Artificial intelligence is poised to enter yet another aspect of your life: fast food. After years of preparation, a burger-flipping robot named Flippy made its debut on Monday at the Pasadena, California, location of the restaurant chain CaliBurger. Created by a tech startup called Miso Robotics, Flippy is the "first robotic kitchen assistant with artificial assistance."
CaliBurger is planning to install Flippy in 50 more of its locations. Each one costs about $60,000, Miso Robotics told local news station KTLA. The company has received $10 million in funding to bring Flippy to other restaurants as well, Tech Crunch reported.
If you're worried about robots taking more jobs, though, don't worry: Flippy still needs human coworkers to function, at least for now. Only once a human puts raw patties on the grill can it begin working. Equipped with thermal vision in addition to a regular camera, Flippy can detect exactly what stage of cooking the meat is at, allowing it to grill about 150 burgers in an hour, NPR reported. Once the meat is cooked, a human can add the toppings.
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"This technology is not about replacing jobs," said David Zito, the CEO of Miso Robotics. Instead, CaliBurger and Miso aim to make Flippy part of an "integrated, part-robot, part human kitchen," NPR reported. Read more about Flippy at NPR.
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