Skip to main content

I have seen the future, and it’s full of salad-making robots

bear robotics
Michael Wolf, founder of The Spoon food tech blog and the Smart Kitchen Summit, watches Bear Robotics’ delivery robot at the ArticulATE food robotics event in San Francisco on April 16, 2019. The Spoon

We’ve all gotten used to robots that can clean floors and automate manufacturing. But can they take over the often tricky work of preparing, serving and delivering food?

Recommended Videos

The answer, from a gaggle of entrepreneurs at the inaugural Articulate Food Robotics Summit in San Francisco earlier this week, was a resounding yes. Robots that can bus tables, toss salads, and bake bread (among other tasks) took center stage at the event, and their creators and the venture capitalists who back them believe they can revolutionize a wide range of food-related businesses. It was the first time that robotics startups mingled with large food chains and other industry players to discuss how robotics can make a difference in everything food-service related, said Michael Wolf, founder of The Spoon food tech blog and the Articulate event.

briggo coffee robot
The Briggo coffee robot is serving java at Dell and a few other businesses. Briggo, Inc.

The most visible robots, to consumers, are likely to be those involving food prep and delivery. For example, Briggo’s robot baristas prepare coffee drinks on demand, typically in corporate environments: They are in use at Dell. You order and customize a drink using Briggo’s smartphone app, then collect it in person.

A Briggo Coffee Haus can prepare about 100 drinks an hour and serve 10 customers at a time, company founder and chief technical officer Chas Studor told the conference. But coffee addicts beware: The device can collect a lot of data about users’ coffee habits. (Coffee lovers can enjoy similar robot barista service at the BBox Cafe in Berkeley, California.)

Sally the salad maker

Also on display at the event: Sally the Robot, a vending machine that dispenses freshly tossed salads on demand. Created by Redwood City, California-based Chowbotics, Sally is already deployed in some 50 locations around the country.

It (she?) features a handsome touchscreen display on which you can either choose a standard salad or create your own from ingredients stored in the refrigerated unit. You can then watch Sally dispense the fixings, toss them with dressing (which you can also customize), and deliver it all to a cardboard bowl, much the way vending machines typically deliver hot beverages.

sally the robot salad maker
Sally the robot salad maker is a vending machine that lets you choose from fresh ingredients and dressing. Chowbotics

Food delivery is another area where robots are making inroads. Two companies at Articulate demonstrated very different approaches to delivering groceries and/or takeout orders. Kiwi designs tiny buggy-style electric robots that roll along city sidewalks at about 4 miles per hour and hold a couple of bags of groceries.

Kiwibots are a lot cheaper than drones, and are already fixtures at UC Berkeley, where company founders developed the technology. The customer collects the Kiwibot’s contents by running a smartphone app that successfully scans the QR code on the device.

 

Kiwibot

AutoX, in contrast, is going with full-blown vehicles capable of freeway speeds and able to hold 20 to 30 grocery bags, allowing for multiple deliveries on a single run. Eventually, the company expects these delivery vehicles to be self-driving.

Restaurants may also take advantage of new technology to offload menial work. Redwood City, California-based Bear Robotics, for example, has created a robot named Penny that can serve and bus tables. “Everybody loved to see the robot in the restaurant,” Bear Robotics CEO John Ha said.

Asked whether human waiters resented their robotic co-worker, Ha said they appreciated not having to hoist the heaviest trays.

Asked whether human waiters resented their robotic co-worker, Ha said they appreciated not having to hoist the heaviest trays. They also found that tipping rates rose since the waiters had more time for customer service.

San Carlos, California-based Dishcraft Robotics, meanwhile, is working on back-of-house robots for food prep–robotic arms and the like. (We’ve seen other robot waiters, such as the Ginger created by Nepal’s Paaila Technology.)

ginger robot paaila technology
Ginger, the robot waiter Paaila Technology

Supermarkets are also looking into automation that goes beyond the self-checkout counters already installed in many stores. Albertson’s, for example, has partnered with Waltham, Massachusetts-based Takeoff Technologies to use robots in micro-fulfillment centers that handle online orders.

