The next generation of robotic chefs are here as researchers at Cambridge University unveil their design which is capable of tasting saltiness as well as the ingredients within - imitating humans.
The process is designed to allow the robot to tell when the food it is preparing is ready and the balance of flavours are as required, a process humans achieve through the use of chewing and digestive enzymes within the mouth.
"If robots are to be used for certain aspects of food preparation, it's important that they are able to 'taste' what they're cooking," explained Grzegorz Sochacki, one of the researchers, from Cambridge's department of engineering.
The Cambridge researchers trained the robot to make omelettes before it then tasted nine variations of scrambled egg and tomatoes at three different stages of the chewing process in order to map human taste. A sensor built into the arm of the robot then tests the salinity of the dish.
At last year's Online 2022-23 Food & Drink Trend Summit we welcomed Dr Peter Schroder, chief technical officer at Karakuri to talk about robotics and automation in food and drink with Charles Banks. You can watch the full video below, and on YouTube, as well as recapping the full Trend Summit video library here.