Aniai has announced the deployment of 15 of its “hamburger grill robots” across several prominent burger chains in South Korea.
The kitchen robotics firm’s latest product, the Alpha Grill, is built to automate the burger cooking process.
The partnership includes leading hamburger franchise Lotteria, which operates more than 1,300 locations in the country as part of the Lotte GRS affiliate of Lotte Group.
Following a six-month period of using Alpha Grill, Lotteria was able to reduce its six-step, five-minute patty cooking process down to a single step that takes only one minute and fifty seconds.
The Alpha Grill features a dual-sided griddle, pre-set recipe configurations and precision output, as well as quick speed and serving automations.
It can cook over 200 patties per hour, with the machine’s robotic spatula bringing the product to a warming tray and then self-cleaning.
A spokesperson for Lotte GRS said: “The impact of Alpha Grill extends to creating a safer working environment. By reducing the time our kitchen staff spend in front of hot grills, which is traditionally a risk for burns and heat-related injuries, Alpha Grill enhances workplace safety.”
According to the manufacturer, discussions and demonstrations with major American and NYC-based burger brands are currently ongoing.
The company, which was founded in 2020, currently has over 500 pre-orders for future rollouts of the Alpha Grill.
Gunpil Hwang, co-founder and CEO of Aniai, said: “It’s truly exciting to witness the rapid adoption of our automation technology, and the happiness it brings among kitchen staff. We want to ensure that not only are our customers eager to innovate with us, but their staff reap the positive benefits Alpha Grill brings to them.
“We have proved that our solution works in the commercial kitchen in South Korea; and now, we are taking this momentum to expand deployment to the US.”
