Automated food production minimizes risk of spreading novel coronavirus

To minimize the risk of students and staff getting infected with COVID-19, a high school in Shanghai has left no stone unturned when it comes to implementing safety measures.

Besides the usual preventive measures, the middle school, affiliated to Shanghai Minghang High School, has even rolled out an artificial intelligence-operated robot chef in its canteen to reduce human contact with food.

The robot, which has been in use since October, is started at 8 am every day and is responsible for tasks such as cooking, reheating, and distributing the food on conveyor belts. It is capable of cooking more than 1,000 dishes through techniques such as frying and roasting.

The robot, built by technology company Xi Xiang Technology, provides six dishes for students at each meal-two meat dishes, two meat and vegetable dishes, and two vegetable dishes. Soup and fruit are distributed by staff.

"In light of the pandemic, we decided to pilot this machine as it handles most of the cooking process, thus reducing the amount of contact humans have with the food," said Song Wenjie, vice-principal of the school.

According to Song, the robot can cook eight Chinese cuisines and more than 1,000 kinds of dishes using a standardized process, which guarantees consistency in the flavor.