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A dual-arm YuMi cobot places the ending touches on a BurgerBots meal. Supply: ABB Robotics

Automated kitchens for fast-food eating places took one other step towards widespread realization as we speak. ABB Robotics and BurgerBots unveiled a brand new restaurant idea in Los Gatos, Calif., utilizing ABB’s IRB 360 FlexPicker and YuMi collaborative robotic to exactly and shortly assemble meals. The businesses mentioned the system additionally precisely screens inventory ranges and frees staffers to deal with the shopper expertise.

“Integrating ABB robots with the BurgerBots restaurant idea demonstrates the unimaginable potential for automation past the manufacturing unit flooring,” said Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics Division. “The meals service trade is dynamic and demanding, and our expertise brings industrial-grade consistency, effectivity and reliability to this house.”

“After we requested the hospitality trade, 89% of managers and 73% of staff mentioned they’re open to the combination of robotics to automate duties inside their operations,” he added, citing a Censuswide survey of 1,250 hospitality staff. “By taking up repetitive and time-consuming duties, robots enable employees to deal with what issues most – creating memorable eating experiences.”

ABB Robotics is a number one supplier of industrial automation, autonomous cell robots (AMRs), cobots, and software program. Its father or mother, ABB Group, not too long ago introduced plans to spin off the division in an earnings name.

The 2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards acknowledged the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based firm for its OmniCore management platform. Be taught extra on the RBR50 Gala on the Robotics Summit & Expo tomorrow in Boston.

Register now so you do not miss out!

Restaurant staff welcome robotic assist

One of many biggest challenges going through restaurant house owners as we speak is attracting and retaining staffers, in response to the Nationwide Restaurant Affiliation. Excessive turnover, rising labor prices, and the repetitive nature of back-of-house roles proceed to place stress on hospitality companies, mentioned ABB.

Not solely can automation assist fill labor gaps, however it could additionally make food-service jobs extra sustainable and interesting by decreasing tedious duties and enhancing workflows. The Censuswide survey commissioned by ABB Robotics discovered that 67% of hospitality staff agreed that robotics and automation ought to be used to cut back the quantity of lifeless, soiled, and harmful work they’re are doing

As well as, 63% mentioned they’re excited by the concept of robots making their jobs simpler, and 65% mentioned they might welcome robots of their office if it meant a safer work atmosphere.

BurgerBots constructed for pace, scalability

BurgerBots mentioned it combines robotics and precision engineering to persistently ship high-quality burgers with pace, effectivity, and restricted want for guide oversight. The firm claimed that its techniques are designed for scalability, to optimize kitchen workflows, and guarantee meals security whereas sustaining a good buyer expertise.

An IRB 360 FlexPicker takes elements and masses them on to the burgers. Supply: ABB Robotics

BurgerBots added that its rethinking of quick meals is appropriate for high-traffic venues and on-the-go places.

ABB Robotics asserted that its compact cell with BurgerBots is the primary to combine two varieties of robots with an clever stock monitoring system. As every order is acquired, a freshly cooked burger patty is positioned onto a bun inside a burger field.

This field is then positioned on a conveyor shuttle, which is tagged with a QR code. Because it strikes alongside the conveyor, the IRB 360 FlexPicker delta robotic hygienically performs high-speed topping choice, guided by the info saved within the QR code.

Subsequent, the YuMi steps in to collaborate on the ultimate meeting of the burger. The whole course of takes simply 27 seconds per burger.

ABB mentioned its robotic controller additionally integrates with non-robotic techniques, enabling real-time monitoring of stock resembling onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments. This ensures easy operations and environment friendly kitchen administration, the firm famous.

ABB Robotics and companions eye wider rollouts

The primary BurgerBots cell is now open and working on the Breaking Daybreak/First Born restaurant. That Los Gatos location is step one in its broader business rollout, mentioned entrepreneur Elizabeth Truong, founding father of BurgerBots.

“The imaginative and prescient was to carry consistency, transparency, and effectivity to meals service,” she mentioned. “For restaurant house owners, it means higher visibility of meals prices, extra correct forecasting and – in the end – higher choice making. Within the subsequent 5 years, I imagine that the majority eating places may have some type of robotic automation, whether or not it’s back-of-house preparation, meeting, and even front-of-house service. It’s going to develop into much less of a novelty and extra of a necessity.”

