Chipotle’s Autocado: Avocado-Prepping Robot Revolutionizing Guacamole

In a remarkable leap forward, Chipotle, the popular fast-casual restaurant chain, has introduced a cutting-edge ‘cobotic prototype’ (Cobotic: A robot that collaborates with humans) named Autocado.

This groundbreaking robot is designed to work with kitchen staff to streamline guacamole preparation by swiftly halving, peeling, and coring avocados.

Developed in partnership with Vebu, a company specializing in intelligent automation and technology solutions for the food industry, Autocado tackles the most time-consuming step of guacamole-making: prepping the avocados.

The robot cuts up to 25 pounds of ripe avocados in half, removes the pit and peel, and tosses the leftovers into a trash bin. The remaining fruit is deposited into a large stainless-steel bowl, which can be directly used for finishing the final guacamole preparation on the counter.

Previously, it took kitchen staff at Chipotle approximately 50 minutes to transform avocados into a batch of guacamole, including the whole process. Autocado has the potential to halve that time and ensure customers are served freshly made guac.

Although no specific timeline exists for its nationwide implementation, Autocado is currently in the prototype stage. Chipotle’s innovative cobotic technology has the potential to revolutionize avocado preparation not only in their restaurants but also, hopefully, in home kitchens if the technology can be miniaturized.

By embracing automation and intelligent collaboration between robots and humans, Chipotle’s Autocado paves the way for enhanced efficiency and productivity in the food industry.

This exciting advancement ensures that the beloved guacamole remains a delicious and fresh accompaniment to Chipotle’s offerings.