Progress and future prospects of cooking robots for Chinese dishes

Traditional Chinese dishes, recognized as a complex culinary system, relies fundamentally on the expertise and experience of chefs, with production traditionally executed manually. However, with the swift advancement in diverse scientific disciplines, the integration of robotics with culinary science has become progressively common. Consequently, employing cooking robots for intricate culinary tasks has become a trend, pushing the processing and production of Chinese dishes towards increased automation and standardization. This paper discusses the concept and characteristics of cooking robots, analyzes their development both in China and globally, and provides a concise overview of the functional structure of current cooking robot mechanisms. These include pot movement, mixing mechanisms, automatic feeding mechanisms, fire control devices, and trajectory planning-teaching systems. Furthermore, it outlines prospective development goals and research directions for cooking robots in China. • Chinese-style cooking robots can automate the preparation of intricate Chinese dishes. • Integrating cooking robots with advanced technology enhances both the precision and efficiency of culinary processes. • Chinese-style cooking robots possess significant potential in the domain of intelligent cooking. • This study examines the various components and functional characteristics of Chinese-style cooking robots.