厨房机器人研发取得进展

（单词翻译）

Robots Gaining Ground in Kitchens 厨房机器人研发取得进展

Search-and-rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ advanced robots.  But there is another segment of everyday life that may soon see many robots taking over jobs usually reserved for humans: the restaurant industry.

At the DARPA Robotic Challenge competition held in California, robots were required to complete tasks quite simple for humans — drive a vehicle, climb up steps, cross some rough terrain¹, shut a valve. Some spectacular failures illustrated² how hard it is to design efficient walking machines.

Only a few days later, at an annual food machinery³ and technology exhibition in Tokyo, a stationary⁴ robotic chef prepared food with remarkable⁵ versatility⁶, while other machines cooked, baked pastries⁷ and even wrapped perfect sushi.

Akihiro Suzuki, assistant manager at Yaskawa Electric, said his company's robot, MOTOMAN-SDA5, could be an excellent kitchen assistant because it never gets tired.

“Obviously, it's difficult for him to taste or adjust heat or seasonings⁹ properly to get the best flavor," Suzuki said. "But if it's simple cooking with a specific proportion of seasoning⁸, he can repeat the same movement to reproduce the same dish.”

Visitors were impressed. Masayo Mori, watching the robot at work, said, "I wouldn't mind getting a husband like this for myself.”

Suzumo Machinery displayed its sushi maker¹⁰, which takes over the strenuous¹¹ and repetitive task of wrapping the increasingly popular Japanese delicacy¹².

Hiroshi Monden, one of the company managers, said sushi "has been spread to the world, but sushi chefs are not as much.  With this machine, anybody can make sushi so easily and repeatedly.”

Another new technology that impressed onlookers¹³ was a machine designed by the Furukawa Kikou company for scooping¹⁵ and moving soft ingredients without leaving any residue¹⁶. Development division manager Takuya Furukawa said the machine, SWITL, was perfect for the fast-food industry.

“This machine is devised to scoop¹⁴ up soft material like hamburger patties or dough¹⁷ to put them into ovens or freezers without spoiling their shapes,” he said.

The company would not say what kind of technological¹⁸ breakthrough their innovation was based upon. Experts suspect the surfaces may be covered with some kind of hydrophobic material that repels¹⁹ water molecules²⁰.

Other robots, such as those that frost cakes or peel and slice apples, may also find their way into today’s kitchens.