Cold Station: Physical AI Cooking with Sealed Inline Ingredient Automation
Cold Station is a Physical AI cooking system that integrates refrigerated ingredient storage, enclosed inline transfer, robotic cooking, and heated holding into one automated workflow. Ingredients are stored in individual baskets and supplied sequentially through an internal transfer mechanism without requiring staff to open the refrigerator door. A chain-driven lift moves the selected basket to the discharge level for transfer to the cooking robot. A transparent panel allows staff to check stored ingredients visually, while load cells and a non-contact infrared sensor monitor ingredient weight and surface temperature. The system manages ingredient inventory and condition, transfers ingredients to the fryer, controls the cooking process, and moves cooked food to heated holding. It reduces repetitive manual handling and allows kitchen staff to focus more time on food quality and customer service.