This summer, I had the chance to step into the world of food service innovation during a two-month placement at KAIKAKU.AI, a London-based startup combining artificial intelligence and robotics to transform the restaurant industry through automation. It was a fascinating experience that brought together engineering, problem-solving, and hands-on creativity to tackle real-world constraints in the food service industry — special thanks to Josef Chen, Ivan Tregear and Ankita Sharma for guiding me and allowing me to take part in this exciting, fast-paced environment!
The Company
KAIKAKU.AI isn’t the usual robotics firm. Alongside developing their technology, they also operate a salad bowl restaurant, Common Room, which doubles as a testing ground for their innovations. This unique setup means their prototypes can go from the workshop to real-world use almost immediately, giving them an edge in refining their solutions.
The Work
My placement revolved around the conception, mechanical design, and prototyping of modules to expand the capabilities of Fusion, their bowl-preparation robotic system. I worked together with another intern, Etienne Naude, and under the guidance of two mentors, Ivan Tregear and Ankita Sharma.
The modules I worked on included automatic sauce dispensing, protein hot-holding, just-in-time ingredient cutting, and autonomous bowl dispensing.
Some of the modules I worked on.
ℹ️ Note: Some of the innovations developed for these projects are currently being patented. As a result, many details cannot be disclosed in this article at this time. Once the patents are filed, this post will be updated with a series of short videos I created during my placement to showcase our creations to staff and investors.
These were not simply theoretical concepts —we built and tested working prototypes that aligned with real-world needs. Each design was the product of iterative improvements based on feedback from the kitchen staff and KAIKAKU's team. Designing these modules required balancing speed, efficiency, and versatility with food safety standards and strict hygiene requirements.
Many thanks to the teams at KAIKAKU.AI and Common Room for giving me this opportunity to push my skills further while exploring the creative possibilities within robotics.
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