Researchers from the University of Tokyo have taught a dual armed robot the delicate task of peeling a banana without disturbing the fruit contained within.

According to the University of Tokyo team, the robot was capable of successfully peeling the banana nearly 60% of the time, thereby hinting at a future wherein robots perform more delicate tasks in the manufacturing and food processing spaces.

Source: Reuters

To teach the robot how to peel bananas, the researchers used a technique known as deep imitation learning, demonstrating banana peeling hundreds of times so that the robot could eventually mimic the motions. Once trained, the robot could pick and peel a banana in roughly three minutes, according to the University of Tokyo team.

The team developed the technology in response to global labor shortages hitting food processing factories where human workers capable of performing such delicate tasks are in short supply.

Watch the robot in action in the accompanying video, which appears courtesy of the University of Tokyo.