Boing Boing reader Tollef says, "In hopes of discovering the true suppliers of tacky faux-Mexican franchise restaurant wall decorations I stumbled upon this marvel! A genuine sushi making robot! While it may not look like much of a robot, load it up with rice and wasabi and it churns out about 50 pieces of sushi per minute! You can even adjust the amount of wasbi in each piece!"
The website copy reads, in glorious janglish: " This machine is the most high speed in the world… It is excellent in the durability and there won't be a trouble."
Update: Kim Cooper says:
I saw the wonder that is the Sushi Robot in action at a Franchise Expo at the LA Convention Center a few years back. It was part of a prospective (and now obviously failed) U.S. franchise called, I think, Sushi-U-Love. The idea was that a franchisee would buy the rights to the name and all the sushi robotics, which would sit in plain view behind the counter making nigiri constantly. All the fish (frozen) and other ingredients had to be bought from the franchise, so it was clearly a money pit. But ooh, was it fun to watch the Sushi Robot go! First a spoon scooped up some rice, then little arms patted out a rectangle, which slid along the conveyer belt, got a jaunty squirt of wasabi, a piece of fish gently laid on top, and then the whole thing was deftly folded into a piece of clear plastic, taped shut and delivered to a rapt audience. Tasted as good as the supermarket stuff, too.
