Beijing residents will soon be able to taste a wide selection of fried food prepared by robot chefs after the Chinese capital granted the city’s first food-service licence for humanoids, clearing regulatory hurdles for use of the technology in the catering sector.
The licence was awarded to robot start-up EncoSmart last Thursday by the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, setting the stage for its Lava humanoid series of robots to replace chefs at catering kitchens across the city, according to a report by state-backed Beijing News on the weekend.
The Beijing-based firm’s Lava robots can prepare fried foods such as french fries, which takes two minutes to cook and serve, as well as fried chicken, among others, according to the media report, adding that the system is designed to teach itself to cook new dishes.
The robots can also recognise various ingredients and determine cooking times to enhance the flavour of the meals, thanks in part to their visual-perception ability.
