World's first robot burger restaurant set to open

The finished US$6 burger that is not once touched by human hands. Photo / Creator

Your next cheeseburger could be made by a robot.

California-based startup Creator has built a machine that can cook patties, toast buns, squirt on the sauce and assemble your burger in just five minutes, the Daily Mail reports.

It took eight years to develop, but the burger robot is almost ready to make its big debut at the company's first storefront in San Francisco, according to TechCrunch.

Creator expects to open the storefront to the public in September.

In all, the 14-foot-long machine, which Creator refers to as a 'culinary instrument,' contains 20 computers, 350 sensors and 50 actuators.

A series of vertical tubes contain stacks of pickles, cheese, tomatoes and onions, among other things.

The high-tech burger-making machine. Photo / Creator

The contraption is in the center of the restaurant and replaces a restaurant's traditional counter.

Meat is ground to order for every customer and is sourced from 'premium ingredients', according to Bloomberg.

First, the machine slices and toasts the bun, then adds the toppings, seasonings and sauces, and then cooks the patties.

A series of paddles in the machine push the burger through the contraption.

The burger doesn't touch human hands until an employee gives it to a customer.

And while the item is made by a high-tech machine and includes high-end ingredients, it still only costs $6 ($8.70).

Creator founder Alex Vardakostas told Bloomberg that he believes the machine can cook burgers and slice vegetables more efficiently than a human can.

It also reduces the chance that the food will get contaminated.

For example, since they're not assembled by a human, food won't risk being contaminated by a worker who has a cold.

Few human employees can be spotted at the storefront, aside from the occasional one replacing ingredients.

Others are stationed at various points to take orders, payment and to hand off the orders.

"When I started this process eight years ago, there wasn't the inevitability that this would happen with food," Vardakostas told Bloomberg.

"Now not only is it inevitable, but it also produces a much higher quality product."

Additionally, the firm has hired engineers, designers and roboticists from Apple, NASA, Tesla and Disney.

Creator's robotic burger machine follows similar creations from other startups like Miso Robotics.

Miso Robotics debuted its 'Flippy' burger bot at a restaurant in California earlier this year, but was ultimately forced to put the machine on hiatus after it couldn't work fast enough to meet demand.

HOW DOES THE 'FLIPPY' BURGER BOT WORK?

Flippy is an artificial intelligence-driven robot that can flip burgers on a grill and then place them on a bun once they are done cooking.

It is designed with a 6-axis robotic arm and cameras and sensors to see its environment.

The robots arm is fitted with a spatula tool, allowing it to slide under the patty on the grill and flip it over.

Flippy also alerts human workers when it is time to add the cheese or other toppings.

Its software lets it distinguish between different meats on the grill and when they are done cooking.