Robots Gaining Ground in Kitchens

VOA 2015-06-25 14:02

分享到

 

Search-and-rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ advanced robots. But there is another segment of everyday life that may soon see many robots taking over jobs usually reserved for humans: the restaurant industry.

Robots Gaining Ground in Kitchens

Get Flash Player

At the DARPA Robotic Challenge competition held in California, robots were required to complete tasks quite simple for humans — drive a vehicle, climb up steps, cross some rough terrain, shut a valve. Some spectacular failures illustrated how hard it is to design efficient walking machines.

Only a few days later, at an annual food machinery and technology exhibition in Tokyo, a stationary robotic chef prepared food with remarkable versatility, while other machines cooked, baked pastries and even wrapped perfect sushi.

Akihiro Suzuki, assistant manager at Yaskawa Electric, said his company's robot, MOTOMAN-SDA5, could be an excellent kitchen assistant because it never gets tired.

“Obviously, it's difficult for him to taste or adjust heat or seasonings properly to get the best flavor," Suzuki said. "But if it's simple cooking with a specific proportion of seasoning, he can repeat the same movement to reproduce the same dish.”

Visitors were impressed. Masayo Mori, watching the robot at work, said, "I wouldn't mind getting a husband like this for myself.”

Suzumo Machinery displayed its sushi maker, which takes over the strenuous and repetitive task of wrapping the increasingly popular Japanese delicacy.

Hiroshi Monden, one of the company managers, said sushi "has been spread to the world, but sushi chefs are not as much. With this machine, anybody can make sushi so easily and repeatedly.”

Another new technology that impressed onlookers was a machine designed by the Furukawa Kikou company for scooping and moving soft ingredients without leaving any residue. Development division manager Takuya Furukawa said the machine, SWITL, was perfect for the fast-food industry.

“This machine is devised to scoop up soft material like hamburger patties or dough to put them into ovens or freezers without spoiling their shapes,” he said.

The company would not say what kind of technological breakthrough their innovation was based upon. Experts suspect the surfaces may be covered with some kind of hydrophobic material that repels water molecules.

Other robots, such as those that frost cakes or peel and slice apples, may also find their way into today’s kitchens.

(来源:VOA 编辑:杜娟)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn