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Five ways robots can make your kitchen routine easier
Here at Moley Robotics, we’re hard at work on the prototype of the consumer version of our big idea: an automated kitchen capable of whipping up Michelin-star-worthy delicacies at the touch of a button.
Our prototype was voted “Best of the Best” at the Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai in 2015, and hailed around the world by the likes of The Economist, The Telegraph, Bloomberg News, Reuters, Time and many more.
Now, we’re about to run an equity crowdfunding campaign in private launch, offering a chance to take an ownership slice in our company for as little as £10. For more about that, click here. We are also collecting emails and getting in touch with those who reside outside of UK and EU but still want to back us. Please, sign up here.
If our concept is simple, our engineering is staggeringly advanced.
Motion-capture technology traces the movements of the world’s top chefs as they prepare their most succulent dishes.
Then space-age, robotic hands swing into action to recreate those masterpieces.
We know it sounds futuristic. But we’re already doing it. The truth is that the future is knocking at the door of your kitchen. Indeed, we’re not the only ones with nifty, rocket-man ideas aimed at reshaping your cooking experience. A number of robots are revving up to take your kitchen into the space age.
Of course, we think the Moley Robotic Kitchen is the most exciting thing since, well, human-sliced bread. But we salute all inventors adding their ideas to the mix. So, right now, we thought we’d mention a few of those that are worth looking at.
Here are five robots that already exist, new gizmos that show how your time in the kitchen may soon become easier, more advanced, and hopefully a lot more fun.
PR2: Pizzas and pancakes
Can a robot cook pizza? A company called RoboHow took up this challenge last year with a gadget dubbed PR2. This nifty little robocook is primed to undertake specific tasks like flipping a pancake with a spatula and rolling out pizza dough. PR2 was hailed as a breakthrough in the robot world because, while these tasks may be pretty easy for humans, robots have a hard time with them.
Michael Beetz, head of RoboHow, told Wired: “Common sense knowledge like moving the spatula to place the pancake on the plate [is] an implicit knowledge humans have, but it’s extremely hard to make that explicit for a robot.”
Starship: Delivery
To cook, you need ingredients. One clever little drone wants to help you with that. In spite of its name, Starship never leaves the ground. Instead it weaves and bobs on its six little wheels over distances of several miles. Starship is ideal for carrying groceries back from the market. In theory, you just fill out your online shopping form, and, hey presto, an hour or so later Starship is at your door with your purchases.
Starship was created by Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, heroes of the tech world and co-founders of the messaging service Skype. Their drone uses a combination of GPS and 4G to navigate. If anyone tries to steal your groceries en route, Starship emits a large squeal and takes a picture of the thief.
The device isn’t too fond of stairs, but its designers say it can jump over kerbs and cobbles.
Sawyer: Opening things (like jars)
One of the cutest robots around is Sawyer, which was largely designed to help industrial companies move objects around and screw them together. The one-armed bot was intended to work on automated production lines. But might it also have a place in your home?
One day a Sawyer-like device may be in your kitchen grabbing jars and cans and using its awesome power and technique to open them in response to voice commands.
Incidentally, for even trickier tasks, Sawyer has a two-armed sibling named Baxter.
iRobot Roomba: Cleaning the kitchen floor
Here’s one you’ve probably heard of: the Roomba from iRobot. The gadget first appeared over a decade ago, wowing both techies and the house-proud with its ability to zip across a floor and clean while its owner enjoys the good life.
Since then, the Roomba has become even smarter. Now there’s a range of models from the 631, which does the basics, to the top-of-the-range 980, which can actually clean a whole level of your home and even sense where the dirtiest bits are to ensure they get extra attention.
Moley Robotic Kitchen: Cooking your meal
We couldn’t leave our amazing Moley off the list, could we? We’re whipping up a fully automated kitchen with the ability to rustle up your favourite food, and then take care of the washing up. Sure, we think it’s impressive. But you don’t have to take our word for it.
“The result is uncanny,” wrote The Telegraph newspaper. The Moley robotic chef makes an “excellent crab bisque,” said The Economist magazine.
Eventually we aim to maintain a digital library recipes, and to let our users add and share their own creations.
We’ve got more work to do before a commercial model becomes available. Our goal is to bring the cost of a Moley Robotic Kitchen down to the point where installing one is roughly the same cost as a traditional kitchen upgrade.
If you share our vision, and want to join our project as one of our earliest investors, click here to learn about our equity crowdfunding campaign via UK-based SEEDRS.
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