If you don’t know a gill from a dorsal fin, don’t worry. This robot, developed by Harry Westavik’s team at SINTEF Fisheries and Agriculture in Trondheim, Norway, uses 3D laser scanning to fillet your fish with precision.
Using a heap of algorithms, the robot can work out the best place to cut the fish, even distinguishing species and bearing in mind their particular foibles. It can even calculate volume — and hence approximate mass — to ensure that serving sizes are as close to equal as possible. It’s hoped that a fully-automated salmon processing line will be up and running, using this technology, by 2016. So long, fishmongers. [New Scientist]