AgriEngineering, Vol. 7, Pages 322: Converging Extended Reality and Robotics for Innovation in the Food Industry

AgriEngineering doi: 10.3390/agriengineering7100322

Authors:
Seongju Woo
Youngjin Kim
Sangoh Kim

Extended Reality (XR) technologies—including Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality—are increasingly applied in the food industry to simulate sensory environments, support education, and influence consumer behavior, while robotics addresses labor shortages, hygiene, and efficiency in production. This review uniquely synthesizes their convergence through digital twin frameworks, combining XR’s immersive simulations with robotics’ precision and scalability. A systematic literature review and keyword co-occurrence analysis of over 800 titles revealed research clusters around consumer behavior, nutrition education, sensory experience, and system design. In parallel, robotics has expanded beyond traditional pick-and-place tasks into areas such as precision cleaning, chaotic mixing, and digital gastronomy. The integration of XR and robotics offers synergies including risk-free training, predictive task validation, and enhanced human–robot interaction but faces hurdles such as high hardware costs, motion sickness, and usability constraints. Future research should prioritize interoperability, ergonomic design, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to ensure that XR–robotics systems evolve not merely as tools, but as a paradigm shift in redefining the human–food–environment relationship.

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Seongju Woo www.mdpi.com