Japan’s robotics industry is freaking us out with this new sushi-bot. Is it the harbinger of an impending robopocalypse or merely a futuristic way to enjoy lunch? You be the judge!


Do androids dream of electric tuna? This video of an amazing sushi-making robot doesn’t answer that riddle, but it reveals that food-serving robots have definitely come a long way in the last couple of years.

▼Take this bot, for example, which was probably designed by a drunk person

At a recent technology convention in Tokyo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries showed off some of its impressive new technology in a special robotics pavilion, aptly called the “Kawasaki Robostage.” According to the company’s website, the showcase was mainly conceived as a chance to show off coexistence and cooperation between robots and human beings. My takeaway? Coexistence with machines means that robots in the future will spend all their time preparing delicious food for me!

One of KHI’s new robots in the showcase, dubbed “duAro,” boasts two dextrous appendages capable of extremely minute movements. To demonstrate their creation’s remarkable range of mobility, the company recruited the robot, which resembles two disembodied arms, to create a selection of delicious-looking nigiri sushi.

In a brief but mesmerizing video, duAro’s two robotic arms gracefully assemble and serve several pieces of sushi on a small wooden tray. Is this the future? I don’t know, but it’s impressive technology nonetheless!

▼Take a look for yourself!

Any of us that have attempted to use chopsticks to handle sushi know that the first couple of attempts with a fine motor skills can prove challenging (I have stained shirts to prove it), but DuAro makes this chore look easy, as its two arms gently glide to pick up a series of different ingredients. I just hope that this won’t put honest, hard-working humans out of work!

Technophobic Luddite that I am, I once vowed never to eat something created by a robot. Now I’m worried I may have to break that promise, because this actually looks pretty delicious.

Sources: Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Official Site)
Top image: Youtube/Kazumichi Moriyama