2022-03-10
Die Kantine der Zukunft wird digital
A robot that can cook. How does it work??
Emanuel Pallua: The robot is a refrigerated stainless steel cell with a footprint of about eight square meters. At its heart are two robotic arms that guide the pots and plates to silos containing the various ingredients and deliver the finished dish to the customer. The pots stir themselves and are heated via induction. Only separate ingredients are kept refrigerated in the silos on each occasion - so we can guarantee absolute freshness at any time of day. Customers order via iPad or cell phone, and each customer can customize his or her order to suit his or her own needs. He or she is shown an exact pick-up time and can track the respective, individually prepared order directly via the large glass pane on the robotic cell - or completely digitally and remotely via the app. Each bowl is ready in less than five minutes.
How did you come up with the robot idea?
Emanuel Pallua: The Corona crisis has shown that in many companies with home offices, regular cafeteria operations are no longer profitable. The few employees and their orders no longer cover the costs of employing cooks and service staff. With our robot, we can ensure full canteen operation even with lower turnovers.
Where is it possible to use the cooking robot? Which target groups are you addressing?
Emanuel Pallua: As I said, our first focus is on corporate customers - starting with companies with 200 or more employees. For many companies, we create the opportunity to offer their employees high-quality catering for the first time. For larger companies, the robot complements the existing cafeteria. It relieves the workload at peak times, can be installed at additional locations and enables extended opening hours. In general, however, it can be used at many locations: Hospitals, universities, hotels, train stations, airports, gas stations - anywhere where speed is of the essence, yet reliability and good taste at a good price are important.
What does the menu look like? Isn't the selection inevitably quite limited?
Emanuel Pallua: The menu is relatively varied - we offer a wide selection of pasta and curry dishes, bowls and salads, as well as classics such as „spaetzle“ (type of South German dish) and currywurst. Vegetarians and vegans will also find what they are looking for. Most importantly, we maintain high standards and ensure consistent quality. All ingredients are freshly prepared every day. We adapt to the seasons and to the preferences of our customers. Our Culinary Director David Schoensee has cooked in the best restaurants in Germany. He has developed each recipe specifically for the capabilities of our cooking robot.
What are the costs of using such a robot? And how much do you have to pay for a single dish?
Emanuel Pallua: The costs are 3000 euros per month for the company to lease the robot hardware and another 1000 euros for service and software. The dishes can be subsidized by the companies and cost between 4.50 and 6.50 euros unsubsidized.
Have you ever thought about a name for your robot?
Emanuel Pallua: Every robot that is built has an internal name. We are still working on a good name that describes all our robots though.For more information: www.aitme.com