Robot chef has the right touch

Moley Robotics has announced a robotic chef at the Hannover Messe International Robotics show, aiming to launch a consumer version in 2017. The device is designed to replay the exact movements of a real chef - Tim Anderson, Master Chef winner - using the fully articulated hands from Shadow Robot Company to use an otherwise traditional kitchen. You can see the motion capture process and the robot in action here.

This is an intriguing example (dare I say "taste") of the future of robotics - devices that are versatile, easily programmed and safe enough to become valued consumer devices. The International Federation of Robotics reports current annual sales of "service robots" of around 21,000 units, worth around $1.7 billion, and predict that in 2014-2017 sales of robots for domestic tasks (vacuum cleaning, lawn-mowing, window cleaning, etc.) could hit 23.9 million units, worth about $6.5 billion.

We are delighted to have Rich Walker, maker of the robot chef's all-important robot hands, speaking at our event on Robotics and AI on 6 May. We are also delighted to confirm a new speaker: Mike Aldred, Robotics Lead at Dyson, whose 360 eye vacuum cleaner will be launched in Japan later this year.

Our full speaker line up:

• Mike Aldred, Robotics Lead at Dyson, whose team has devoted more than 100,000 hours of coding - and ￡28m - to developing the Dyson 360 Eye, a robot vacuum cleaner using a 360 degree camera, complex mathematics, probability theory, geometry and trigonometry to clean your home.
• Kerstin Dautenhahn, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Hertfordshire, expert in social robotics and human-robot interaction, who takes her inspiration in robotics from the biological world. She has been interviewed by The Guardian discussing her development of robot KASPAR, which helps children with autism learn about social interaction and communication, and the setting up of a "Robot House" to study human-robot interactions.
• Murray Shanahan, Professor of Cognitive Robotics, Imperial College, London, who speaks regularly on AI, robot perception, learning and consciousness, and has recently written a book soon to be published by MIT Press on The Technological Singularity.
• Rich Walker, Managing Director, Shadow Robot Company, whose robot hand mimics human dexterity, sensitivity and size and is used for NASA's "Robotnaut", hazardous environments, assistance for the elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment and a robot Stephen Fry.

If you have a particular interest in Robotics and AI, please get in touch.