still has a long way to go before catching up to the Thermomix Cookidoo platform with its more than 200 integrated recipes and lessons, but in terms of hardware, the MIJIA cooking robot offers some intriguing cutting-edge technical features:
Using 3D Induction Heat Technology, Food Will Be Prepared Quickly And Evenly.
This offers better accuracy of control over the precise temperatures throughout the cooking process, much as an induction cooktop and cookware.
A.I. cooking Controlling the cooking process with IoT algorithms
This is referred to as “intelligent calculation of cooking temperature, time and stirring speed for each dish, transforming the chef’s culinary experience in real life into an AI cooking curve that can be continuously updated” by Xiaomi. If this entails that the gadget modifies its settings over time based on the user and customizes the cooking process appropriately, rather of merely having a single heat/time setting, it might be incredibly helpful for those who operate differently or are less comfortable with new technologies.
Control Of Voice Commands Using Xiao
In addition to using its built-in touch screen, the gadget may also be controlled verbally. For a number of reasons, this makes a lot of sense. You could just be busy, or your hands might be filthy from other food preparation, cleaning, etc. that you don’t want to get on the MIJIA’s screen. However, anyone with a disability who could be constrained from utilizing the touchscreen interface will find this handy.
The Xiaomi MIJIA cooking robot cost 5,999 Yuan ($865), which is equivalent to £706 at the time of debut in China. It costs 6,999 Yuan, or $1,005 (£820), on the Chinese market. At noon in Germany, the MIJIA costs €1,199.99 ($1268, or £1035).
Kitchen Robot Suvie®
A countertop robot with a distinct philosophy is the Suvie® Kitchen Robot. It eliminates the hassle of cooking by fully automating the cooking process once the ingredients are added, as opposed to cramming more than 20 tasks into a single appliance. You may also choose to buy its pre-prepared meal packages to make things even easier and eliminate the need for preparation. You can either load it up and start driving right away or schedule it to be ready when it’s most convenient for you.
The third generation of Suvie® devices is now available. In August 2022, Suvie® 3.0 was released, bringing remote start to all cooking modes, 36% greater cooking capacity to its pans, and a lower overall design footprint. Its cooking mechanism differs from previous countertop kitchen robots in a few key ways, including:
Cards For Recipes With NFC ID
Each Suvie® meal package comes with a recipe card that the Suvie® Kitchen Robot can scan using an inbuilt NFC chip. While the recipe card tells the user what goes in each pan and where to put the pans, this automatically loads the devices with the precise parameters for each dish. On the touch-screen display, you can also discover all of the recipes in the internal directory.
Why Do Not Fully Automated Robots Now Exist In Every Kitchen?
Full automation necessitates the creation of a significant quantity of expensive, highly specialized gear and software. It entails the creation of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Due to the lack of existing standards for robotics interoperability, the majority of systems are by their very nature proprietary. As a result, a single solution provider offers a whole system, including all components, sensors, safety mechanisms, hardware, and software. This not only reduces customer choice in add-ons and goods from well-known businesses, it also restricts the attention of developers of certain system components. This might soon change in the market for countertop kitchen robots and smart kitchen appliances as support for IoT standards like Matter emerges; see our recent article on this topic at the following link for more information. Which Matter? Can I use smart kitchen appliances?
Within the next ten years, fully automated solutions as sophisticated as the Moley Robotic Kitchen are unlikely to be accessible to the mass market at an affordable price, but it will be fascinating to follow product developments, test them out, and use the items that fall between the multi-cooker and fully automated kitchen robot!
