Researchers have developed a three-armed robot that can handle one of the most delicate tasks in food preparation: slicing salmon into sashimi. The system, called Sashimi-Bot, can position the fish, make precise cuts, and lift each slice with chopsticks.
How the system works
Unlike robots designed for rigid objects, this setup was built for soft, slippery material that changes shape under pressure. One arm stabilizes the salmon, another guides a chef's knife, and a third collects the finished slices. The goal is to combine dexterity, coordination, and careful control in a single automated workflow.
To improve its handling, the robot learned the shaping step in simulation through deep reinforcement learning, then transferred that skill to the physical machine. A GelSight tactile sensor helped the knife arm detect contact with the cutting board by reading pressure and deformation through a soft gel surface and camera system.
Measured performance
The team trained the sensor model on 12,397 readings from 157 cutting motions. In testing, it identified board contact with 95% accuracy and 99% precision. During full trials, the robot produced 34 salmon slices, with thicknesses ranging from 6 to 16 millimeters. When slices stuck to the blade, the system successfully recovered them. It also picked up nearly all slices left on the board, showing promising control over fragile food handling.
Although the robot is not yet a replacement for a skilled sushi chef, the research points to a broader shift in automation. Systems that can stabilize, sense, cut, and collect soft materials may eventually support food processing and other precision tasks where human-level touch has been difficult to replicate. This kind of progress could shape a future where robots work with far more delicate materials in everyday life.