Abstract: A flexible robotic kitchen assistant automates the preparation of food items. The robotic kitchen assistant includes a robotic arm, a sensor assembly comprising a plurality of cameras aimed at a kitchen workspace for preparing the food items, a controller operable to move the robotic arm, and a processor. The processor is operable to command the robotic arm to perform a food preparation step on the food items in the kitchen workspace based on order information, recipe information, kitchen equipment information, and camera data. The system is capable of performing a wide range of tasks commonly used in residential and commercial kitchens and is able to work collaboratively with and in close proximity to human kitchen workers.

Abstract: A food preparation system is configured to enhance the efficiency of food preparation operations in a commercial kitchen by displaying instructions on a surface in the kitchen work area. The food preparation system includes a plurality of cameras aimed at a kitchen workspace for preparing the plurality of food items and a processor operable to compute an instruction for a kitchen worker to perform a food preparation step based on one or more types of information selected from order information, recipe information, kitchen equipment information, data from the cameras, and food item inventory information. A projector in communication with the processor visually projects the instruction onto a location in the kitchen workspace for the kitchen worker to observe. Related methods for projecting food preparation instructions are described.

Abstract: A flexible robotic kitchen assistant automates the preparation of food items. The robotic kitchen assistant includes a robotic arm, a sensor assembly comprising a plurality of cameras aimed at a kitchen workspace for preparing the food items, a controller operable to move the robotic arm, and a processor. The processor is operable to command the robotic arm to perform a food preparation step on the food items in the kitchen workspace based on order information, recipe information, kitchen equipment information, and camera data. The system is capable of performing a wide range of tasks commonly used in residential and commercial kitchens and is able to work collaboratively with and in close proximity to human kitchen workers.

Abstract: Panoramic and spherical cameras are often configured to capture respective portions of a scene using a set of lenses that focus images on imagers for sampling by photosensitive elements. In many such cameras, the orientation of the lenses is selected to resemble to a regular prismatic solid (e.g., one lens oriented according to a face of a cube). However, such lens orientations may create gaps between images that result in blind spots, and/or varying degrees of coverage overlap. Presented herein are techniques for orienting the lenses in an asymmetric manner, comprising one forward lens and three backward lenses having a 120-degree rotational angle around a first (e.g., front-to-back) axis and a variable inclination angle perpendicular to the first axis. This lens orientation may be selected (e.g., by a computer) to achieve a desired degree of coverage overlap while significantly reducing gaps that create blind spots in the composite image.