Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Anyone (or Anything) Can Cook

Colin Morton
Staff Writer

Flippy the burger-flipping robot displays skills that nobody would have thought was possible ten or more years ago. At Caliburger in Pasadena, Flippy shows off its skill by flipping burgers for hungry customers. Although burger-flipping may not seem like such an amazing feat, this is just the beginning for what lies in the future for robots. Is this invention beneficial though? Burger flippers, or fry cooks, provide many people around the world with jobs, and these robots could take them away.
 According to Digital Trends Media, “Flippy can flip up to 300 burgers an hour...each one is flipped ‘perfectly and consistently.’” This value may not seem too grand, but this is compared to the minimal 100 burgers that an average human can flip per hour. On top of that, Flippy never gets tired. Flipping burgers doesn’t seem like it would be so complicated, but it really is. Flippy does what it does by utilizing 3D, thermal, and regular cameras to keep watch on the burgers while they’re cooking. Once the burger is done cooking, Flippy uses its six-axis robotic arm with a spatula attached to the end to flip the burger.
Miso Robotics is the company behind Flippy, and they are very happy with how the robot turned out. This robot made CaliBurger one of the highest rated burger joints in all of California.