Volume 5 • Issue 4 • 1000384 J Nutr Food Sci, an open access journal ISSN: 2155-9600 Open Access Review Article Nayik et al., J Nutr Food Sci 2015, 5:4 DOI: 10.4172/2155-9600.1000384 Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences J o u r n a l o f N u t r i t i o n & Fo o d S c i e n c e s ISSN: 2155-9600 *Corresponding author: Gulzar Ahmad Nayik, Department of Food Engineering and Technology, SLIET, Longowal, Sangrur, Punjab, India, Tel: 91-9478153553/91- 9697470552; E-mail: gulzarnaik@gmail.com Received April 28, 2015; Accepted May 25, 2015; Published May 29, 2015 Citation: Nayik GA, Muzaffar K, Gull A (2015) Robotics and Food Technology: A Mini Review. J Nutr Food Sci 5: 384. doi:10.4172/2155-9600.1000384 Copyright: © 2015 Nayik GA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Robotics and Food Technology: A Mini Review Gulzar Ahmad Nayik*, Khalid Muzaffar and Amir Gull Department of Food Engineering & Technology, SLIET, Longowal, Sangrur, Punjab-India, 148106 Abstract The use of robotics in the modern food industry has increased over recent years because of many advantages. However, the industry has not taken to the technology with the same pace as the automotive and other industries due to technical and some other reasons. The high investment rate, variable nature of food products, fragile and perishable characteristics of food items, hygienic and sterilization requirements, high production volume rates are making hindrance in usage of robotics in industry but the opportunity still exists to deliver signifcant benefts in terms of increased food shelf life, cost reductions and fexibility. The challenge is to develop low-cost, fexible, hygienic and intelligent machines for the food industry. This is a not tough as the technologies now exist to achieve it. The benefts that could be gained if systems are designed, installed and operated well could decide who will be the major food manufacturers of convenience foods in the future. Keywords: Robotics; Food industry; Technology; Flexibility Introduction Food products with diferent nutritional value and favor are naturally distributed all over the world depending on climate and environmental conditions. Some food products depend on seasonal temperature and humidity, so these types of food products require storage in order to be consumed in other seasons of the year. In order to provide foods throughout the whole year, foods are being stored in currently available storage conditions which are required to preserve the nutrition of the food products. Tese products are then packaged either as bulk or individually, and transported from one corner of the world to another. Food products require delicate handling and packaging because they are ofen very fragile and easily spoiled. In recent years, with increasing concern about individual health and well- being, as afected by consumed food and the environment, greater attention has been given to how food is produced, processed, packaged, stored, distributed and consumed. Aggravation among people is increasing day by day as diseases transmitted through food is increasing at alarming pace caused mostly by E. coli bacteria, hepatitis A, Norwalk virus which are communicable diseases. According to the data available at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention USA, 76 million people get illnesses, 350,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 deaths occur due to food-borne diseases in the United States. Automation can be defned as a technology that uses programmed commands to operate a given process, combined with feedback of information to determine that the commands have been properly executed. Automation is now ofen used for processes previously carried out by humans. When automated, the process can operate without human assistance or interference. In fact, most automated systems are capable of performing their functions with greater accuracy and precision, and in less time, than humans. Te application of robotics and automation have been successfully achieved in a wide range of manufactured industries dealing with well- defned processes and products [1,2]. However there are particular research challenges associated with the use of robots in the food industries [3]. Te frst is that the objects being handled are variable in size, shape, weight and position, so that some form of intelligent sensing is required. Te second is that the objects to be handled are ofen delicate and covered with either slippery or viscous substances, and so the end efect or must be carefully designed if it is to handle the objects at high speed with secure lifing and without bruising. Te third is the concern for hygiene, quality and consumer safety. Te hygiene issue is becoming increasingly important for human health. But all the three challenges have been accepted by modern robots. Robot, from the Czechoslovakian word, “robota” meaning forced labor. A robot can be defned as a programmable, self-controlled device consisting of electronic, electrical, or mechanical units. More generally, it is a machine that functions in place of a living agent. According to British Robot Association, “An industrial robot is a reprogrammable device designed both to manipulate and/or transport parts, tools, or specifed manufacturing implements through variable programmed motions for the performance of specifc manufacturing tasks.” Te International Standards Organization (ISO) defnes a robot as, “An automatically controlled, re-programmable, multi-purpose, manipulative machine with several degrees of freedom, which may be either fxed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications.” Robots are especially desirable for certain work functions because, unlike humans, they never get tired; they can work in physical conditions that are uncomfortable or even dangerous; they can operate in airless conditions; they do not get bored by repetition; and they cannot be distracted from the task at hand. Te robot is powerful, reliable and can be used in hot temperature area where a human afer working for so long can become sick and exhausted (Table 1). Reasons for automating processes • Need to reduce direct labor • Can’t get people to do the job • Need to increase quality • Difcult to do the job manually • Need to increase production