Shop owner and robot manufacturer, Kenji Nagaya, told Reuters that the robots improve “the accuracy of timing in boiling noodles, precise movements in adding toppings and consistency of the taste and temperature of the soup.” Oishii!

[Nilab and Reuters via Technovelgy]

The robot makes the soup, which customers order from a computer screen, where they can switch up the amount of soy sauce, saltiness and richness to make the perfect broth. Uchida hasn’t quite figured out how to completely replace humans yet, however, since they still make the noodles and add the toppings, though automating those tasks is next on his list. Still, even using meatbags, the entire process of assembling a bowl of ramen takes just two minutes. Yeah, faster than crappy instant noodles. [Mainichi via New Launches]

That isn’t to say this makes eating at a restaurant a cold experience void of any human interaction. There’s almost always someone standing at the door ready to answer any questions you might have, and people, not robots (yet) serve you your food. Most of the time, it’s an open kitchen, and the people who are making your delicious ramen are right there thanking you for ordering along with your server. But, as a traveler who doesn’t speak the language, it helps avoid awkward, stilted ordering sessions and lets me use the one Japanese word I do know and that I’ve used more times than I can count so far on this trip: arigato.