DARPA wants your mess cranks to be robots

Orvelin Valle
Nov 1, 2018 8:30 PM PDT
1 minute read
Technology photo


DARPA is making your next kitchen appliance in the form of a robot named Baxter that can learn to cook your favorite dishes from watching YouTube videos.

Also watch: The 7 coolest high-tech military projects

According to DARPA researchers at the University of Maryland, funded by the agency's Mathematics of Sensing, Exploitation and Execution (MSEE) program, recently developed a system that enabled robots to process visual data from a series of "how to" cooking videos on YouTube. "Based on what was shown on a video, robots were able to recognize, grab and manipulate the correct kitchen utensil or object and perform the demonstrated task with high accuracy – without additional human input or programming," DARPA said.

These scientists throwing the calculus of "cooking is as much of an art as it is a science" way off. Perhaps one day having a personal robot chef will be as commonplace as having a toaster, microwave or blender.

"If we have robots that are humanoid and they have hands, that will be the next industrial revolution," said Yiannis Aloimonos, University of Maryland computer scientist. "I am particularly very happy to be participating in this revolution because it will change fundamentally our societies."

Still, it's hard to imagine Chef Ramsay getting any satisfaction out of yelling at a robot on an episode of Hell's Kitchen . . .

Here's the robot in action.

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