Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home

We met these robot chefs from the future and sampled their cuisine

By

Moley Robotics makes robotic cooking arms with the dexterity to whip up lobster bisque and wipe up spills. But with a release date of 2017 and projected price of over $14,000, you won’t see them in homes anytime soon. Still, the idea of getting a robot to cook for you — at a more affordable price — was alive and well at CES 2016.

TNL’s OneCook is a cooking robot that drops food from separate containers into a pot-like device and heats and stirs it. It follows the recipes on the accompanying app to get the timing right and has RFID technology so the onions get added before the garlic, for example. Creator Hanlin Hong says some meals can be ready in about five minutes. You can order meals, each under $10, from the app, or you can add your own ingredients and recipes to the dispensers and app.

The prototype is definitely not counter-ready. It looks like a portable air conditioner. Inside are the individual dispensers that hold the food and a pot that gets heated. There’s also a stirring apparatus and place for boiled water to drain. The interior isn’t big enough to flip a steak, but the OneCook can make you some mac and cheese. When I dropped by, I got a taste of stir-fried green beans, which were pretty flavorful, if a tad limp.

Hong says the robot will cost between $200 and $400, though when it debuts on Kickstarter, you’ll be able to get one for between $100 and $200.

The Sereneti Cooki was at CES 2016 as well. Instead of encasing everything in a shell, its cooking process is pretty out in the open. Inside houses the trays for all the ingredients, and these trays flip over into the bowl at the recipe’s designated times. A robotic arm with a spatula-like utensil stirs the ingredients as an induction heater cooks the food. CEO Timothy Chen is hoping to partner with companies like Blue Apron, which could deliver you pre-packaged trays with all the ingredients, taking that extra cooking step out of the ingredient-delivery equation.

But even if you’re not the one doing the cooking, there’s still cleaning. “It’s a $50 robotic arm,” Chen says of the Cooki. “You can actually take the arm off, because there’s no electricity from the shoulder on down.” That means it’s also dishwasher safe.

Sereneti plans on charging around $500 for the Cooki, which will ship later this year.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jenny McGrath
Jenny McGrath
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo vs. Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo: Which is the better robot vacuum?
The Ecovacs X2 Combo installed in a home.

Ecovacs has launched two "Combo" products this year that bundle together a robot vacuum with a secondary handheld vacuum. Each is a great all-in-one solution to keeping your home clean, as they let you tackle not just floors, but also furniture, stairs, blinds, and other areas that might accumulate dust. The Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo was the first to hit the market, though the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo arrived shortly after.

But what's the difference between the Ecovacs X2 Combo and Ecovacs T30S Combo? And which is better for your home? Here's a closer look at these similarly named robots to help you decide which to purchase.
Pricing and availability

Read more
Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo vs. Dreame X40 Ultra: Which robot vacuum is best for your smart home?
The Ecovacs X2 Combo installed in a home.

The Dreame X40 Ultra and Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo are both well-rounded robot vacuums. They bring heaps of functionality to your home, including self-cleaning docks, robots that can both mop and clean in a single run, and luxurious designs that blend with most home décor. All that doesn't come cheap, and you'll be spending well over $1,000 to get your hands on either robot. That means you'll want to carefully weigh your options before making such a hefty investment.

From vacuuming and mopping performance to pricing and additional features, here's a look at the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo and Dreame X40 Ultra to help you decide which is best for your home.
Pricing and availability

Read more
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra vs. Roborock S8 Max Ultra: Which is the better robot vacuum?
The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra placed in its dock.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and Roborock S8 Max Ultra are two of the newest additions to the Roborock family. Along with having almost identical names, these robot vacuums share much of the same spec sheet -- including the ability to mop and vacuum in a single cycle before automatically emptying their dustbin and cleaning their mops. They're impressive gadgets by all accounts, but since they're wildly expensive, you'll want to carefully compare the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and Roborock S8 Max Ultra before adding one to your home.

If you need help, here's a comprehensive look at these two premium robot vacuums, including a comparison of their vacuuming and mops skills, a look at their docking station perks, and a final determination of which is likely best for your needs. Keep in mind that you really can't go wrong with either product -- after all, they're two of the most expensive robots in the category -- but one might be a slightly better fit for your household than the other.
Pricing and availability

Read more