It looks like technology is moving toward out-sourcing cooking jobs to robots. Well, their arms to be specific.
We’ve already witnessed how technology has been integrated into our day-to-day routines. Clearly evidenced by things like mobile phones, laptops, and tablets.
But now, instead of only coming to us in the form of personal devices used in our off-hours, technology is moving towards replacing workers with high-precision machines. The example you’ll see here is a robot designed to bring a master chef from a five-star restaurant into the homes of millions. The only thing you need to do to have a high-quality family meal is purchase necessary ingredients and press a button.
The arms follow a program that uses data taken from actual chefs as they prepare their favorite recipes. The creators of this product envision it one day being installed in every kitchen and that you will purchase new recipes for your robo-chef from an online catalogue.
“[You’ll] have access to an unlimited library of recipes, which is the intellectual property of, maybe, a hundred thousand different chefs in the world,” said Mark Oleynik, Founder of Moley Robotics. “You can enjoy any kind of these dishes, potentially today, if you have the same ingredients that they used in the cooking process.”
While it is undeniably cool, and assuredly exciting news for the culinary challenged, it could also be concerning for the restaurant industry. Why would you go to a restaurant - where you risk long waits, horrible service and, potentially, food poisoning - when you can streamline the process and get high quality food from the comfort of your own home?
Not to be an alarmist, but that could mean the jobs of 14 million Americans currently employed in the restaurant industry, save the one hundred thousand chefs that may be able to capitalize on their best recipes.
The tech is currently slated to go on the market as early as 2018 at the steep price of $75,000. But the designers say that number could drop substantially should the idea gain traction.