Autonomous Robot Cook using Artificial Intelligence (ARC AI)

The Project

The Autonomous Robot Cook using Artificial Intelligence (ARC AI) is a system using artificial intelligence designed to make cooking easier by automating meat cooking. As a result, this ensures that the meat is perfectly cooked, promoting a safer cooking method and mitigating potential health hazards from serving undercooked meats and freeing up the cook’s time. The robot integrates a linear actuator, 2 stepper motors, a probe thermometer, a grilling basket, a thermal camera for temperature monitoring, and a camera for monitoring the Maillard reaction of the meat, all controlled by a Raspberry Pi. I chose quarter-pound hamburger beef patties as the meat in my testing. The ARC AI then cooks the patties at various heights above the stovetop flame to collect data for the AI training until I have enough data to have the ARC AI fully automate the cooking process. Images and temperature data collected by camera and thermometers will be used to train a model that will let the ARC AI system know how to regulate the temperature by moving the grill basket to the optimal position to cook the patties safely.

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Team Comments

I chose to develop the ARC AI to address the pressing issue of food safety and accessibility, particularly for individuals with disabilities. I have seen many cases of people becoming sick from improperly prepared meat, even some of my family members, which inspired me to create a solution using AI.

One of the most hardest parts of making the project was 3D printing pieces to see if my measurements were accurate and integrating and fine-tuning the AI algorithms to accurately regulate cooking temperatures, but I worked through it by conducting iterative testing and refining my code.

I would explore features to enhance the usability of ARC AI, such as expanding its capabilities to cook different types of food beyond patties and available for public use, such as in BBQ grills in public parks. I would also make an app to make ARC AI more accessible and intuitive.