{"id":577664,"date":"2024-01-29T13:52:35","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T18:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/?p=577664"},"modified":"2024-01-29T13:52:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T18:52:35","slug":"nala-robotics-incorporates-generative-ai-into-restaurant-robot-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/nala-robotics-incorporates-generative-ai-into-restaurant-robot-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"Nala Robotics incorporates generative AI into restaurant robot recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nala provides automation for food bowls and other meals. Source: Nala Robotics<\/p><\/div>\n

Since the public debut of generative artificial intelligence and large language models in late 2022, robotics developers have been working to take advantage of the latest AI capabilities. Nala Robotics Inc. said that ChatGPT enables its autonomous chefs to prepare almost any recipe.<\/p>\n

Generative AI and robots can help restaurants and commercial kitchens save money, as well as address labor turnover and shortages, according to Ajay Sunkara, founder and CEO of Nala Robotics.<\/p>\n

“I started the company six years ago, and our automation of commercial kitchens went through different phases of development during the pandemic,” Sunkara told The Robot Report<\/em><\/a>. “Nala started with the intention of making food consistently, but hygiene and labor shortages changed our priorities. Then there was the emergence of generative AI.”<\/p>\n

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Nala Robotics pivots post-pandemic<\/h2>\n

“We built our system to address the issues the industry is facing, as well as the technology innovations emerging our path today,” added Sunkara. “Nala runs one of the only robotic commercial kitchens in the U.S. in Naperville, Ill. It has been operating for more than 25 months.”<\/p>\n

The Chicago-based company<\/a> sells The Wingman<\/a> robotic fryer, the Nala Chef<\/a> automated kitchen, and the Spotless<\/a> robot for loading and unloading dishwashers. It also provides systems that can assemble sandwiches<\/a>, food bowls<\/a>, and pizzas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We’ve pivoted in the past few years when we learned of the need for end-to-end solutions,” Sunkara noted. “Most previous innovations in food robotics can handle one task or area, but with hygiene concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry needed machines to handle everything from ingredients to delivery.”<\/p>\n

“The second aspect or priority we had to change was the cost impact,” he added. “When inflation was low before the pandemic, robotics was a distant arena for traditional commercial restaurants. Now, any small or midsize business can afford to look at robotics because of wage growth. In California, the minimum wage is $20, which made robotics a more affordable alternative to help ease pressure on restaurant owners.”<\/p>\n

While the majority of Nala Robotics’ customers are larger chains, adding robotics is more involved for them because of the need to customize systems to their processes. The company is working on pilots with bother larger and smaller customers, said Sunkara.<\/p>\n