Amazon CTO Meets The Makers Of Rotimatic – The New Age Kitchen Robot

Werner Vogels’ reaches start-up hotbed Singapore and an intriguing conversation about future-tech with innovators Pranoti Nagarkar and Rishi Israni ensues. 

Tech-centric shows are a great way to stay up to date about what’s new in the tech world, the “Now Go Build with Werner Vogels” series on Amazon is one that has become a raging hit. In each episode, Amazon CTO Werner Vogels interviews innovators and gives an insight into the dynamic and rapidly evolving world of AI and cloud computing.

A recent episode of the show focused on Singapore-based husband and wife team of entrepreneur/tech expert and mechanical engineer, Rishi Israni and Pranoti Nagarkar – the inventors of Rotimatic. The kitchen robot is poised to change the way the world cooks one of its oldest recipes – the simple flour-and-water flatbread. 

The idea behind Rotimatic

It is no wonder that Vogels has chosen to explore the story of Rotimatic. The AI and IoT-enabled appliance are the only one of its kind and leagues ahead of its predecessors in the category of electronic flatbread or roti-makers. It is an antithesis to the notion that automation is eroding traditions since what it does is it implements technology to hold on to norms most dear to us.

What Pranoti and Rishi have come up with is an efficient system to replicate the process of making a roti (and other forms of flatbread such as tortillas and pizza base) in a completely self-governed machine. It aims to address issues that compromise our standard of living, be it is managing a work-life balance or health. As pointed out by Israni, “seventy percent of illnesses are lifestyle disease-related, and they are primarily related to the type of food you consume” and “one-third of the world’s food is wasted”. Rotimatic is the duo’s first step toward realizing their vision of a fully intelligent kitchen that will ensure a healthy diet for its users and minimize wastage of food at the same time.

The tech behind Rotimatic

Rotimatic is the amalgamation of the necessity to optimize time and expert knowledge in cutting-edge technology. Its prototype was first introduced in 2009 by Zimplistic. The home food robot has machine learning built into it, can connect with the wifi and sync with other smart devices, troubleshoot when needed, and update its software. The Rotimatic’s corresponding app will allow it to be operated from remote locations as well. 

A quick overview of the benefits of having an intelligent roti-maker

The software makes it possible to track the number of rotis made using Rotimatic across the globe, customer satisfaction, and machine errors. This information helps the company prioritize issues that need to be addressed and fixed first.

Rotimatic collects relevant data from every roti it makes. This includes information concerning the content and quality of the food being prepared by the appliance. Users are also urged to rate the user experience on the display screen of the robot at the end of every cycle to help upgrade the system. Rotimatic gives a data-driven, data-backed understanding of the operations of the machine. 

A labor of love

However, its transition from a hardware-only device to incorporating a major software component was not an overnight one. Years of research following the realization of how complicated servicing the product would be led to implementing AWS and IoT into the Rotimatic design. The benefits of this upgrade have been evident from the first attempt to get the service right and it has facilitated collecting further data to improve the appliance model. The software is now crucial to extend the device into a platform that’s capable of making multiple varieties of flatbread. 

Is the world prepared to give their kitchen an AI and IoT makeover?

Clearly, yes. Rotimatic is a device that instantly frees up about an hour from kitchen duty, especially for women who have been playing the part of homemakers. Making flatbreads of any sort is a cumbersome task and the kitchen robot takes the entire process into its stride and compresses it to a matter of minutes. The user decides the sort of bread they wish to prepare, which type and brand of flour to utilize, oil content, the thickness of the rotis, the number of rotis to be made in a batch, and the extent of roasting each roti should undergo.  

Compared to the traditional method of making rotis, using the Rotimatic is ridiculously simple, and helps keep pace with a world that is rapidly turning to automation. Rotimatic is available on the official website as well as on Amazon.