Open Access

Maurice Hufnagel, Michael Schmidpeter, Christian Pfitzner

• This paper presents a mobile robotic system designed to automate the baking of bread rolls in industrial kitchen environments. The system combines an omnidirectional platform, a compact sensing and computation unit, and a custom manipulator capable of grasping unsorted frozen bread rolls as well as handling baking trays. A neural-network-based perception module enables robust bread roll detection and orientation adjustment, while a tailored local planner exploits omnidirectional mobility for safe navigation in confined spaces. Experimental evaluations show reliable placement with an accuracy of about 99%. Although the robot currently requires around 90 seconds per tray compared to 20 seconds for a human worker, its ability to operate continuously allows for competitive daily throughput. Further improvements in motion planning and perception are expected to substantially reduce cycle times. Owing to its modular design, the system can be adapted to other baked goods and kitchen tasks. This work demonstrates the feasibility of roboticThis paper presents a mobile robotic system designed to automate the baking of bread rolls in industrial kitchen environments. The system combines an omnidirectional platform, a compact sensing and computation unit, and a custom manipulator capable of grasping unsorted frozen bread rolls as well as handling baking trays. A neural-network-based perception module enables robust bread roll detection and orientation adjustment, while a tailored local planner exploits omnidirectional mobility for safe navigation in confined spaces. Experimental evaluations show reliable placement with an accuracy of about 99%. Although the robot currently requires around 90 seconds per tray compared to 20 seconds for a human worker, its ability to operate continuously allows for competitive daily throughput. Further improvements in motion planning and perception are expected to substantially reduce cycle times. Owing to its modular design, the system can be adapted to other baked goods and kitchen tasks. This work demonstrates the feasibility of robotic systems for automating repetitive food preparation processes, improving efficiency and consistency in professional kitchens.…