Just 50 years ago, robots were something reserved mainly for science fiction. Nowadays, they’ve made their way into multiple industries, and promise to offer a whole lot more in the future.
In addition to manufacturing, digital service robots are being adopted by the food industry to automate a wide range of different tasks, from food preparation all the way to delivery. For those who are interested in how these technologies will continue to shape the world, let’s explore their application to the food industry.
Current uses
Service robots are already in use in multiple areas of the food industry – understanding these current uses is key to understanding how they’ll be used in the future, so let’s start there.
Food prep
Robots capable of completing relatively simple functions have been used in the food industry for years now, in smaller-scale locations such as restaurants and home kitchens all the way to food processing plants. They can be used to automate tasks like chopping and packaging, simplifying the overall cooking process while making the end result a lot more predictable in terms of quality.
Cooking
Robots don’t just chop our food – they’re capable of cooking whole dishes. In multiple countries, you can find food robots that can cook a whole pizza from scratch, offering you quality food at any time of day. These systems can be used either with human interaction or independently of human elements – either way, they ensure a high level of quality and consistency in the long run.
Serving
Robotic servers are also widely used in the food industry, perhaps most famously in sushi restaurants like Yo Sushi. While the conveyor belt systems many of us are familiar with are quite simple, robot servers are becoming increasingly complex, taking whole orders and then delivering them to tables.
Future developments
Now we know how service robots are already being used, we can take a look at some predictions on how those uses are likely going to evolve over the coming years.
Increasingly adaptive
The main changes we’ll see when it comes to digital service robots will be related to their adaptive capabilities. When hooked up to AI, these technologies will essentially be able to work out what to do on the fly, allowing them to adapt perfectly to fluid situations rather than depending on being told what to do.
Human-robot collaboration
Finally, as robots become increasingly complex and are used in a wider variety of environments, the potential for human-robot collaboration will become more and more important to leverage.
These robots shouldn’t be seen simply as human replacements – when used properly, they can complement human operatives in the workplace and at home perfectly, increasing productivity while removing risk.
If you’re not excited about the prospects of these developments, you should be. Digital service robots have the capacity to totally shake up the food industry, for consumers and businesses alike; as changes like these are hard to predict, it will be crucial to stay up to date with the latest trends, to make sure that you don’t miss out on anything important.
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