Japan’s Sony Corp. is stepping up its investment in artificial intelligence and robotics research, teaming up Wednesday with Carnegie Mellon University researchers to investigate the potential of using AI-powered robots in the kitchen.

Food preparation, cooking and delivery might seem like an odd application for AI and robotics, but Sony believes that these skills could later be applied to a range of other tasks.

For instance, it explained that by teaching machines how to handle irregularly shaped and fragile materials, they’ll learn skills that could be applied in many other industries. Robots that can prepare food would also learn how to operate in confined spaces, which is another useful skill that could come in handy for many different tasks.

Of course, Sony is also hoping its research into AI-powered robot chefs can be useful for the food industry itself. The electronics giant notes that automation processes are already being applied by restaurants and food manufacturers. For example, Zume Pizza Inc. is trying to automate pizza production, while a startup called Chowbotics has created Sally the salad-making robot, which is claimed to be able to make salad in a thousand different ways.

The bulk of Sony’s and Carnegie’s research work will take place at the latter’s School of Computer Science in Pittsburgh, where Hiroaki Kitana, president of Sony’s Computer Science Laboratories, will lead the project.

“This project has the potential to make the vast possibilities of AI and robotics more familiar and accessible to the general public,” Kitano said. “Additionally, it could also assist those for whom daily tasks, such as food preparation, are challenging.”

Although it’s a lot less vocal about its work than larger technology firms such as Microsoft Corp. and Google LLC, Sony has been heavily involved in AI research for several years already. Last June, for example, the company announced it was open-sourcing a set of neural network libraries that serve as a framework for creating deep-learning programs for AI. Last year the company also launched an AI-powered digital assistant for its smartphones called “Xperia Hello!”

As part of the partnership with Carnegie, Sony said it will support the university’s AI and Robotics research and development program through its Seed Acceleration Program incubator, and the Sony Innovation Fund, which is its corporate venture capital fund.

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