Sony partners with Carnegie Mellon on artificial intelligence and robotics

Initial efforts to focus on cooking and delivery

Sony has entered into an agreement with Carnegie Mellon University to collaborate on artificial intelligence and robotics research.

Initial research and development efforts will focus on optimizing food preparation, cooking and delivery.

This area of research and development was selected because the technology necessary for a robot to handle the complex and varied task of food preparation and delivery could be applied to a broader set of skills and industries. 

Applications could include those where machines must handle fragile and irregularly shaped materials and carry out complex household and small business tasks.

Additionally, robots that are developed for food preparation and delivery would have to be able to operate in small areas, an ability which could be valuable for many other industries.

For this project, researchers will focus on defining the domain of food ordering, preparation, and delivery.

Initially, they will build upon existing manipulation robots and mobile robots, and will plan on developing new domain-specific robots for predefined food preparation items and for mobility in a limited confined space.

Depending on the needs of the consumer, food offerings and preparation methods could be adjusted based on personal dietary restrictions and the availability of certain ingredients.

Food could be delivered to the home or office, and dining tables could be set elegantly prior to food being served.

In addition to this current project, Sony plans to continue supporting CMU’s AI and robotics-related R&D efforts and startups through its Seed Acceleration Program, Sony’s business incubation platform, as well as the Sony Innovation Fund, a corporate venture capital fund.

This research will take place primarily at CMU’s School of Computer Science in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, engaging a focused group of robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning faculty members and students.

For Sony, Dr Hiroaki Kitano will serve as project lead.

Andrew Moore, dean of CMU’s School of Computer Science, says: “Making and serving food is an immense challenge for automation, so we’re excited about the types of machines and software that might emerge as we jointly explore a variety of approaches and solutions.

“Both Sony and CMU aim high, so we are confident this research will produce technologies that impact robotics across a broad number of applications.”

Dr Kitano says: “This project has the potential to make the vast possibilities of AI and robotics more familiar and accessible to the general public.

“Additionally, it could also assist those for whom daily tasks, such as food preparation, are challenging. I am very excited to be working with the talented scientists at CMU to make this vision a reality.”