Robots Outperform Human in Preparing Fried Chicken in South Korea

An employee prepares to serve fried chicken that was cooked by
a robot at the Robert Chicken restaurant in Seoul — AFP
An employee prepares to serve fried chicken that was cooked by a robot at the Robert Chicken restaurant in Seoul — AFP
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Robots Outperform Human in Preparing Fried Chicken in South Korea

An employee prepares to serve fried chicken that was cooked by
a robot at the Robert Chicken restaurant in Seoul — AFP
An employee prepares to serve fried chicken that was cooked by a robot at the Robert Chicken restaurant in Seoul — AFP

In fried-chicken-obsessed South Korea, restaurants serving the nation’s favorite fast-food dish dot every street corner. But Kang Ji-young’s establishment brings something a little different to the table: a robot is cooking the chicken.

Eaten at everything from tiny family gatherings to a 10-million-viewer live-streamed “mukbang” – eating broadcast – by K-pop star Jungkook of BTS fame, fried chicken is deeply embedded in South Korean culture.

Paired with cold lager and known as “chimaek” – a portmanteau of the Korean words for chicken and beer – it is a staple of Seoul’s famed baseball-watching experience.

The domestic market – the world’s third largest, after the United States and China – is worth about seven trillion won (RM24.7bil), but labor shortages are starting to bite as South Korea faces a looming demographic disaster due to having the world’s lowest birth rate.

Around 54% of business owners in the food service sector report problems finding employees, a government survey last year found, with long hours and stressful conditions the likely culprit, according to industry research.

Korean fried chicken is brined and double-fried, which gives it its signature crispy exterior, but the process – more elaborate than what is typically used by US fast food chains – creates additional labor and requires extended worker proximity to hot oil.

Enter Kang, a 38-year-old entrepreneur who saw an opportunity to improve the South Korean fried chicken business model – and the dish itself. “The market is huge,” Kang said at her Robert Chicken franchise. Chicken and pork cutlets are the most popular delivery orders in South Korea, and the industry could clearly benefit from more automation to “effectively address labor costs and workforce shortages”, she said.

Kang’s robot, composed of a simple, flexible mechanical arm, is capable of frying 100 chickens in two hours – a task that would require around five people and several deep fryers. But not only does the robot make chicken more efficiently – it makes it more delicious, said Kang. “We can now say with confidence that our robot fries better than human beings do,” she added.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.