An artificial intelligence-operated robot chef cooks dishes for students at the middle school affiliated to Shanghai Minghang High School. (PHOTO BY GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY)

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.

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. 

Song Wenjie, vice-principal of Shanghai Minghang High School

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.

A canteen staff member puts dishes cooked by the robot on a conveyor belt. (PHOTO BY GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY)

"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.

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Li Ming, CEO of Xi Xiang Technology, said the robot cost nearly two million yuan (US$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.

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