BurgerBots is the most recent in numerous improvements within the meals service trade supported by robotic expertise. ABB has collaborated with RoboEatz on ARK, an autonomous robotic kitchen able to getting ready lots of of meals with minimal human intervention. It mentioned this showcases the potential for high-efficiency, hygienic, and customizable meals prep.

ABB can be powering the robotic bartenders of Makr Shakr, which mentioned they’ll quickly be mixing drinks in venues all over the world. “Collectively, these purposes show how robotics is remodeling hospitality with pace and consistency,” mentioned ABB.

The ROBASafe useful security system is designed to shorten the event cycle for patrons. | Supply: NexCOBOT

NexCOBOT Co. Ltd. will likely be among the many robotic options suppliers exhibiting on the Robotics Summit & Expo this week on the Boston Conference and Exhibition Middle. The NEXCOM firm will present dwell demonstrations of its twin EtherCAT grasp AI robotic controllers, developed on the NVIDIA Jetson platform, in Sales space 451.

“NexCOBOT goals to make constructing sensible and secure robots simple,” said Jenny Shern, normal supervisor of NexCOBOT. “We’re doing simply that by offering the security management platform, movement and AI management platform, and robotic security peripherals for AI robotic functions. These improvements are serving to prospects speed up innovation and deploy clever robotics throughout industries.”

Constructed for industrial automation, manufacturing, and logistics, the controller delivers the precision and reliability required for manufacturing facility automation, meeting traces, and robotic materials dealing with, mentioned NexCOBOT. Its modular design and strong {hardware} permit for versatile performance growth based mostly on buyer wants, enabling extra adaptable robots to satisfy the calls for of next-generation functions.

The system additionally incorporates a strong {hardware} platform out there in each single-board and fanless field PC configurations, supporting a variety of peripherals, mentioned the firm.

NexCOBOT manufactures robotic controllers, subsystems, and elements and mentioned it’s a complete provider for skilled, industrial, and humanoid robotic builders, serving the rising robotic ecosystem of software program, programs, and peripherals. The corporate has a strategic gross sales and advertising staff within the U.S., a analysis and improvement staff within the U.S. and Taiwan, and manufacturing in Taiwan and in China.

NexCOBOT goals to speed up legged robotic improvement

NexCOBOT mentioned it’s devoted to accelerating humanoid or quadruped robotic improvement by offering key constructing blocks. These embrace movement and AI management programs, useful security controllers, servo motor drives, and sensible actuators. The corporate mentioned they’re all engineered to assist speedy innovation and deployment.

Its Practical Security system is licensed as much as SIL3 HFT=1 / PLe Cat.3 and helps FSoE security fieldbus communication. The system features a ready-to-use security controller with elective modules.

NexCOBOT claimed that its actuator module is environment friendly and dependable for service robots and humanoids. It incorporates a cost-efficient coaxial design that integrates each motor and reducer. Utilizing the NVIDIA Jetson platform, the module runs the EtherCAT Grasp, combining AI computing with EtherCAT’s real-time management capabilities.

Go to NexCOBOT at Sales space 451 to be taught extra about its movement and AI management platforms, useful security controller, and sensible robotic peripherals, together with actuator modules and EtherCAT Servo Drives.

Extra concerning the Robotics Summit & Expo

The Robotics Summit & Expo on April 30 and Might 1, 2025, will carry collectively 5,000 attendees targeted on constructing robots for varied industrial industries. Attendees can acquire insights into the most recent enabling applied sciences, engineering finest practices, rising traits, and extra.

Keynote audio system will embrace:

The present could have greater than 50 instructional periods in tracks on AI, design and improvement, enabling applied sciences, healthcare, and logistics. The Engineering Theater on the present flooring may also function shows by business consultants.

The expo corridor will function over 200 exhibitors showcasing the most recent enabling applied sciences, merchandise, and companies that may assist robotics engineers all through their improvement journeys.

The Robotics Summit additionally gives quite a few networking alternatives, a Profession Honest, a robotics improvement problem, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards Gala, and extra.

Registration remains to be open.

Kawasaki just lately revealed a computer-generated idea for the Corleo, a “robotic horse.” A video exhibits the automated equine galloping via valleys, crossing rivers, climbing mountains, and leaping over crevasses.

The Corleo guarantees a high-end robotic answer to offer a revolutionary mobility expertise. Kawasaki’s present motorbikes are constrained to roads, paths, and trails, however a machine with legs has no boundaries—it might probably attain locations no different automobiles can go.

