Photo: Canva
A South Korean Robot Has Mastered Fried Chicken
An article on LinkedIn shares how “technological advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing the way businesses operate.” This year marks a crucial time for the transformation of the retail industry, “with various cutting-edge robotic solutions being adopted by retailers worldwide.”
Retail robots are more than just tools for pre-programmed chat responses and automated inventory management — they’re starting to become much more common in stores, and they can benefit customers, employees, and businesses alike. According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, “Worldwide commercial robot revenue in retail stores will have a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 25% from 2022 to 2030 and exceed US$8.4 billion by 2030.”
By leveraging the capabilities of AI-driven robots, which utilize neural networks, businesses are freeing up duties for workers by letting machines handle tasks like price verification and stock assessment. As a result, the retail industry is seeing the significant advantages of integrating online convenience with the tangible experiences only brick-and-mortar stores can provide, endorsing a holistic omnichannel strategy.
Gulf News covered a recent development in South Korea where a 38-year-old entrepreneurial woman, Kang Ji-young, built a modern fried chicken restaurant business. Without a robot, she would not have succeeded the way she has now.
In her South Korean restaurant, the “robot meticulously handles the frying process — from immersing chicken in oil, flipping it for even cooking, to retrieving it at the perfect level of crispiness.” Thanks to a robotic arm and hand, the restaurant’s fried chicken is made more efficiently and the result also equates to better taste.
Normally, “Korean fried chicken is brined and double-fried, which gives it its signature crispy exterior, but the process — more elaborate than what is typically used by US fast food chains — creates additional labor and requires extended worker proximity to hot oil.” By using a robot, not only are human safety issues mitigated, but output is drastically increased. The mechanical arm is able to fry 100 chickens in just two hours, which normally would take multiple deep fryers and at least five people to accomplish.
The flavor profile of the fried chicken is improved as well since the robotic arm can stay right beside the hot oil until it’s time to flip the chicken. As a result, the robot is able to achieve perfect crispiness, and it accurately monitors oil temperature and oxidation levels to ensure “consistent taste and superior hygiene.”
Fried chicken is immensely popular and a cultural staple in South Korea. Currently, Kang owns 15 robot-made chicken restaurants throughout South Korea and one location in Singapore.
Discussion Questions
What do you think about AI and robots taking up residence on a cooking line, especially for dangerous and methodical recipes in restaurants? Do you think we’ll see nearly all restaurants in the near future with at least one robot preparing food?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Mark Ryski
Founder, CEO & Author, HeadCount Corporation
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
It really is a matter of time before robots take over routinized and standardized tasks in areas like fast-food preparation. Their introduction will be hastened by the push for higher wages, which ultimately makes the technology more attractive and viable. Where I think robots will be less successful is in customer facing roles and roles that need more complex skills.
Using robots and AI in quick service restaurants, retail stores, and health care facilities will become commonplace. Robots should takeover the repetitive, monotonous, low-skill tasks – this is the ideal application for robots. And while I doubt that we’ll be seeing robots in four-star restaurants anytime soon, I do believe that they will become widely deployed and welcomed in quick service establishments as the cost of the technology decreases. Workers will be replaced but the fact is many people simply don’t want to do this work and so using automation is reasonable and I believe inevitable.
As long as efficiencies go up and costs go down, I can see robots stepping into key roles once held by humans. Toll plazas, check out lines, order management, cleaning functions and more are already happening with great success. Put a white coat on them and call them a chef.
The answer to the second question is probably “No” at least if you accept the traditional understanding of what “nearly all” and “the near future” mean. But, robots will continue to play an increasing role in certain types of foodservice operations for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, efficiency, standardization, cost, labor availability, etc. I don’t think any Michelin chefs have to worry about being displaced quite yet, but there is no question kitchen robotics is here to stay, albeit I think, on a limited scale for now.
Being from the southern part of the USA, count me dubious that a robot can make really good fried chicken.