25 June 2013

Food & Drink Manufacturing Robot - The MunchBot - Goes Live in the App Store!

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Ever wanted to operate a robot that can move over 600 times a minute? Well now you can – the food and drink manufacturing industry's careers campaign 'Taste Success' has just launched the MunchBot app.

Based on some of the robotic solutions used by food and drink manufacturers to increase production and efficiency, the Munchbot app is free to download and is a quick-moving and fun game that will appeal to players of all ages. The app was first trialled this year at the national science and engineering event - the Big Bang Fair, where it had an incredible 3,500 plays. Parents, teachers and children aged from six to 19 all gave it a go and voted it four or five out of five.

The objective of the game is to get the robot to grab as many food items as possible off a moving conveyor belt within 30 seconds. Points are accumulated for every food item grabbed. Sound easy? Well, think again. Not only do you have to quickly grab items such as tins of soup and chocolate bars, you also have to avoid trick items along the way that steal your points.

Download the MunchBot app for free on iTunes now!

Developed by Taste Success and mobile app specialists Socially Bright, the MunchBot app aims to provide a fun and challenging game based on mechanical engineering solutions used in food and drink manufacturing. Mechanical engineering is one of the industry's most sought after skill sets. The app will be used as part of the careers campaign to engage with young people online and via events to get them to consider a career as an engineer in the industry. Next stop for the MunchBot will be the Big Bang Fair South West on 27 June in Exeter.

Hanne Christensen, Food Drink Federation Digital Manager and spokesperson for the Taste Success campaign, said:

“We are delighted that the MunchBot app has gone live and is now available for everyone to enjoy. Feedback from our trial at the Big Bang Fair was overwhelmingly positive from players of all ages, so we're confident that it will continue to do well.

“We knew that we had to be creative and come up an interactive activity to engage with young people so that they might stop and think about a career in this exciting industry. Right now there are a huge number of opportunities to begin a career in food and drink especially for those considering a career in engineering. We hope that MunchBot will lead young people to find out more and maybe even apply for industry's new MEng Food Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University.”

MunchBot app developer Socially Bright's Project Manager Julian Griffiths said:

“We really enjoyed developing the MunchBot app and were delighted with its success at the Big Bang. We're very happy the game has now been released in app store and hope it continues to be a great success”.

Notes to editors:

1. Taste Success – A Future in Food is a careers campaign run by the voice of UK food and drink manufacturers, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink and the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST). The campaign aims to raise awareness of careers in the food and drink manufacturing industry. For further information, please visit: www.tastesuccess.co.uk.
2. Link to MunchBot on iTunes (currently available for iPhone and iPad): MunchBot
3. Data on Big Bang votes: 3,500 plays over four days with an average of 2 plays per minute
4. Top engineering career facts:
   1. Engineering, particularly mechanical engineering, is one of the most sought after skills in the UK food and drink manufacturing sector.
   2. Mechanical engineers are vital to helping food and drink companies increase their use of automation and robotics – vital for making businesses more efficient.
   3. Pay and prospects are good for engineers working in food and drink manufacturing, with starting salaries for graduates being up to £27,000 a year.
   4. Whether you want to go to university, or are looking into alternative routes such as college or on the job learning, the sector offers various entry points for engineers, including graduate schemes and specialised apprenticeships.
   5. You can find out more about being an engineer with a food and drink company and the industry's new dedicated engineering degree at Sheffield Hallam University on the 'Take a Closer Look at Food Engineering' website.

More information

Contact Rebecca Wilhelm, Communications Division, at: rebecca.wilhelm@fdf.org.uk, or 020 7420 7140.

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