Thomas Unise
Chef Robotics has introduced Chef+, its most advanced AI-enabled meal-assembly robot designed for food manufacturing facilities. Building on insights from over 80 million servings in production, this latest innovation delivers significant improvements in capacity, reliability, and food safety while maintaining a compact footprint.
Key Advancements in Chef+
The new Chef+ robot addresses critical operational constraints faced by food manufacturers through six key enhancements:
- Doubled ingredient capacity with pans twice the volume of previous models, reducing refill frequency and labor touchpoints
- Maintained compact footprint despite increased capacity, allowing deployment in tight spaces and optimized floor layouts
- Enhanced reliability through integrated electrical enclosures, IP cameras optimized for cold environments, and improved moisture management
- Advanced food safety features including an open-angle iron frame that eliminates hidden crevices and simplifies cleaning
- Improved usability with easy-slide ingredient pans, glove-friendly touchscreens, and simplified power configuration
- Enhanced performance with higher processing power and a three-camera vision system for precise ingredient placement
New Pat-Down Capability
Complementing Chef+, the company has introduced a new ‘pat-down’ capability that automates the labor-intensive task of flattening ingredients. This innovation ensures uniform tray coverage and improved sealing for products like frozen mac and cheese.
The pat-down system uses vibration technology with a specialized utensil that meets food safety standards. It leverages AI-powered computer vision to track trays in real-time, handling variations in positioning that traditional automation cannot manage.
For high-volume operations, the capability integrates with Chef’s robot-to-robot coordination system, allowing multiple robots to distribute tasks for increased throughput. The technology eliminates repetitive stress injuries while addressing operational challenges like spillage during sealing and food waste.
Availability and Deployment
Chef+ has undergone rigorous testing and is already running in production at several customer sites. Both Chef+ and the new pat-down capability are now available to food manufacturers across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. As part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service pricing model, these innovations require no upfront capital investment.
These advancements come following Chef Robotics’ $43 million Series A funding earlier this year, which has enabled the company to expand its business and continue innovating in the food manufacturing automation space.
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