CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:05 am**

Just when you thought your noodle waterslide was the height of Japanese food gadgetry, a ramen shop in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, Japan, is gaining popularity for its robot chef.

Technically the robot doesn't make the noodles, instead assembling the bowl, including the customized flavor options. Customers place orders on a computer, customizing aspects such as the levels of soy sauce and salt, and richness of the soup. Shop owner Yoshihara Uchida says there are 40 million different flavor permutations.

The noodles themselves are cooked by a human, with the robot creating a perfectly blended soup which is then delivered to the human chef via a conveyor belt, who adds the noodles and toppings. The whole process takes only about two minutes, a minute shorter than instant cup noodles.

The robot was completed in December 2008 after five years of trial and error, including computer crashes caused by spilled soup. Uchida wants to mass produce the robot in the future and "leave my mark out there," which means one day you too can have a ramen robot.

Here it is on the original webpage.

I found this very interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it does seem like if you follow this road down for a little bit we're quickly moving into pushing out another class of human workers in favor of robots. I'm not sure you could ever have a robot that would be able to do the cooking like a human all the time, perhaps it could get it most of the time but there's something about a person actually being there and doing it that I believe you couldn't emulate 100%. Were it to stay at this level, I think it's a pretty good idea; it does speed up the process and having a computer doing all the measuring does ensure that you get an almost equal blend of ingredients every single time, but I doubt it can factor in freshness of certain ingredients based on touch/scent/sight like a real chef could.

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:26 pm**

I don't think a robot chef would really be any worse than a hack fast food chef who just doesn't care if the food's good or not.

To be honest, what this REALLy makes me think of is the end of Battlestar Galactica. Clearly, this brings us one step closer to the machine uprising.

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:28 pm**

I can totally see ramen robots taking over the world. Totally.

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:49 pm**

I want some. Now. XD

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:09 pm**

Blitzkrieg1701 (post: 1326320) wrote:I don't think a robot chef would really be any worse than a hack fast food chef who just doesn't care if the food's good or not.

To be honest, what this REALLy makes me think of is the end of Battlestar Galactica. Clearly, this brings us one step closer to the machine uprising.

True, that's a good point (both of them, lol). I was thinking more along the lines of a real chef. For fast good stuff this would probably actually improve the quality alot.

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:21 pm**

Haha, ramen-bot XDD

PostPosted: **Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:11 pm**

SnoringFrog (post: 1326410) wrote:True, that's a good point (both of them, lol). I was thinking more along the lines of a real chef. For fast good stuff this would probably actually improve the quality alot.

You know, I hadn't thought about that, but you're right! It WOULD be an improvement over your average burger-flipper!

PostPosted: **Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:40 am**

o_O Sounds good... x3
(instant ramen gets old, you know :3 )

PostPosted: **Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:50 pm**

Woah, really? Ramen that makes robots! Oh wait....

PostPosted: **Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:41 pm**

how much and where can i buy it....

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:06 am**

That's pretty amazing right there.

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:01 pm**

ChristianNeko(: (post: 1332896) wrote:Haha that is so awesome. I wish i had a ramen making robot. love ramen, hate making it. lol

I know the feeling! I'm so lazy. As soon as something requires touching anything other than the microwave or toaster to prepare then it takes too much work.

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:59 pm**

If I had a ramen making robot my college food problems would forever be gone.
I need me some ramen-bots like Tsuki baptized them. O.O

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:13 pm**

I think this is pretty neat. There should be a balance between human and robot chefs. It's okay to use some robots, but not to the point where humans would be losing jobs.

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:24 pm**

Remember people, the robot doesn't make the the noodles, just mixes the noodles with customizing aspects such as the levels of soy sauce and salt, and richness of the soup.

So, you still have to do some cooking.

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:25 pm**

Roy Mustang (post: 1333120) wrote:Remember people, the robot doesn't make the the noodles, just mixes the noodles with customizing aspects such as the levels of soy sauce and salt, and richness of the soup.

So, you still have to do some cooking.

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

But our fantasies are so much better if we ignore that little tidbit for now. XD

PostPosted: **Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:24 pm**

SnoringFrog wrote:But our fantasies are so much better if we ignore that little tidbit for now. XD

True, but I just wanted to be the wet blanket. XD

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]
Col. Roy Mustang[/color]
[/font]

PostPosted: **Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:47 pm**

It's the perfect machine for bachelors and college kids!

CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Ramen-making Robot

Ramen-making Robot