First Robot Burger flipper - meet Flippy

www.cnn.com...

Flippy, a burger-grilling robot, is now manning grill at a California fast food restaurant, using thermal imaging and 3D optics to sense when to flip and remove hamburger

The burger robot has been around for a little while. I think they had to tweet it because it was too fast for its human counterparts.

Say bye bye to higher min wage for fast food workers.
Let's face it fast food is not quality food. It is mass produced. It is actually better that a robot makes it to achieve consistency in taste and maybe
safety in cooking.

I don't think that Robots could ever take the place of mid/fine dining. There is something about food chemistry and the people that are making it. At least for now. Can you imagine a Robot making high end sushi, or the absolute perfect steak? I don't see that right now, but we'll see.

They turk err jerb's!

a reply to: JAGStorm

Ah, yes- Flippy.
The robot that ATS can't get enough of.

2017
2017 again
2018

You will soon be out of work you little sedentary aquatic invertebrate, the machines are rising

Robot burger flippers?

They are behind the times.

Your future looks like this.

People want fast, cheap and good...pick any two. Instead of paying 15 bucks an hour X 16 people you just need 4 kiosk and a mix of vending machines to meet about 80% of people's desires for fast food. Japan has it down to a science. With this you would need one person to clean tables dump trash and maybe two workers in the kitchen, that is a savings of 1500 per day or $570,000 per year for one fast food.

originally posted by: neo96
Robot burger flippers?

They are behind the times.

Your future looks like this.

OH heck ya!! A robot that cleans after it cooks, that's what I'm talking about!!!

originally posted by: Xtrozero
People want fast, cheap and good...pick any two. Instead of paying 15 bucks an hour X 16 people you just need 4 kiosk and a mix of vending machines to meet about 80% of people's desires for fast food. Japan has it down to a science. With this you would need one person to clean tables dump trash and maybe two workers in the kitchen, that is a savings of 1500 per day or $570,000 per year for one fast food.

I wish we had Japanese vending in the US! No dealing with rude employees. Just pick your poison, put your money in the machine and in a few minutes, hot food. It actually looks pretty good too.

]]]]

a reply to: JAGStorm

Should cost around $15,000.

On the expensive side but the price will come down like everything.

time.com...

The robotic chef, complete with a purpose-built kitchen, including an oven, hob, dishwasher and sink, will cost £10,000 (around $15,000). Yet that price point will depend on a relatively high demand for the kitchen and it’s still unclear how large the market is for such a product at the moment.

People do spend that much on appliances anyway.

Well some do.

If you have to have a person there putting cheese on the burgers, then have that person flipping the burgers too. I bet that robot is not cheap and I bet that it doesn't scrape and clean the grill or make sure grease is not overflowing the drain pan. i would say that overall, this robot is not worth the investment. I bet that robot does not have relatives that go to the restaurant and order food to support the choice of the business to keep their friend or relative working.

No we need a robotic sammich maker!

originally posted by: neo96
a reply to: JAGStorm

Should cost around $15,000.

On the expensive side but the price will come down like everything.

time.com...

The robotic chef, complete with a purpose-built kitchen, including an oven, hob, dishwasher and sink, will cost £10,000 (around $15,000). Yet that price point will depend on a relatively high demand for the kitchen and it’s still unclear how large the market is for such a product at the moment.

People do spend that much on appliances anyway.

Well some do.

That's pennies I work with ovens that cost 25k+ with 0 automation

Just wait tell they can taste than food as we know it may change


I'd like to see something so we can tell if food will make you sick before you eat it

Chili's started laying off cooks a couple years ago due to the conveyor belt system they now use (not at every location, yet) to cook burgers, steaks and chicken. Source- I was a manager/employee for 7 years with them. They got these in around the same time they started using touch-screens at the tables so guests don't have to ask their server for everything, you can place your entire order from it as well as make requests for refills and whatnot.

If there's a way a corporate restaurant can save a few bucks, they'll take it. I worked in the casual dining business for 20 years and couldn't be more thankful to be out of it. Friday's, Chili's, Longhorn, all owned by different companies but run exactly the same. (Here's a tip for those who like to go to Capitol Grille over Longhorn, they use the EXACT same cuts of steak from the EXACT same supplier, you're literally paying extra so you can feel like you're in a higher scale restaurant)

I don't blame the restaurants. When you're level of quality is at Chili's level, you're actually better off letting a machine do the job than the guy who has been passed over for a raise numerous times but still busts his ass, or the guy nodding off from methadone and burning his hand on the flat top.

