Three arms gather to make chicken. A human has two arms, and the other is a multi-joint robot that moves like a human arm.
First, cut raw chicken into bite-size pieces and trim it. Next is the robot’s turn. Fold and spread the joints like humans and coat the meat with fried clothes. Put the meat in a boiling 170-degree oil and stir it so that it does not stick. The person receives the freshly fried chicken again and season it.
■ Neuromeka expands supply of fried chicken robot Indy7
Robots now occupy one side of the kitchen and permeate daily life. Neuromeka, which has manufactured cooperative robots and supplied them to various industrial sites, is expanding the supply of cooking robots “Indie 7.” Neuromeka has supplied Indie 7 to the chicken franchise Lambert Chicken since 2020.
It gradually went viral and signed an MOU with Kyochon Chicken in October last year. Currently, different recipes are applied to robots for each menu, and supply is started by examining the store situation.
The Neuromeka cooking robot Indy 7 is putting fried chicken in an oil tank. (Photo = Neuromeka)
Lee Sung-woo, head of Neuromeka’s integrated marketing team, said, “There are many contacts from other chicken franchises and private businesses.” He explained, “When we receive a supply request, we upgrade and provide the robot’s movement according to each store’s unique recipe.”
Cooking robots take the place of dangerous or bad things that humans do in the kitchen. For example, Lee Sung-woo, head of the team, said, “When frying chicken, people can suffer from respiratory diseases by continuing to inhale oil or oil,” adding, “Cooking cooperative robots like Indy 7 are put into the field to do bad things instead of people.”
Cooking robots are mainly manufactured and supplied in the form of B2B. The restaurant industry says the advantage is that robots can keep the taste and quality of food constant. In response, an official from the robot industry also said, “Customers who request robots put only the set ingredients in a fixed amount and ask a lot of the characteristics of robots that keep the cooking time accurately.”
■ VD Company is preparing for commercialization of Serving Robot Ear Built-in Cookbot
Companies that had previously entered robot manufacturing have developed cooking robots. VD Company, which recently surpassed 2,000 cumulative serving robots, is also expanding its business by preparing to supply cooking robots “Cookbot.”
Cookbot is characterized by its built-in form. If you add ingredients and choose a recipe, the cookbot completes the food according to your personal taste, such as salty and sweet taste. In particular, it has the function of dissolving smoke from cooking and sending it out with water, greatly reducing the smell. Cookbot can continue to add recipes as long as it connects to Wi-Fi. Download a new recipe as if you’re putting a picture in the cloud and storing it.
VD Company’s built-in cooking robot Cookbot (Photo = VD Company)
An official from VD Company said, “We are currently receiving KC certification (national certification related to safety, environment, quality, etc.), and expected to commercialize it as soon as possible, such as the second half of this year.” He then said, “Just as dishwashers were initially supplied in the form of B2B to restaurants, and then came into the home, cookbots will approach more users in the long run.”
■ Large companies such as Doosan Robotics are also rushing to enter the market.
Large domestic companies are also speeding up their entry into the cooking robot market. Doosan Robotics unveiled the cooking robot “Cookbot Chef” for the first time at the IFS franchise start-up fair held for three days from the 24th of this month.
Chef Cookbot worked with Robotech to create it. Almost all fried dishes such as meat, vegetables, and frozen food are available, and up to 24 chickens can be fried per hour. In addition, more than 20 kinds of Korean, Chinese, and Western noodle dishes can be made. Noodles are cooked 60 bowls per hour.
Doosan Robotics participated in the IFS franchise start-up fair and introduced the cooking robot Cookbot Chef for the first time. (Photo = Doosan Robotics)
Doosan Robotics said, “We will start full-fledged sales within this year after receiving various certifications in the first half.” “It will be useful in various restaurants and hotels,” he expected.
Earlier, LG Electronics added “Chloe Chef Bot” to its robot brand “Chloe” in 2020. Chloe Chefbot demonstrated noodle manufacturing at four family restaurant VIPS branches. When a person puts out the ingredients he or she wants in a bowl, the robot boils the noodles in hot water to complete the dish.