No country on earth likes robots more than the Japanese, and they're also in contention for the most technically adept. Thus, what better place to see extreme household robotics than at the International Food Machinery and Technology Exhibition in Tokyo?
There was also a robot with an end effector made to look like a human hand. It moved pre-prepared sushi around on a plate and has been mis-reported (e.g. by engadget) as a sushi-chef robot. See the picture here [reuters].
When in Japan I have had sushi that was made from shrimp that was living just minutes before it hit my plate. I doubt a robot device has anywhere near the dexterity and sensing ability required to really compete with a human sushi chef in the foreseeable future, but pancakes? No problem!
In contrast, the Okonomiyaki robot from Toyo Riki Co. actually mixes pancake batter, pours it and flips the pancake. I don't have any idea how accurate or reliable it is, but is does seem to actually do the whole job (although not the subsequent cleanup, which is probably the part you would most like to offload).
You can read a little more about it at this web page [Japan Times Online]. As with many such demos, you need to be very wary about how smart the system really is and how much is just rote playback. I don't know the answer in this case.
Also, from EPFL, this robot uses rote playback to perform cooking-like tasks. I think it's using a sophisticated head, but the music downplays the seriousness of the work.
