Aniai, a South Korean robotics company, announced a strategic initiative for breaking into the North American market. It has opened a new headquarters in New York and grown its leadership and support teams as a part of its expansion, according to a company press release.

Aniai's flagship product, Alpha Grill, leverages advanced artificial AI and uses its burger-making-robot to automate the hamburger patty cooking process, enhancing efficiency and consistency in restaurant kitchens, the company stated. Aniai is currently conducting pilot tests in North American hamburger brands and anticipates implementation at multiple locations over the next six to twelve months.

Alpha Grill is designed to enable restaurant employees to focus on creating high-quality burgers and enhance the dining experience by automating a number of repetitive tasks, such as cleaning the grill and managing cook times. Built with a rapid cooking system that highlights a double-sided grill, the automated grill simultaneously cooks up to eight hamburger patties at a time, or up to 200 patties per hour and is equipped with a self-cleaning function. The burger-making-robot uses an advanced monitoring system powered by AI, equipped with cameras and sensors, provides real-time tracking of patty temperatures and quality, the company stated.

White Castle, Jack in the Box and CaliBurger currently use a burger-making-robot called Flippy, Miso Robotics’ food production robot.

Convenience leaders from Asia, and across the world, are gathering in Seoul, South Korea, in March. Learn more about NACS Convenience Summit Asia.