An established presence in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania community, Chris Moehle serves as Robotics Hub's Managing Director and focuses on technologies that have measurable social impact. Chris Moehle has a strong interest in developments in the robotics sphere, such as those featured at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2020. But long before robotics, Chris' first job was actually in the kitchen.
While many industries have been transformed by Robotics, this year's show featured end-to-end solutions for one of America's favorite Italian foods. On one end, a made to order pizza robot was one of the most publicized technologies, achieving coverage in CNET and other places. The unique setup combined Washington-based Picnic’s robots with ingredients, staff, and recipes provided by Centerplate, the caterer of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
Made up of interconnected modules, the robotic pizza-making system is programmed as a fully automated assembly line. The LVCC setup was one where the robot identified frozen dough as it was laid down by humans and sent it down a conveyor that precisely covered the pie in sauce, cheese, and toppings. The setup is already in use at the Seattle Mariners' T-Mobile Park, where the pizzas are delivered by robot to an oven, but the CES demo did not have enough space for automation of that function. The end result was reported as an efficient and scalable pizza-making process that streamlined the various steps required to make large numbers of delicious pizzas at busy restaurants and large-scale events. If only, there were a way to efficiently deliver that many pizzas!
Fortunately, Agility Robotics and the Ford Motor Company (F) combined to demonstrate Digit, a robust and energy-efficient last-mile delivery robot. Born out of Oregon State University's Dynamic Robotics Laboratory, Agility Robotics' digit is one of the only mechanical or robotic systems capable of walking efficiently in human-like environments while carrying payloads of up to 45 lbs. As your average delivery pizza (in box) weighs 2.5 to 3 lbs., that is more than enough to handle Picnic's production. While the two companies will likely focus initially on much higher impact fields, such as last mile logistics and industrial, one can only dream of a robotic future where your friendly robotic pizzaiolo and Digit deliveryman speed the accessibility, availability, and affordability of your favorite Italian treat.
While many industries have been transformed by Robotics, this year's show featured end-to-end solutions for one of America's favorite Italian foods. On one end, a made to order pizza robot was one of the most publicized technologies, achieving coverage in CNET and other places. The unique setup combined Washington-based Picnic’s robots with ingredients, staff, and recipes provided by Centerplate, the caterer of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
Made up of interconnected modules, the robotic pizza-making system is programmed as a fully automated assembly line. The LVCC setup was one where the robot identified frozen dough as it was laid down by humans and sent it down a conveyor that precisely covered the pie in sauce, cheese, and toppings. The setup is already in use at the Seattle Mariners' T-Mobile Park, where the pizzas are delivered by robot to an oven, but the CES demo did not have enough space for automation of that function. The end result was reported as an efficient and scalable pizza-making process that streamlined the various steps required to make large numbers of delicious pizzas at busy restaurants and large-scale events. If only, there were a way to efficiently deliver that many pizzas!
Fortunately, Agility Robotics and the Ford Motor Company (F) combined to demonstrate Digit, a robust and energy-efficient last-mile delivery robot. Born out of Oregon State University's Dynamic Robotics Laboratory, Agility Robotics' digit is one of the only mechanical or robotic systems capable of walking efficiently in human-like environments while carrying payloads of up to 45 lbs. As your average delivery pizza (in box) weighs 2.5 to 3 lbs., that is more than enough to handle Picnic's production. While the two companies will likely focus initially on much higher impact fields, such as last mile logistics and industrial, one can only dream of a robotic future where your friendly robotic pizzaiolo and Digit deliveryman speed the accessibility, availability, and affordability of your favorite Italian treat.