Following promising trials (including an ongoing one in Walla Walla, Washington), Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based Wilkinson Baking Company is getting ready to deploy its Breadbot robotic bakers in three or the five top supermarket chains, CEO Randall Wilkinson said.

A large contraption somewhat reminiscent of a Rube Goldberg creation, a Breadbot can produce six loaves of bread an hour, or about 90 a day, using ingredients loaded the night before, Wilksinson said. Customers can pick up a loaf of freshly baked bread and use another machine to slice it to order (thin, medium or thick).

wilkonson breadbot
The BreadBot hopes to automate the task of baking bread. Wilkinson Baking Company

Wilkinson says Breadbots have the potential to bring shoppers who might otherwise purchase all their groceries online back to brick-and-mortar stores to enjoy the scent of baking bread and the ability to customize their slices. “People like to interact with their food,” he said.

So…will we see these robots in restaurants and grocery stores soon? And will they eventually replace humans in the food industry? Not so fast, Wolf said. While robots are being more widely used in test cases, there’s not universal adoption yet. Restaurants might be interested in robotics for rote activities like slicing vegetables or working the fryer, but there will always be a need for humans in the industry.

“In 2019 we could probably be seeing these things scaling more widely,” Wolf told Digital Trends.  “We’re certainly not in a place where restaurants can just remove humans. The consensus is we’re not there yet, nor do we want to be.”

Denny Arar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A longtime PC World/TechHive editor and contributor, Denny Arar (a.k.a. Yardena Arar) has also written for The New York…
Earth Day with Reolink: Protecting nature, one camera at a time
earth day with reolink protecting nature one camera at a time hero crop

This Earth Day, Reolink is celebrating the incredible intersection of technology and conservation. With help from environmentally conscious users and dedicated NGO partners, Reolink is proving that small actions, powered by smart outdoor technology, can lead to a big impact for our planet's wildlife and natural landscapes.
Smarter, Greener Outdoor Monitoring
Reolink's lineup of outdoor cameras, including the Go PT Ultra, Go Ranger PT, and TrackMix LTE, do more than safeguard homes. They empower nature lovers to connect with the wild while treading lightly on the environment.

Each camera is engineered for sustainability and performance. Solar power compatibility keeps them running without contributing to battery waste. Their rugged, waterproof designs ensure they survive the toughest outdoor elements. And with stunning 4K 8MP ultra-clear footage, they capture the beauty of wildlife — from the shimmer of a bird's wings to the subtle prowling of a fox at dusk — without disturbing natural behavior.

Read more
Roku expands smart home lineup with two upcoming security cameras
The Roku Battery Camera on a tree

Roku might be known for its streaming sticks and smart TVs, but the brand also has a strong presence in the smart home market. From video doorbells and smart lights to plugs and motion sensors, Roku’s smart home catalog is surprisingly robust. The catalog is set to expand in the coming months, as Roku has officially revealed two upcoming security cameras -- the Roku Battery Camera and Roku Battery Camera Plus.

The Roku Battery Camera Plus is the most enticing of the two, as it can get up to two years of battery life on a single charge (the Battery Camera gets up to six months). They can also be combined with an optional solar panel to extend their battery life. Beyond that, most specs are shared -- including 1080p resolutions, color night vision, and the option to receive motion alerts when activity is detected around your home.

Read more
Aqara releases new Matter hub, security system, and climate sensor
The Aqara Matter Hub

Aqara has been busy as of late. The company announced Matter support for 50 new device types earlier this month, and now it’s launching three new products -- the Aqara M100 Hub, Climate Sensor W100, and Camera Protect Kit Y100. All three are now available for purchase.

If you’re interested in syncing all your smart devices together, the Aqara Smart Hub M100 is bound to be the most exciting of the bunch. The next-gen smart hub is designed for seamless Matter compatibility, allowing you to set up complex automations between Aqara products and Matter-enabled products from other platforms.

Read more