Cambridge University engineers trained a robot to make tasty omelets.
Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser / CNET
I’m having trouble making omelets. They come out as tanned mutants. So I’m ready to welcome a robotic cook overlord to my kitchen to do the breakfast chores. I just have to go to the University of Cambridge in the UK and ask them to give me theirs robot.
University engineers worked with device companies Beko to train a robot in how to make an omelet, from cracking the eggs to actually cooking them on a stove. You can follow the process in a video released on Monday.
The researchers were not only interested in the physical process; They developed a machine learning technique to train the chief bot in making omelets that would please human taste testers.
“An omelet is one of those dishes that is easy to prepare but difficult to prepare.” Cambridge University engineer Fumiya Iida said in a press release On Monday. “We thought it would be an ideal test to improve a robot cook’s skills and optimize taste, texture, smell and appearance.”
The team published his work in the journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Last month. The results of the study could be used to improve the skills and results for robot cooks.
For years, engineers have been looking for ways to hand over cooking tasks to robots. Samsung shows a bot boss that makes “all boring parts” in 2019. A. Robot pizza cook made cakes at CES 2020.
The proof is of course in the end product. “The omelets generally tasted great – much better than expected!” said Iida.