Automated kitchen

The kitchen of a fast food restaurant is characterized by islands of automation, with well defined subprocesses focused on producing a certain kind of output, coordinated by a crew chief The principal advantage of a fast food restaurant is consistency and fast delivery. The dedicated subunits are designed to perform a certain type of process (assay) at a high rate with very little room for change. Economically, this model is difficult to sustain unless each assay type has sufficient demand to justify the existence of dedicated space, equipment and personnel. It is also not as efficient as a secondary screening model. For assays that are routinely, but not always, requested then this model is very appropriate (e.g., CACO-2 permeability, microsomal stability). However, for the more costly and complex assays that are requested less often, the cost of dedicated people and equipment is hard to justify and as a result the assay has to come off the menu. This is why most fast food restaurants have a relatively limited menu, including mostly foods that are simple to prepare. 

Fig. 4-1. Batch apparatus for study of ion-exchange kinetics A) Kressman-Kitchener stirrer-reactor, and B) automated system for kinetic monitoring where M = stirrer UT = ultrathermostat RE = stirrer-reactor E = potentiometer R = recorder DAS = data acquisition system C = computer P = plotter EL = electrodes b = baffles T = thermometer and PA = pneumatic pump (from Petruzzelli and Palmisano, 1981).

Figure 2.4 Orange at Home House (2001), an average Hertfordshire house is turned into a remote-controlled show home (UK). The house is powered partly by solar panels on the roof and is equipped with energy-saving innovations, such as, a hot-air recovery system that draws warm air from the kitchen and bathroom to heat the cooler rooms. Secnrity is totally automated, and the front door can be opened with a mobile phone, room temperatnre can be set by yelling at the walls.

Musson, D.G. Kitchen, C.J. Hsieh, J.Y.-K. Birk, K.L. Modified high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of ertapenem in human urine enhanced selectivity and automation, J.Chromatogr.B, 2002, 779, 341-346. 

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