This Robot Chef Is Learning to Taste and Cook Food Like a Human
Move over, Gordon Ramsay. There’s a new MasterChef in town.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge and appliance manufacturer Beko have teamed up to create a robotic chef that can cook up a perfect omelet. In doing so, it also learns how to make dishes with just the right taste and texture. In a new study published on Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI, the researchers trained their “Iron Chef” to sample a dish while cooking, a skill they believe will help automated food preparation and allow you to one day have your very own in-house culinary chef.
The team had their cut out for them. After all, taste is complex—and human taste isn’t just about flavor. Our brains factor in information about a dish’s appearance, smell, texture, and temperature to determine whether we like it or not. This happens while we’re chewing and cooking, like when you're sampling a dish as you make it to make sure you have the right amount of seasoning.
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