TOKYO - They've got ones that clean, and others that pour drinks, so it
was only a matter of time before Japanese inventors came up with robots
that can cook.
Various prototype robo-chefs showed off their cooking skills at the
International Food Machinery and Technology Expo in Tokyo this week,
flipping "okonomiyaki" Japanese pancakes, serving sushi and slicing
vegetables.
"We all know that robots can be very useful. We want to take that
utility out of the factory so that they can be used elsewhere," said
Narito Hosomi, president of Toyo Riki, manufacturers of the
pancake-cooking robot.
Japan has one of the world's fastest aging societies and experts say
robots can help care for the growing number of elderly, and fill in for
the lack of young people willing to take on jobs as chefs, cleaners or
caretakers.
Masanori Hirano of Kyoto-based robot lab Squse, which came up with an
android sushi waiter, said robots could help manage the stress
associated with fine dining establishments.
"If a human does this job, it can be stressful. And if so, they can
leave the work to the robot," he said.
Japan is home to almost half the world's 800,000 industrial robots and
expects the industry to expand to $10 billion.
Tomio Sugiura, president of Sugiura Kikai Sekkei, which manufactured the
vegetable-slicing robot, saw a robot in every home in the near future.
"Nowadays, almost every family has a car. In the near future, every
family would be having a humanoid robot that can help out various things
at home," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment