Bots With Buns!

This Hot Dog Cooking Robot Is the Beginning of the End

Chicago's bad day just got worse.
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New video shows a pair of Boston University bots in action — expertly working together to grill hot dogs and park them in rolls.
Image: Boston University

Look, Dave, I Don’t Do Ketchup

Remember back in December, when Boston University researchers taught a pair of large robotic arms to autonomously cook hot dogs?

Now, new video shows the bots in action — expertly working together to grill the franks and park them in rolls. Tragically, the bots still don’t seem to know about condiments.

From Dogs to Diagnoses

The researchers say the technology has applications far outside the world of dubious meat logs — they hope that the same machine learning they developed to identify the wieners could be used to “identify cancerous spots on mammograms” or interpret “spoken commands to play music.”

No word yet on whether hot dog artisans fear for their livelihoods — though, if they do, it’d be more bad news for an already-grim day in Chicago.

READ MORE: Meet Jaco and Baxter, machine learning robots who cook perfect hot dogs [Boston University]

More on hot dogs: Finally, a Smart Robot That Can Cook and Serve Us Hot Dogs

Jon Christian Avatar

Jon Christian

Executive Editor

I’m the executive editor at Futurism, assigning, editing, and reporting on everything from artificial intelligence and space exploration to the personalities shaping the tech sector.