Meet “Chef Robot”

Business owners in China are quickly embracing the era of inexpensive robots. From factories to restaurants, mechanical avatars are replacing workers and changing the country’s economic landscape.

For example, at a noodle shop in Beijing, diners can watch a robot in a chef’s uniform prepare, cut and cook their dinner right before their eyes. The initial investment of 10,000 yuan (about US$1,600) is equal to approximately one-quarter of a cook’s annual salary to do the same job. The farmer-turned-inventor who developed the innovative robots reports that he has sold more than 3,000 since launching his new business in 2010.

Fueled by the fact that wages have been increasing at a rate of 10 to 20 percent annually, automatons are also displacing skilled workers in jobs such as welding, painting, and packaging. Within the next year, the Chinese demand for industrial robots is expected to exceed 32,000.