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Robots may transform the way we produce and prepare food

Robotics technologies are finding their way into the food production chain, from agriculture robots ‘working’ on farms, to 3D food printers generating customized dishes in the kitchen. In this Viewpoint, two roboticists, Hod Lipson and Salah Sukkarieh, discuss the possible roles of robotics in shaping the future of food, highlighting how robots may be able to produce more, healthier and sustainable foods with fewer resources and a lower carbon footprint.

How could robotics shape the future of food?

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Columbia, New York, NY, USA

    Hod Lipson

  2. Australian Centre for Field Robotics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia

    Salah Sukkarieh

Authors

  1. Hod Lipson
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  2. Salah Sukkarieh
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Contributions

Salah Sukkarieh is Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at the University of Sydney. Over the last 20 years, he has been researching, developing and commercializing field robots focusing on sustainable agriculture in Australia. Salah Sukkarieh has seen his work implemented in studies for smallholder farmers in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.

Hod Lipson has been a professor of Engineering and Data Science at Columbia University in New York since 2015 before which he spent 14 years as a professor at Cornell University. He received his PhD in 1999 from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, followed by a postdoctorate at Brandeis University and MIT. Hod Lipson’s work on self-aware and self-replicating robots challenges conventional views of robotics and has enjoyed widespread impact. He has also pioneered open-source 3D printing, as well as electronics 3D printing, bio-printing and food printing.

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Hod Lipson or Salah Sukkarieh.

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Lipson, H., Sukkarieh, S. Robots may transform the way we produce and prepare food.
Nat Rev Bioeng (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00126-5

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  • Accepted: 21 September 2023

  • Published: 20 October 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00126-5

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