Opening a pizzeria could soon be as simple as leasing a small business space, then sticking a robot in there. That's the idea behind the Pizzaiola system, which takes human cooks and other kitchen staff out of the equation.
Manufactured by Illinois-based Nala Robotics, Pizzaiola is essentially a 12 x 12-foot (3.7 x 3.7-m) self-contained kitchen that incorporates food storage/preparation areas, ovens, and last but not least, a 7-axis robotic arm that moves throughout the space.
Customers can place orders verbally through an adjacent self-serve kiosk, or through a human cashier who electronically relays orders to the kitchen. Additionally, orders can be placed online for home delivery – a task which is already being performed by robots.
Whatever the case, the robot proceeds to choose between four types of dough, four sauces, plus 35 cheeses and other toppings. It then presses the dough, adds the sauce and toppings, then cooks, slices and boxes the pizza. According to the company, the robot can prepare up to 50 pizzas an hour, in 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 or 18-inch sizes.
Business owners can add other food preparation stations – along with appliances such as grills or deep fryers – then train Pizzaiola's machine-learning-based operating system to prepare foods like burgers, fries, wings, pasta and salads. Whatever it's making, the robot is claimed to check over 1,200 food quality and safety parameters every microsecond.
Leasing packages for Pizzaiola start at US$7,000 a month. You can see the system in use, in the following video.
Source: Nala Robotics
