This robot can fry, bake, boil, steam

Beijing: Chinese scientists have invented a cooking robot that is capable of cooking thousands of local dishes.

The robot can fry, bake, boil and steam, and perform other function necessary for cooking Chinese food.

The robot, called AIC (AICookingrobot), was developed by Fanxing Science and Technology Co Ltd in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is capable of cooking thousands of Chinese dishes including Sichuan, Shandong and Canton cuisines, according to a report in the Shenzhen Economic Daily.

The company spent four years and more than 2 million yuan (about $250,000) to develop the robot, said Executive Director of the company, Liu Xinyu.

Scientists translated standardised human cooking actions into machine language. At a show held by the company on Sunday, the robot cooked shrimp dish in five minutes, said the newspaper.

The robot will help standardise Chinese fast food, said Cai Hegao, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The robot will go on sale in 2007 and will enter Chinese homes sometime in the future, Liu Xinyu added.