- In February 2025, LBX Food Robotics announced the expansion of its Bake Xpress hot food vending kiosks into Canada, following the achievement of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) certification. This milestone allows for rapid deployment across diverse venues—such as hospitality, retail, healthcare, and education—without the need for individual site inspections. While not a traditional processed food application, Bake Xpress represents a significant advancement in automated food preparation and dispensing, offering freshly baked meals and pastries on demand through a compact robotic kiosk. The move underscores the growing relevance of food robotics in delivering convenient, high-quality meals in unattended settings
- In July 2024, Chef Robotics unveiled a first-of-its-kind AI-powered flexible food robot aimed at tackling labor shortages and boosting production in the food manufacturing sector. Powered by ChefOS, the company’s proprietary food manipulation software, the robot adapts to high-mix production environments—handling diverse ingredients and portion sizes with precision. Unsuch as traditional automation, Chef’s system offers partial automation that integrates seamlessly into existing workflows. Notable customers such as Amy’s Kitchen, Sunbasket, and Chef Bombay have already adopted the technology, reporting improvements in consistency, labor productivity, and throughput
- In August 2023, UK-based robotics innovator Wootzano officially launched its operations in the United States, introducing its flagship Avarai robot to the market. Designed for post-harvest applications, Avarai uses embedded electronic skin and AI-powered computer vision to gently handle delicate fresh produce—such as grapes and tomatoes—without bruising or damage. This precision reduces food loss and boosts packing efficiency, addressing labor shortages in produce packing sheds. The expansion, supported by partners such as the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation and the British Consulate General – San Francisco, marks a major milestone in Wootzano’s global growth strategy
- In April 2023, Doosan Robotics introduced its E-SERIES, a groundbreaking line of NSF-certified collaborative robots tailored for the food and beverage industry. Designed with sealed gaps between connecting axes and a slim, hygienic build, these cobots meet stringent safety standards while offering exceptional flexibility in food preparation tasks. With a 5 kg payload and nearly 3 ft reach, the E-SERIES can handle diverse applications—from frying chicken to brewing coffee—already deployed in concepts such as Robert Chicken and Dr. Presso. This launch marks a significant step in automating food production with efficient, sanitary, and adaptable robotic solutions
- In April 2023, ABB Robotics entered a collaboration with Pulmuone, a leading Korean food processing company, to develop AI-powered robotic solutions for cultivating laboratory-grown seafood. The partnership focuses on automating cell culture handling and testing, aiming to boost production efficiency, reduce contamination risks, and relieve skilled lab workers from repetitive tasks. ABB’s portfolio of collaborative robots (cobots) will play a key role in safely supporting human operators, while Pulmuone plans to leverage this technology to establish mass production by 2026—potentially becoming the first to apply AI robotics to cell-cultured food
