If you’re an avid reader of science fiction or simply someone who glanced at Time’s “look into the future” or gadgets issue, you know that robotic advances of recent years have made it more than possible to consider non-humans as possible substitutes in many normal human activities. What constantly amazes me is the speed of the developments and of the capabilities of the many robots coming out of the labs these days.

                                             Who would have thought it was this complicated to make octopus balls?

Take for example, the EZ Order Robot found in Osaka - a robot that went through its paces by whipping up an order of Takoyaki (Octopus balls) entirely from scratch. Granted, it required a remote control the size of Malabon, but that’s beside the point (ain’t it?) – the robot has enough dexterity to perform actions like shaking on some spices, pouring sauce, and turning the balls (gently) to get even heating.

Interestingly, the builders of the robot states that they have no intention of actually producing a finished cooking robot, but in fact conducted a cooking demonstration to show the possibility of applying the robot’s skills to other, more mundane household tasks, while using voice recognition and straight automation of said tasks.

It might not be long before we actually have “automated serving apparatus” to take care of your meals, and in addition to the novelty / convenience factor for most people, such devices will prove to be a boon to the disabled or less capable. But even without their utility – they’re sure a sight to see – the builders even added a traditional cook’s headband to the unit! Maybe they’ll soon improve it so that it doesn’t look like an industrial car-painting robot. Maybe in the next year or so.