Most casual dining joints have 3-6 line cooks, pay is anywhere from $10-20 an hour (I was at $15 before I went into management) and the staff is questionable, at best. Every restaurant generally has 1, 2 if they're lucky, guy who can pretty much run the line by himself at it's busiest moment and the rest of the guys barely put in the effort to show up regularly. The work can be pretty brutal at times and is some of the hardest work I've ever done (I've also done commercial roofing and am currently a property engineer). If a company can get a more consistent worker in the form of a machine, which they don't have to pay weekly/bi-weekly, of course they're going to take that route. Even figuring the conveyor system costs $5K to install, it'll pay for itself in under a year by laying off someone who is making $20K a year and doesn't give a # about their job.

a reply to: JAGStorm

So it does a small part of working in a fast food kitchen?

I worked at a&w about 12-13 years ago. There was a bit more than just flipping burgers. I remember cutting, battering and breading onion rings, deep frying stuff, cooking chicken, eggs in whatever style the customer wanted cleaning things, cutting and preparing vegetables, keeping track of and making up to a dozen orders at a time.

Flipping burgers was a fairly small part of the job....

a reply to: Drucifer

Heeeey fellow former Chili's worker here.
I worked as a hostess at Chili's in my youth.
Worst job ever!! Dealing with hungry people that don't want to wait is the worst.

Dealing with servers that don't want to be "slammed" is the worst. Totally hated it!

Funny enough, I loved the food there, but it has changed so much in taste over the years. Maybe robots can
make it taste good again!

originally posted by: dug88
a reply to: JAGStorm

So it does a small part of working in a fast food kitchen?

I worked at a&w about 12-13 years ago. There was a bit more than just flipping burgers. I remember cutting, battering and breading onion rings, deep frying stuff, cooking chicken, cleaning things, cutting and preparing vegetables, keeping track of and making up to a dozen orders at a time.

Flipping burgers was a fairly small part of the job....

Flipping burgers now, but doing all those other things are surely on the way.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Drucifer

Heeeey fellow former Chili's worker here.
I worked as a hostess at Chili's in my youth.
Worst job ever!! Dealing with hungry people that don't want to wait is the worst.

Dealing with servers that don't want to be "slammed" is the worst. Totally hated it!

Funny enough, I loved the food there, but it has changed so much in taste over the years. Maybe robots can
make it taste good again!

IIRC, there is a new chain in San Fran where the robot pretty much does everything. Pretty cool industrial / modern design as well.

Robots Making $6 Hamburgers

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: dug88
a reply to: JAGStorm

So it does a small part of working in a fast food kitchen?

I worked at a&w about 12-13 years ago. There was a bit more than just flipping burgers. I remember cutting, battering and breading onion rings, deep frying stuff, cooking chicken, cleaning things, cutting and preparing vegetables, keeping track of and making up to a dozen orders at a time.

Flipping burgers was a fairly small part of the job....

Flipping burgers now, but doing all those other things are surely on the way.

Maybe. I dunno though, I think machines replacing humans at everything is a far fetched dream by technologists that won't happen. I work a job that's basically been automated about as much as it can be. I do about the same amount of work in a day it would take several people to do by hand. I have no worries about machines replacing me further. Machines break down in weird ways and when they do they cause damage and cost money to fix the machine and the damage, there are decisions machines can't make, no amount of clever algorithms will change this, machines are expensive and require constant maintenance. The more machines you have, the more people you need to maintain them. As of right now, i'm behind on the maintenance for the machines I run, due to lack of people, and the quality of the products have decline because of this as well as the health of the machines. Things produced by machines are not perfect and require checking and usually post processing by people, especially for higher quality things.

What happens when flippy's sensor #s up and a bunch of people get poisoned?

originally posted by: caterpillage
No we need a robotic sammich maker!

Ummm...then you’ll legally be able to kick it in the can...and tell it to get in the kitchen and make me a sammich...


Awesome...





YouSir

originally posted by: YouSir

originally posted by: caterpillage
No we need a robotic sammich maker!

Ummm...then you’ll legally be able to kick it in the can...and tell it to get in the kitchen and make me a sammich...


Awesome...

YouSir

You know what I like about it? I am weird and like my burgers plain, as in no ketchup, no mayo, no mustard, no lettuce. Literally plain. For whatever reason this is such an abstract concept to workers. I even once got a burger with no burger, just two plain buns!

With a robot, I hope when I say plain burger it will understand it as one without condiments? We'll see.