First, some numbers — here's what BreadBot can do:
The BreadBot is an all-in-one, automated solution for bread production. It's intended to automate the process of baking fresh bread, and to keep it going all day.
To that end, the BreadBot can purportedly produce 10 loaves of fresh bread every hour, with about 90 minutes of start time required before the first fresh loaf comes out.
With a 30 minute rest (for cleaning) and the occasional ingredient re-supply, Wilkinson Baking Company estimates BreadBot's production capacity at approximately 235 loaves of fresh bread every day.
That's a serious amount of bread!
Loaves are deposited into what is essentially a large vending machine, albeit one full of fresh loaves of bread.
After bread is mixed, kneaded, proofed, and baked, it's sent to the final holding area where customers can walk up and select fresh bread by hand.
It wouldn't be a modern piece of tech without a touchscreen, and BreadBot is no slouch in this regard. A touchscreen display offers detailed information about each loaf, including how fresh it is and what type of bread it is.
In another instance, it's demonstrated as a means of production used by employees:
As delicious as bread is, 235 loaves every day is probably too much for anyone.
Which is the unfortunate reason that BreadBot is positioned as a tool for supermarkets.
"Retailers using the BreadBot can benefit from a potential 20-fold lift in bottom line profit margins through the elimination of the costly current bread distribution process," the press release announcing BreadBot says. "As well benefiting from increased consumer interest and maximized employee productivity."
Wilkinson Baking Company envisions the robot being used directly with consumers, or simply as a means of production — handled by employees — in the back of a store. Perhaps the bread gets purposed for sandwiches in the supermarket's deli department, rather than removed directly from the machine by hungry customers.
