Never say that nagging never accomplished anything — apparently, one enterprising wife managed to nag her husband into creating a smart robotic chef. At the sixth annual China International Technology Fair, the CEO of a Shanghai-based catering company unveiled his latest creation (which ironically, could put him out of business). The so-called smart robot cooker was apparently developed after the entrepreneur, named He Qing, grew frustrated with his spouse’s constant admonitions about his cooking ability (or lack thereof). As a result, he invented the new cooking machine, which has apparently successfully freed him from his own cooking responsibilities.
Apparently, ever since he brought the cooker home, he hasn’t received any additional complaints about the availability of meals at home.
According to the team behind the robot, the machine requires just three or four minutes to fully prepare a dish. Best of all, it also comes with an automatic cleaning system, so not only do you not have to worry about making dinner, but you also don’t have to dread doing the dishes, either. And thus far, it seems to have met with pretty positive reviews, at least from folks attending the fair. As one willing tester noted: “The dish is so delicious; the robot cooker has better cooking skills than me.”
From the images alone, it certainly looks like decent Chinese food.
As it stands, the robotic cooking machine is only available for lease, and will set you back 10,000 yuan, or about $1,588. There’s an additional 1 yuan (16 cent) charge for each dish that you prepare, which seems like a pretty good deal (though the upfront price is still quite steep). Of course, we haven’t had the opportunity to try any of the dishes produced by this robotic cooker, so there’s no vouching for exactly how delicious they really are. That said, from the images alone, it certainly looks like decent Chinese food.
But like any interesting new product, the robot cooker has already catalyzed quite a bit of debate among social media users in China. While some seem impressed by the machine’s purported abilities, others are not yet convinced. “The man’s story tells us that laziness is a primary productive force,” Weibo user @chengyuyan commented. Another Weibo user, @mushimuzhao, noted: “The most difficult part of cooking is not stir-frying dishes, but preparing raw materials. It seems that the cooker hasn’t solved the problem of cleaning and cutting the cooking [ingredients].”
