A robot 'chef' has been trained to taste food at different stages of the chewing process to assess whether it's sufficiently seasoned.

Working in collaboration with domestic appliances manufacturer Beko, researchers from the University of Cambridge trained their robot chef to assess the saltiness of a dish at different stages of the chewing process, imitating a similar process in humans. [1]

Figure 1. Taste of the future: Robot chef learns to 'taste as you go'

Figure 1 shows their results could be useful in the development of automated or semi-automated food preparation by helping robots to learn what tastes good and what doesn’t, making them better cooks.When we chew our food, we notice a change in texture and taste. For example, biting into a fresh tomato at the height of summer will release juices, and as we chew, releasing both saliva and digestive enzymes, our perception of the tomato’s flavour will change.The robot chef, which has already been trained to make omelettes based on human taster’s feedback, tasted nine different variations of a simple dish of scrambled eggs and tomatoes at three different stages of the chewing process, and produced ‘taste maps’ of the different dishes. [2]

The ribbon robot does this in two ways. First, if one end of the ribbon encounters an object, the ribbon rotates slightly to get around the obstacle. Second, if the central part of the robot encounters an object, it “snaps.” The snap is a rapid release of stored deformation energy that causes the ribbon to jump slightly and reorient itself before landing. The ribbon may need to snap more than once before finding an orientation that allows is to negotiate the obstacle, but ultimately it always finds a clear path forward. [3]

Constructing and Training the Robot

ThThe researchers attached a conductance probe, which acts as a salinity sensor, to a robot arm. This enabled the robot to imitate the human process of chewing and tasting. When the researchers prepared the scrambled eggs and tomatoes dishes, they varied the number of tomatoes and amount of salt in each. 

The robot chef has already been trained to make omelets based on feedback from human

The robot tasted nine different variations of scrambled eggs and tomatoes at three different stages of the chewing process. It was able to “taste” the meal and ‘see’ the difference in the food as it’s chewed, which enabled it to improve its methods to whip up a tastier meal. [4]

References:

1. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220504082625.htm
2. https://indiaeducationdiary.in/university-of-cambridge-taste-of-the-future-robot-chef-learns-to-taste-as-you-go//
3. https://www.unite.ai/robotic-chef-trained-to-taste-food/
4. https://www.industrytap.com/taste-of-the-future-robotic-chef-learns-to-taste-food-to-whip-up-a-tastier-meal/62526

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Taste of the future: Robot chef learns to 'taste as you go', Anatechmaz, pp.93