[even if it is attached to a pair of robotic arms that come down from the kitchen cabinets Samsung's "Bot Chef" may offer a glimpse into the future of robotic assistance in the kitchen

The robotic arms are studded with sensors and packed with enough intelligence to chop, dice, stir, and even control other kitchen appliances with just a voice command

At CES 2020, I watched Bot Chef turn on the stove, dice tofu, stir tofu in a pan, find sriracha in a drawer, squeeze hot sauce into a bowl, and set the coffee maker to brew coffee Bot Chef's movements were slow and deliberate, but I was impressed by all it could accomplish

The Bot Chef is essentially two arms, each about 25 feet long and articulated in three parts At the end of each is a three-fingered hand not much larger than that of an adult male, but this robotic hand can not only grasp objects, but also rotate them [For example, the bot chef could pick up a knife from one wall and a spatula and spoon from another These sensors would also detect if a person got too close When that happens, the bot-chef stops moving and does not cut off anyone's fingers (The first law of robotics, after all, applies in the kitchen)

In the demonstration, the chef/presenter asked the bot chef to help him prepare a salad After selecting a tofu and cabbage salad, Chef Bot explained what needed to be done next As Chef Bot diced the tofu, he asked the live chef to prepare the other ingredients

Samsung also demonstrated how the bot chef learned new skills on the fly When the host asked the Chef Bot to brew a cup of coffee, the Bot Bot replied that it did not know how to brew it After a few seconds, the Chef Bot was able to set the pod in the coffee maker, place a cup under it, and press a button to start the coffee maker It was as if Keanu Reeve's training scene from "The Matrix" had been realized using only kitchen utensils

Samsung has no information on when the Bot Chef will be available or how much it will cost, but a representative said the price of the smart kitchen assistant will not be exorbitant However, one gets the feeling that if they can afford Bot Chef, they can afford to hire a real chef

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