Street Robot Vending Machine Cooks Healthy Food Fast

A street robot vending machine can prepare healthy food from vegetables and cereals in under one minute, and can cook as many as 1,000 different dishes using 16 basic ingredients and 20 dressings and toppings.

The prototype of the SalatOmat vending machine was developed by Russia’s National University Science and Technology (NUST MISIS) engineers, together with Karfidov Lab, and was commissioned by a private company, AFM, according to a press release on Wednesday (Nov. 24).

The machine is intended to become part of the city’s healthy food infrastructure to help people who are looking to eat a healthier diet or those with allergies or other food restrictions.

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“The process of cooking by the robot begins with the preparation of products — thermal and ultraviolet processing (protection against microbes and viruses), cutting vegetables, stabilizing the temperature (cooling or heating, depending on the dish),” said Aleksey Karfidov, head of the department of technological equipment engineering at NUST MISIS and co-founder and general designer of Karfidov Lab. “This is followed by the dosage determination, packaging and dispensing. The cycle is completed by data fixation for further customer orders.”

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The robot is designed to determine that the ingredients are safe, all components are hygienic, the nutritional value is high and the meal prep is fast. The device is contactless, and all processes require zero human interaction.

Ingredients within the SalatOmat receptacles are pre-conditioned and loaded into hygienically sealed containers, which can be stored for up to eight hours before being discarded. Cooking time is 30-60 seconds, which translates into the robot collecting 150 to 500 portions daily.

“The device has its brain and memory. The intelligent module collects and stores data on taste preferences and medical indications and restrictions of each order. The container ‘knows’ what is in it due to the RFID chip,” explained Karfidov.