Why Are Commercial Kitchens Adopting Automation?

Commercial kitchens have many demands, but none is as constant as the need for efficiency, speed and accuracy. To meet these demands, automation has become a more frequent solution to increase output, accuracy and ergonomics while lowering costs. The use of robots in commercial kitchens is on the rise, so this article will help you understand why that’s happening and what are the benefits of automating your commercial kitchen.

Commercial Kitchens have specific needs from an automation system. They require fast changeovers with little manual intervention; no dynamic lighting or camera views; noise-sensitive environments with hard floors or other acoustic restrictions; a closed environment for microbiological cleanliness; and tight budgets due to high cost

Why have commercial kitchens adopted automation?

Commercial kitchens have a set of specific requirements that robots must meet and only then can they be fully adopted. The biggest requirement is speed, with robots being able to change between tasks in seconds like the world’s first smart dosa maker.Accuracy is also needed to guarantee quality, and safety is required to protect humans from harm. Then there are economics, with robots being the most cost-effective. These reasons have contributed to the increased adoption of automation in commercial kitchens.

Kitchens need to be able to handle large workloads with a constant demand for variety of products. The best way to achieve this is to fully automate with robots that can easily change tasks and adapt to different products. Humans are best when they can leverage their versatility to perform many functions at the same time. Today, manual tasks like placing and filling bags, weighing products, inspecting items, and placing items on trays or plates are common.

Recipes and Food Safety are top reasons for automation

Food safety is important at every stage in the kitchen, but particularly at the beginning when recipes are created and throughout the process of creating the product. When recipes are computerized and robots are used to mix the ingredients, the risk of introducing contaminants into the product is reduced. It is critical that exact recipes and amounts of ingredients be followed. From the weighing scale to the recipe management software, robots can help eliminate human errors.

This is particularly important with allergens, where even one gram too little or too much of an ingredient can make a product unsafe for someone with a food allergy. When recipe software is integrated with an industrial robot, the robot receives the recipe and uses it to know exactly where to place each ingredient and in what amount.

Using scales that can measure in different units and recipe software that can convert between units can help make your business more accessible to a wider audience. Using sensors to monitor the state of the product and process, such as temperature and pressure, can help ensure food safety.

Robot-Assisted Human Collaboration

Successful adoption of automation in commercial kitchens will integrate robots and humans working together to create new and more efficient workflows. It is important for robots to have the ability to interact with humans and the world around them. Using sensors and cameras, robots are able to notice an ergonomically incorrect posture or that a worker’s hands are full and need assistance with the next step in the process.

Using computer vision and image recognition, robots can see the location of different items and their position on a tray or plate. When working with a computer vision system, people and robots can be assigned roles or tasks based on the best use of their abilities. For example, a computer vision system could be programmed to look for a specific item and then let a robot grab it and place it on a tray. A human could then be assigned to make sure there is an appropriate amount of the item on the tray.

New Automation Technologies Are Coming

New technologies are being developed that help robots become more efficient. These include localization methods such as beacons, cameras, and lasers.

Beacons are used for indoor localization where cameras and lasers are not effective. Beacons are a relatively new technology being used in commercial kitchens. They are low-cost transmitters that emit a Bluetooth signal that robots use to understand their location. Another new technology is collaborative robotics, which helps robots and humans work together.

Collaborative robotics is when a robot is designed to work with and understand humans working nearby. Collaborative robotics uses sensors that can detect human presence and if there are hazards or an interruption in the process. The sensors can also help robots sense when they need assistance with an unload or load of material, or if there is an issue with the product being manufactured.

Conclusion

Commercial kitchens face many challenges on a daily basis, but with the help of automation and robotics, they can solve many of them. When designing a commercial kitchen, it is important to understand the needs of the business, whether it is recipes and food safety or speed and accuracy. From there, it’s important to select an automation technology that can help solve these challenges.

Just imagine getting crispy dosas at the click of a button….

EVOCHEF, an innovative and smart kitchen automation company, has recently launched the world’s first smart dosa maker – EC Flip. This first-of-its-kind dosa maker that has stormed the market and revolutionized the kitchen by ‘printing’ rectangular dosas – a change from the familiar circular dosas.

EVOCHEF’s state-of-the-art smart and unique offerings endeavors to bring to the consumers, products that would redefine cooking and their lives. Now you no longer have to step out of the comfort of your home to try different types of dosas. With EVOCHEF’s fully automatic dosa maker, you can get all your favourite dosa varieties from just one machine.