Chef Robotics announced Chef+, a new meal assembly robot designed for use in food manufacturing facilities. The company said the system builds on operational data from more than 80 million servings assembled in production environments and is intended to address space constraints, ingredient handling, equipment reliability, food safety, and ease of use.
According to Chef Robotics, Chef+ increases ingredient capacity by using pans that are twice the volume of those in earlier models, with the aim of extending the time between refills. The company stated that this design is intended to reduce interruptions to production and manual handling, particularly for low-density ingredients such as leafy greens or for larger portion sizes.
Despite the increase in ingredient capacity, Chef Robotics said the robot maintains a footprint comparable to that of a single worker. The company described the design as allowing installation in facilities with limited floor space and enabling production lines to be positioned closer together.
Chef+ also incorporates design changes intended to improve reliability in cold production environments. These include integrated electrical enclosures with sealed wiring, the use of IP cameras rather than USB-connected cameras, an integrated water separator for pneumatic systems, and multiple antennas to support wireless connectivity. Chef Robotics said these features are aimed at increasing time between equipment failures.
In terms of food safety, the company said the robot’s frame design replaces enclosed front tubing with an open-angle structure to make surfaces more accessible for cleaning and to reduce areas where residue could accumulate. Additional usability features include slide-in ingredient pans with locking mechanisms, a touchscreen designed for use with gloves, a power configuration that allows multiple robots to connect to a single ceiling source, and self-leveling feet and handles to facilitate movement on the production floor.
Chef Robotics also stated that Chef+ includes higher processing capacity and a three-camera vision system designed to track conveyor speed and tray positioning for ingredient placement. The company said the system has been tested in its cold-room laboratory and is already operating at several customer sites. Chef+ is now available to food manufacturers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
