And with nice aesthetics, too! Generally most robots look like, well, robots. This one has gracefully been given a nice touch of high design – a work of art. And one with a lot of AI in it! First, in action:
From TechCrunch: In the meantime, other entrepreneurs have tried to find a business in food robots. There was the now-defunct Y Combinator startup Bistrobot that haphazardly spurted liquid peanut butter and Nutella on white bread and called it a sandwich. More recently, Miso Robotics’ burger-flipping arm named Flippy made headlines, even though all it does is flip and cook patties on a traditional griddle. “We have an arm that pulls out the burgers, but that’s probably 5 percent of the complexity” of the full Creator robot run by 350 sensors, 50 actuators and 20 computers, Vardakostas scoffs.
A great behind the scenes story on how this came to be over at Makezine:
A Bun conveyor: Pneumatic piston, laser sensors, and control algorithm push whole brioche buns single file into the …
B Bun slicer: Sensors detect bun, then servos pull wood block down to push bun through oscillating blade. Whole buns stay fresher than pre-sliced, don’t need preservatives.
C Vertical toaster: Butters the bun heel and crown, then camshaft-operated paddles press them onto the two-sided vertical griddle, and scoot them along to the …
D Case handler: Vacuumplucks a paper clamshell box off the stack and places it on butterfly belt, where it catches the toasted bun.
E Butterfly belt: Key to moving the burger down the line and reading its position at all times. Unlike ordinary conveyors, any portion of this belt can move independently.
F Saucer: First stop inside the refrigerated assembly line. 15 different condiments are squirted by a Cartesian X-Y sauce head similar to a plotter.
G Veggie slicers: Pickles, tomato, and onion are sliced fresh onto bun heel.
H Lettuce portioner: Pre-shredded butter lettuce is the only part of this burger not cut to order seconds before you eat.
I Cheese shredder: Grates two types of cheese directly onto bun crown. Load cells in receiving cup measure portion to nearest gram.
J Cheese melter: Like an intense heat gun. Initially had noise and vibration issues, solved with mounting solutions from automotive industry.
K Seasoner: Pneumatic puffer blows spices onto burger or bun, depending on recipe. Custom acrylic hoppers with 12 seasonings are rotated into position by proprietary gearing system.
L Grinder: Custom built, refrigerated unit grinds marinated brisket and chuck fresh to order — no oxidation — and delivers it to the …
M Patty former: Secret technology, inspired by chef Heston Blumenthal’s technique, aligns the cut direction from the grinder vertically with your bite direction, for the tenderest bite. Detects portion amount, then briefly smashes patty for optimal sear, and releases to keep it juicy.
N Induction grill: Double electric contact griddles cook the patty top and bottom simultaneously, 40% faster than single grills, using 11 thermosensors and AI machine learning algorithms. No two burgers are cooked exactly alike.
O Triple air filtration: No grease, smoke, or smell — only warm air comes out.
P Robo spatula: Scoops patty from grill onto bun. A visiblelight proximity sensor alerts the staff that your Creator burger is complete.
and the “people history” as well. A good read.