Sony, US univ to develop home-use food preparation robot

April 20, 2018

Tokyo- Sony Corp. and Carnegie Mellon University aim to jointly develop a home-use robot for food preparation that utilizes artificial intelligence technology, the Japanese electronics maker has said.

Sony and the US university have concluded an agreement to collaborate on AI and robotics research. Their initial research and development efforts will focus on optimizing food preparation, cooking and delivery, Sony said Thursday.

Sony aims to release a product that would result from the efforts within five years.

"The technology necessary for a robot to handle the complex and varied task of food preparation and delivery could be applied to a broader set of skills and industries," Sony said in a statement.

Such a robot would need to handle fragile and irregularly shaped materials, carry out complex tasks and be able to operate in small spaces, the company also said.

The research will cover how to enable an AI system to propose food menus, taking into account ingredients available at hand and health conditions of users. Technologies to reflect aesthetic elements into food layouts and presentations will also be studied. Jiji Press