Moley Robotics unveils the world's first robotic kitchen with 5,000 recipes

Moley Robotics has developed and launched for consumers the world's first robotic kitchen, based on a multifunctional cooking platform. Company founder and CEO Mark Oleynik says Moley also has huge potential for commercial kitchens. 

Oleynik has big plans for how robotics can make our lives easier. Currently this takes the form of Moley, a sophisticated robot chef whose automated arms can cook more than 5,000 recipes, plate dishes and even clean up after themselves.

Moley's robotic arms are controlled by optical cameras and sensors, as well as an overhead rail. They can deftly handle custom-made pots and pans, and smoothly operate a touchscreen induction cooktop. 

Moley is intended for use in high-end residential homes: the basic kitchen with robotic arms sells for $335,000. However, the company founder plans to bring the device to commercial kitchens, which could fundamentally change how restaurants operate. 

Development of Moley began back in 2014. At several exhibitions in 2015, the company already presented a first prototype of the robotic kitchen to show that it is a viable product. The first finished kitchen was presented at the GITEX exhibition in Dubai in December 2020. 

The company's website says the Moley robotic kitchen will let users save time, free their day from routine cooking, plan and adapt their menu to various diets and lifestyles, enjoy international cuisine at any time, monitor calories, and get advice from chefs from around the world. 

Moley not only prepares full meals but also alerts you when an ingredient needs replacing, suggests dishes based on what you have on hand, learns your preferences, and even cleans all work surfaces after itself. 

The cookware and kitchen utensils were developed together with a leading Italian home appliance manufacturer. Key features include ergonomic heat-resistant handles, mirror-polished stainless steel, an aluminum inner layer and a magnetic outer layer of stainless steel. 

According to Mark Oleynik, people always look for support. However, with an autonomous legged robot that moves around an apartment, safety issues arise: such a robot is very heavy, and stability is difficult to ensure. 

"Finally, there is functionality: most robots cannot perform any actual functional operations. That is why, when I invented the kitchen, I decided to solve all these fundamental problems by integrating the robot into the kitchen structure. This resolved issues of dynamic stability, electrical power and safety," said Mark Oleynik, founder and CEO of Moley Robotics. 

The company created a framework in which the robot can follow the instructions of a real chef. The cooking process is a sequence of functional operations, in particular controlling the correct timing, calculating the required weight and selecting ingredients. Moley's robotic arms can recreate the movements of professional chefs; they move along a rail to access all functional parts of the kitchen in various positions.

“Our main strategy is to fundamentally change the possibilities of home entertainment and home cooking. In my view, everyone wants a device that can cook more than 5,000 recipes at the push of a button. Even for professional chefs, such a number is unattainable”

Moley Robotics says its platform is multifunctional: it can be used not only for home kitchens but for any kitchen in the world. Moley can prepare soups for restaurants, french fries, Kentucky-style chicken and much more. The company is working on several different models that can be simplified for commercial use. 

If a restaurant needs a robot for a specific operation (to replace one or two cooks), this is also possible. The software and hardware have been specifically made modular, so they can be changed for different applications and specifications. The Moley kitchen is unique because it transforms according to the client's needs. 

The company is negotiating with a number of hotel chains and several large restaurant chains that want to integrate the robotic kitchen into their existing environments. 24-hour room service sometimes turns into a real nightmare, as it is hard to find a chef willing to work at night. In such cases, a robot could be ideal for night service. 

In addition, hospitals and nursing homes need well-balanced, freshly prepared food, but such places are difficult to staff. The issue is not that labor needs to be replaced or costs optimized. The problem is that people do not like doing boring, repetitive tasks. Robots can help with this.