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Robot Prepares Pancakes For Breakfast
Yaskawa Electric's new Motoman SDA10 unveiled its mad breakfast pancake flipping skillz at a recent demonstration in Osaka, Japan. Motoman SDA10 (Slim Dual-Arm) is a slim robot designed to take up no more space than a human, as opposed to bulkier manufacturing robots.
(Yaskawa Motoman SDA10 robot flipping pancakes)
Motoman designed more compact actuators that allow the robot's "shoulders" to take up less space than previous models (like the DIA10, famed for its taiko drumming abilities). Reduced size also lead to reduced weight and improved speed; each arm can handle about ten kilograms.
Compare the real-life Motoman SDA10 robot with this robot chef from Anthony Boucher's vision of the future in his 1943 short story Robinc:
"...But an android cook would go nuts because man's body isn't enough. I've cooked; I know. So we'll give the usuform more. For instance, give him Martoid tentacles instead of arms. Maybe instead of legs give him an automatic sliding height adjustment to avoid all the bending and stooping, with a roller base for quick movement. And make the tentacles functionally specialized."Half your time in cooking is wasted raching around for what you need next. We can build in a lot of that stuff. For instance, one tentacle can be a registering thermometer. tapering to a find point - stick it in a roast and - One can end in a broad spoon for stirring - heat resistant, of course.
As you can see in the above illustration, the Motoman SDA10 has a built-in spatula, rather than robotic hands grasping a spatula made for humans.
I personally have a great deal of affection for robots that can cook me a meal; take a look at how a Robot Chef Makes Octopus Balls and a video showing how a robot chef can learn by demonstration. If you've got robots making your meals, you might as well have them feed you, too; see the Spoon Robot On Full Auto.
From Robot cooks breakfast at exhibit; thanks to Moira for pointing this one out.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/1/2008)
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