RISE OF COOKING & DELIVERY ROBOTS

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Robots cooking and delivering food are poised to come straight out of human imagination and into our daily lives. Here's a look at that very possible future.

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Delivery robots are lined up in front of a college campus cafeteria. One of them gets ready to work right after receiving an order from a smartphone app. There are nine spots on the campus where food can be delivered. A customer chooses a location and the robot does its job. It makes a smooth turn and drives over a speed bump without a hitch. But there's much room for improvement in its delivery skills.

[Soundbite] KIM YO-SEOP(DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDER) : "There are segments where autonomous driving doesn't work. We're working to solve that problem by remotely controlling the robots."

In this restaurant a robot cooking noodles hogs the spotlight.

[Soundbite] "Wow, it's cooking. Amazing! (There's no need for human employees.)"

Customers choose the ingredients. Then the robot cooks them in no time and expertly pours the broth with its long arm.

[Soundbite] SHIN CHEOL-HO(ROBOT RESEARCHER) : "I studied actual motions of chefs at a training program and made the motions more human-like."

Researchers still need to dramatically upgrade convenience and safety features if robots are to actually replace humans in select fields.

[Soundbite] PROF. OH JUN-HO(KAIST) : "Robots are developed and tested under very restricted conditions. But there can be too many unpredictable variables in the actual working environments."

Competition to dominate the robot market is heating up even in the restaurant industry that's looking to cut labor costs.