Robot chef safely serves delicious dishes at school

"I was worried that the students might not like the robot-made meals at first. However, the students thought they tasted great and many of them thought they were even better than home cooking," Song said.

Gu Xinyan, a sixth-grade student, said: "I feel that the meals cooked by the robot are better than those prepared by my parents. I also get to eat different dishes every day."

Because of the robot, the school has managed to reduce the number of canteen staff members from eight to two.

Though the robot has been improved food safety, it has also created a minor headache in the form of long lines.

"Dishes are divided into small plates that students pick up from a conveyor belt. Students sometimes hold up the line because they wait until their favorite dish emerges," Song said.

Shen Wei, the manager of the robot project, said the equipment is still in the testing stage, and a self-service cashier will also be rolled out after it is connected to AI image-recognition technology.

Li Ming, CEO of Xi Xiang Technology, said the robot cost nearly two million yuan ($309,600) and is the only one being used in the market.

Should the trial at the high school be successful, the machine will be marketed to factories, companies and other schools, he added.

"Presently, not many people are inclined to use such machines as it means that low-level chefs are left jobless. But such robots have the potential to better society as they can improve food safety, reduce production and operating costs, and improve management and control ability," Li said.

Besides the chef robot, the company is also working on other intelligent catering equipment, including a compact, 1.8-square-meter AI snack-making machine that can produce noodles, wontons, porridge and spicy hotpot.

Li said the company will be launching several AI snack machines in Shanghai later this year.