Robots and Food: A Match Made in Heaven

The way food is made has gotten considerably different, over the past couple of years. With the inclusion of technology, every process has become simpler and convenient. From something as simple as grinding and heating food to something slightly complicated as making pasta. One such tech that has been very active in the food industry is robotics. Robots are taking over the food business, making the process convenient for both consumers as well as manufacturers. But where and how? And can they truly make human cooks indispensable? Let’s find out.

Most FMCG are produced using robots

FMCG or Fast Manufacturing Consumer Goods includes everything that you buy in departmental stores these days. From instant noodles to biscuits to chips and wafers, many of these are going ahead and adopt robotics to streamline their work, whether it is in core manufacturing or packaging. With the help of these robots, companies are able to shell out thousands of packets in a fraction of minutes, something that would take forever if done manually. This also helps in keeping the manufacturing costs to a minimum which in-turn reduces the end-product prices.

Automated food-cooking

There are robots that also cook a dish from the first whisk to the end garnish. Singapore is home to a special kind of robot that makes a sunny side omelette. It cracks the egg, pours it on a skillet as well as flips it on to a plate, and it is ready in minutes! Across the world, there are various kinds of Pizza-making robots that do everything from making the dough to adding the toppings as well as putting it in and taking it out of the oven. These robots cannot fully replace a well-learned chef, at least not at this stage, but it is getting really close.

Food delivery robots

There are many fine-dine restaurants that have switched the conventional wait-staff with automated robots that are responsible to serve food to their diners. The Yellow Chilli outlet in Doha has been using one for many months now and it has been a constant source of amazement and convenience to the diners. With robots replacing the wait-staff, it lets the restaurant focus its manpower on far crucial responsibilities, while also constantly maintaining hygiene standards.

Humans>Robots any day!

Robots today are getting as good as humans, even better, and while that may be a good thing, they can never replace the warmth, the instincts and the emotions of a human cook. The love with which a mother cooks food for her child or the whole family, or the passion a chef brings to his dish to please his diners. In the end, emotions help in creating something truly extraordinary. That’s something that the robots will never have.