Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Friday 4 May 2018
Robot fast-food chefs: Hype or a sign of industry change?

By MATT O'BRIEN is that "automation exists
BOSTON (AP) — Robots to improve the quality of
can't yet bake a souffle or human life," so he invests
fold a burrito, but they can savings from the increased
cook up vegetables and productivity in higher wag-
grains and spout them into es for employees and high-
a bowl — and are doing er-quality ingredients for
just that at a new fast ca- customers.
sual restaurant in Boston. Spyce's founders said they
Seven autonomously swirl- chose a relatively simple
ing cooking pots — what type of meal — grain bowls
the restaurant calls a "nev- — and avoided trying to
er-before-seen robotic use robotic arms . With
kitchen" — hum behind the each "degree of freedom,"
counter at Spyce, which a robotics term for move-
opened Thursday in the ment on a joint or axis,
city's downtown. more things can go wrong
Push a touch-screen menu with the machines, they
to purchase a $7.50 meal said.
called "Hearth." A blend "Butchering is pretty hard to
of Brussels sprouts, quinoa, do," said Chui, the McKin-
kale and sweet potatoes sey partner. "On the other
tumbles from hoppers and hand, machines do a pret-
into one of the pots. The A worker lifts a lunch bowl off the production line at Spyce, a restaurant which uses a robotic ty good job of taking the
pot heats the food using cooking process, in Boston, Thursday, May 3, 2018. kernels out of corn and a
magnetic induction, then lot of sorting tasks."
tips to dunk the cooked mate those jobs. But that and moving parts, is the that served hot food when Restaurants marketing
meal into a bowl. Water could change as business- real draw. customers fed a coin to themselves as powered
jets up to rinse it off before es develop cheaper and "The openness of the design open a glass door. by robots or automation
a new order begins. more efficient robot chefs. was something we knew But while food processing have grabbed attention
Is this a robot chef or just Spyce has those, and au- we wanted from the begin- machines are prized for from gawking first-time cus-
another high-tech novelty tomated order-taking ki- ning," said Brady Knight, a their speed and hygiene — tomers in recent years, but
machine? Experts differ, osks to boot, although it still co-founder and engineer. "our robot doesn't get sick," haven't usually lived up
but more such automa- employs plenty of humans. "It is kind of a show. It's fun Knight said — they have a to the hype. In 2007, a sit-
tion is likely headed for the Founded by four former MIT to see what's going on be- harder time handling the down restaurant in Nurem-
fast-food sector in coming classmates who partnered hind the scenes. We didn't complexities of fresh food. berg, Germany, began
years. with Michelin-starred chef want to hide anything be- In Mountain View, Califor- delivering food by gliding it
A report last year by the Daniel Boulud, the restau- cause we think what we nia, the founders of Zume down curvy rails and onto
McKinsey Global Institute rant has hired people to made is pretty cool." Pizza spent years tinker- a big turntable.
said that food preparation do the trickier prep work Automation in the food ing with a robotic kitchen The restaurant's owner, Mi-
jobs are highly vulnerable — parboiling rice, rinsing industry isn't exactly new, that can form pizza dough, chael Mack, told The As-
to automation because and chopping vegetables, though it's often unseen apply tomato sauce and sociated Press at the time
workers spend so much cutting meat and reducing by customers. Think of the transfer the pizza in and out that he was trying to elimi-
time on predictable physi- sauces in an off-site com- chocolate factory convey- of the oven. Other jobs that nate "uncomfortable" fast-
cal tasks. missary kitchen. It also em- or belt that led to comedic require more dexterity and food experiences such as
Currently, there's one big ploys a handful of people mishaps in a famous "I Love judgment — such as layer- long lines, carrying meals to
thing holding back the for customer service and to Lucy" episode in the 1950s, ing on toppings — are left the table and cleaning up.
chefbots: "The human la- garnish the robot-cooked or machines that wash to humans, and the robot The restaurant has since
bor also tends to be lower- blends with fresh toppings. dishes and brew coffee. only performs tasks it can closed. Its online reviews
paid," said McKinsey part- But the mesmerizing ma- There was also the early do dramatically better, complain of high prices
ner Michael Chui, making chinery, equipped with 20th century fad of waiter- CEO Alex Garden said. and traffic jams involving
it less economical to auto- dozens of motors, sensors less "automat" cafeterias Garden said his philosophy backed-up serving pots.q

Facebook taps advisers for audits

on bias and civil rights

By MAE ANDERSON fax. Former Sen. Jon Kyl, tified before Congress on
AP Technology Writer an Arizona Republican, will the issue last month. Face-
NEW YORK (AP) — Face- examine concerns about a book also has faced criti-
book has enlisted two out- liberal bias on Facebook. cisms over a deluge of fake
side advisers to examine The moves come as Face- news and Russian election
how it treats underrepre- book deals with a privacy interference.
sented communities and scandal related to access The audits were reported
whether it has a liberal bias. of tens of millions of users' earlier by Axios. Face-
Civil rights leader Laura data by a consulting firm book says the feedback
Murphy will examine civil affiliated with President will help Facebook im- Laura Murphy, director, ACLU Legislative Office, speaks at the
rights issues, along with law Donald Trump. prove and serve users more President's Task Force on 21 Century Policing at the Newseum
firm Relman, Dane & Col- CEO Mark Zuckerberg tes- effectively.q in Washington. AP Technology Writer