In an interview, Taka Tanaka, the CEO of AUTEC, a commercial sushi robot company, tells Inverse that his automatons could help reduce waste. Although an experienced chef can precisely form sushi rolls, a novice chef will likely make mistakes, adding too much or too little rice.

In America, the sushi business is booming. Yet, industry leaders like Taka Tanaka know change is on the horizon, creating uncertainty.

Robots promise to help alleviate the industry's labor problems, but that's only if they're well-maintained.