However how possible is it for the Corleo to realize such a stage of agility and stability, whereas safely carrying a human via pure environments? Let’s talk about what could be wanted to realize this.

A robotic is a fancy machine with two fundamental elements: a physique and an info processing unit. The physique has a morphology that determines the robotic’s operate and carries actuators (units that convert power into bodily movement) and sensors to behave on the planet and perceive it, respectively.

The knowledge processing unit is normally a pc, which implements algorithms to course of knowledge from the sensors, construct representations of the world, and decide what actions to execute, topic to a selected job of curiosity.

Easy robots, resembling robotic vacuum cleaners, fulfill these necessities. They’ve an appropriate physique for going below furnishings and never getting caught (their flat high may give your cats a trip).

The actuators are the motors that spin the wheels and the vacuum system. They’ve have affect sensors to detect collisions, and a few even have cameras to assist them perceive the surroundings. House owners can set a cleansing routine, and the vacuum’s laptop will decide one of the simplest ways to execute it.

The Corleo is a quadruped robotic, one of the secure legged robotic configurations. The 4 legs appear robust and able to flexing ahead and backward to run and leap.

However in addition they appear restricted in actions generally known as abduction and adduction. If I push you in your proper facet, you’ll open your left leg—that is the kidnapping movement serving to you retain stability.

Adduction is the other movement—a motion in the direction of the midline of the physique. Maybe that is only a limitation of the idea design, however both manner, the Corleo wants this articulation to make sure a protected and easy trip.

Subsequent come actuators. Legged robots, compared to wheeled automobiles, have to constantly stability and help their very own weight. Additionally they present a stage of suspension to cushion the rider.

They must be robust sufficient to push the robotic’s physique ahead. On high of that, the Corleo can even carry an individual. Whereas that is presently potential, resembling with the Barry robotic or Unitree wheeled robots, the Corleo additionally goals to gallop and leap over gaps. This might require much more dynamic and stronger actuators than the earlier examples.

A manually pushed automobile or motorbike doesn’t want sensors or a processing unit, as a result of the driving force steers the automobile relying on what they see. However a robotic horse wants extra refined management methods to find out the right way to transfer the legs, in any other case we would wish each palms and even our ft to drive it.

Locomotion management has been an energetic space of legged robotics analysis for the reason that Forties. Researchers have proven {that a} legged machine can stroll down a slope with out motors or sensors (which known as passive locomotion).

If solely proprioceptive sensors—the kinds of sensors that inform your telephone when to rotate the display—are used to regulate stability, it’s referred to as blind locomotion as a result of it doesn’t depend on info from the exterior surroundings. When a robotic additionally makes use of exteroceptive sensors to find out the right way to stroll, which refers to sensors that choose up details about the surroundings, it’s referred to as perceptive locomotion. That is what Corleo exhibits.

From the images launched, I couldn’t spot any seen cameras or lidars—laser vary finders. They might be hidden, however it might be reassuring to know that the Corleo has a option to “see” what’s in entrance of it whereas strolling.

Whereas it will likely be manually steered (in order that it doesn’t have to navigate autonomously), its locomotion system wants sensor knowledge to find out the right way to step on rocks or detect if the terrain is slippery. Its sensors must also be dependable below completely different environmental situations. That is already an enormous problem for autonomous automobiles.

Challenges Forward

The Corleo is an idea, it doesn’t exist—but. As a product, it guarantees to be a extra succesful model of a quad bike. This may open new alternatives for transportation in distant areas, tourism companies, new hobbies (for many who can afford it), and even sports activities.

However I’m extra excited in regards to the technological advances that the achievement of such a platform implies. Legged robots don’t essentially have to appear to be quadrupeds or humanoids.

Self balancing exoskeletons, resembling Wandercraft’s Private exoskeleton or Human in Movement Robotics’ XoMotion, are legged robots which are revolutionizing the lives of individuals with mobility impairments. The technological advances implied by the Corleo might be of main profit to the event of assistive units for disabled customers, enabling them to realize independence.

Present progress in legged robotics means that many options proposed by Kawasaki are possible. However others pose challenges: Corleo will want the endurance to stroll within the wild, run efficient locomotion algorithms, and implement the security requirements required for a car.

These are all main hurdles for a fairly sized robotic. If you happen to ask me right now, I’d be uncertain if this may be achieved as a complete. I hope they show me flawed.

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