Robo Cooks

 INTRODUCTION:

Robotics and Robotic Process Automation are an integral part of Industry 4.0. This has significant implications on the packaged foods since robots are now an essential part of the industry. At the factory floor, robots help with new ways to process and package food which greatly improves food safety and sanitation scores. The use of robots also presents an opportunity to delegate jobs that are ergonomically difficult and dangerous for human workers.

FOOD SAFETY:

• ●       Although the increasing presence of robots in factories is partially motivated by labor costs, their impact on food safety is even greater. Robots provide a clean, contamination-free production environment which ensures food handling and processing occurs in a zero contamination environment.
• ●       The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimates 48 million Americans are infected, 128,000 hospitalized and 3,000 die due to foodborne illnesses every year. As a result, limiting human contact with food items is an essential step in the packaged food industry.
• ●       The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has also raised the bar on the sanitary requirements for a lot of packagers and processors which in turn has increased the reliance on robots and robotic process automation technology.

LABOUR:

●       As more robots occupy the factory floor, there is a focus on labor health and safety. Labour is necessary for managing the robotic workflow and this can be done without putting the labour in danger of contamination or injuries on the floor.

●       However, there are negative impacts to the labour force with more automation, particularly in terms of quantity. As a result, food producers will have an opportunity to train workers for more skilled opportunities while increasing their on-floor knowledge of factory operations.

ADVANTAGES OF ROBOTS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY:

●       Robots are great at doing menial and repetitive jobs at high speeds with extreme consistency which makes them a worthwhile investment in terms of efficiency and yield.

●       Industrial food production is a complicated process involving preparing, cooking, sorting, and packaging. Integrating industrial robots not only helps save time and space but also improves cleanliness and safety. 

●       Food production robots are commonly used in the dispensing, cutting, packaging, or casing of food, pick-and-placing products into containers, and sorting.  When done by humans, these tasks have a significant error margin which would be harmful at large levels.

●       Robots are equipped with necessary technology such as cutting tools, vision systems, and scanners which allows for smooth operations with minimal time loss.

3D FOOD PRINTING:

 

●       3D food printing is a new and rapidly growing industry where food products are made using additive manufacturing techniques. The most common form of food printing involves food-grade syringes that deposit precise amounts of food layer by layer. This task is impossible to replicate by humans at a large scale.

●       Advanced 3D food printers come with pre-loaded recipes also allow users to remotely design and customize the look of their food using computers, phones, and other devices.

●       This food can then be customized in terms of its shape, colour, texture, flavour, and nutritional content, making it very useful in various fields such as space exploration and healthcare.

3D Food Printing Techniques

Extrusion-based printing:

The ingredients used in extrusion-based printing are generally soft and viscous to ensure they can be pushed out of a syringe/print head while retaining a chosen shape. In this process, materials are heated and bound by heat to form various layers.

Inherently soft materials include jelly, frosting, cheese, mashed potatoes, and purees.

Selective laser sintering and binder jetting:

Instead of relying on heat to hold the materials together, this process uses a liquid binder to get the job done. Another limitation of this process is the use of only powdered ingredients such as sugar, chocolate powder, and protein powder.

Inkjet printing:

An extremely clever process that leverages ingredients with low viscosity to fill surfaces, inkjet printing utilizes gravity to drop edible food ink onto the surface of a food. This is a non-contact method that increases the safety quotient while handling food. Common ingredients in inkjet food printing include sauces and colored food inks.

Hot-Melt and Room Temperature:

In this technique, the extrusion heats the food material slightly above the melting point. This melted material is then extruded from the head and solidifies after cooling giving great control over desired form and model. Foods such as chocolate, jelly, frostings, and purees are used in this technique.

Multi-Printhead and Multi-Material:

One of the most complicated 3D food printing techniques, this process allows for multiple ingredients to be printed at the same time or in succession. This process allows for faster production with increased efficiency.

 

Post-processing 3D Printed Food:

It is not necessary that 3D-printed food is fit for consumption immediately. Some additional steps may be required to make the foods more palatable. This can include the likes of baking, frying, or cleaning. This is an extremely critical step as without this printed food might not be safe for consumption.

A major concern comes up at this step which is deformation. It is highly possible that 3D printed foods might be deformed after post-processing; however, this is a growing field and these solutions are on the way. Currently, food additives such as Transglutaminase (meat glue) and hydrocolloids are added while printing 3D printed foods to retain their shape after cooking.

Pros of 3D printed food:

3D printed foods are the next evolution in the culinary journey. These principles and techniques further the artistic side of culinary arts by providing pathways to explore textures, shapes, and plating.

They also offer the possibility of providing cruelty-free meats and creating sustainable food production practices. Additionally, space travel is made much tastier by leveraging the technology and principles of 3D printing.

Moley The Robotic Kitchen

Robotics has also allowed for new ventures in the culinary ecosystem. Moley Robotics, founded by Mark Oliynk has created service robots for kitchen use. The current prototype of Moley Robotic Kitchen includes two robotic arms equipped with tactile sensors to operate kitchen equipment such as blenders, whisks, knives, and the stove and several kitchen appliances such as an oven, a stove, and even a dishwasher.

 This process is replicated by capturing data from a 3D camera and wired gloves worn by a human chef. The data is then uploaded to a database where the chef’s actions are translated into digital movements using gesture recognition algorithms. The kitchen then replicates the whole sequence of actions to cook an identical meal from scratch.