Machine Learning

Introduction

Whilst traveling to the Germany city of Munich my colleagues and I made a detour to this address: Am Steinacher Kreuz 28, in Nurnberg, Germany to see for ourselves, the fully automated restaurant called Bagger’s. In this restaurant, gravity-operated ramps send food directly to waiting customers. Customers orders their food using touch screens and pay her bills electronically, then wait for their food, to be directly delivered to their tables.
The idea behind this system is fantastic however, people have the fear of creating unemployment. I think the contrary, it will rather create more jobs rather. Many think the use of robots reduces the job for humans giving us a small fraction, “to the contrary, I[Kasparov] think it could have a much bigger impact”(Wilkins, 2019).

Application of Technologies at Zume Fast foods

In Mountain View, CA, Zume, relies on robotics to ensure very fast delivery and hygienic processing of ordered Pizzas. Zume has even delivery trucks that can bake about 120 Pizza hourly. Making it possible for ordered Pizza to be prepared on wheels via mobile Pizza Kitchen and delivered to the geospatial information supplied by the ordering customers. Using BI technologies, Zume management makes informed decisions to position mobile kitchens based on historic patterns to ensure quick deliveries.

Robots at Zume Fast foods

To prepare Pizza in the Zume setting, robots are used in the processing of the Pizzas quickly. Zume still uses humans, to initiate the preparation of the process and at the later stages of the processes. With a confirmed Pizza order from the customer via the Zume’s ordering App, a robot called the Doughbot commences the order by turning a dough ball into a flat circular shape in just under 10 seconds. The next sequence is the operation carried out by the robots Giorgio and Pepe, these apply the sauce and the cheese crust on the Doug respectively. For the even spreading of sauce to the corners of the crust another robot named Marta completes the task of spreading. To prepare it for baking, the pizza is covered with the desired toppings of the customer by a human who also ensures that a good job was done by the robots in the processing chain. The baking part is handled by two robots Bruno and Vincenzo by putting the pies in and out of the oven respectively. The finished process can be delivered at the customers’ doorstep’s hots and crispy.

Addressing some common problems in the food industry

Food poisoning which is largely due to contamination due to bacterial and viral contaminants are normally introduced into the food during the processing by humans. A microbiologist, I worked with on a project, told me confidentially that human contributes largely to contamination he showed me so of his reports analysis which clearly lays the blames at the doorsteps of humans. The contaminations which are commonly reported in the food industry are Staphylococcus, Salmonella, etc. The introduction of robots and IoT technologies in the fast-food industry will help the industry to address these negative effects.

Heat-related accidents and incidents are common in the food industry. For instance, a study conducted in Assiut, Egypt paints a negative consequence on the workers using indoor Ovens (Ragab, 2018 ). Now, considering the long-term health implications, for bakers at the furnace sections in many Pizzeria, the deployment of the Robotics as deployed at Zume can avert all these harmful occurrences.

The use of Cobotics to address the problems of hard-wired industrial robots

For many, a robot in the Kitchen is unacceptable! Some claim that working with a robot is dangerous. Robots have no feelings and many other reasons. But the bad news for these folks is that robots won’t go away soon. It is rather becoming commonplace in the industry. In the future, humans will work less and enjoy better remunerations because of robots. In industry, robots will do all the more tasking jobs and dangerous undertakings. Cobots addresses the problems of feeling and sensitivity problems. It is a robot programmed to work collaboratively with humans. Cobots can detect abnormal activity in their environment “through force limitation or vision monitoring” (RobotIQ, 2019).
Besides, cobots can easily be relocated to another section of production and be programmed to function in hours. Cobots, ensure high productivity and optimized processes in manufacturing. They are more dependable and a preferred choice in performing repetitive tasks.

Is the Ghanaian Industrial front Ready?

For the industries in Ghana, I think decision-makers in the helms of affairs should be gradually be leveraging some of these technologies or miss out in the ongoing industry 4.0 revolution. Two research fellows at Deloitte, Cotteleer & Sniderman firmly asserts that “industry 4.0 will change how we make things, but it could also affect how those things are moved (through autonomous logistics and distribution), how customers interact with them, and the experiences they expect to have as they interact with companies. Beyond that, it could drive changes in the workforce, requiring new skills and roles” (2019). The question is, Are we ready?

Conclusion

Industry 4.0 which is driving today’s industry is here to stay. It is therefore very important to rely on collaborative robots (Cobots) in manufacturing. Their use in consonance with ML and AI technologies can address the inconsistencies in humans. This will ensure enhanced quality control processes and help in end-to-end traceability in the event of processing flaws.

References

Cotteleer, M., & Sniderman, B. (2019, July 20). Forces of change: Industry 4.0 . Retrieved from Deloitte: https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/industry-4-0/overview.html
Ragab, R. E. (2018 ). Evaluation of indoor heat stress on workers of bakeries at Assiut City, Egypt. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, pp 2637–2642.
RobotIQ. (2019, June 22). What is a Cobot. Retrieved from Blog robotiq: https://blog.robotiq.com/what-is-a-cobot
Wilkins, A. (2019, July 22). Artificial Intelligence Will Show Us Our True Selves. Retrieved from Inverse: https://www.inverse.com/article/42853-garry-kasparov-artificial-intelligence-will-show-us-our-true-selves