OrionStar, a Chinese robotics company, launched the Robotic Coffee Master. It is a shaker able to produce drinks at high level without human interaction. Behind it there are thousands of hours of learning and even more testing. The company behind it was founded in 2016 in Beijing and already produced other robots which are already used around China, for example in airports and subway stations as guides. Many big firms are backing OrionStar’s work.
Why would we need a Robobarista?
The answer is, pretty much, simple: why not?
Many of our domestic equipment improved our lifestyle by reducing housework. A Robobarista will allow anybody to have warm drinks of the highest quality available without having to deal with the shaking part… or learning how to do it in the first place. The problem is that a Robobarista is not so small. You need to have the space for it. It certainly is a bit bigger than a classic coffee machine, just like a coffee machine is much bigger than a traditional moka.
But the real usefulness of a Robobarista is in commercial environments. The skills of a professional barista combined with the attractiveness of a robot… Of course, costs are not cheap, at more than 40.000€ per piece. But you can rent one for your business!
Is it able to prepare tea or more complex drinks?
The interesting part is yet to come. Coffee is not even that popular in China. Tea is the drink of choice of every generation. So, yes, there is absolutely a Robotic Tea Master. But that’s not all.
Chinese milk tea (or bubble tea) stores are growing more and more, and we only can wonder whether the Robobarista could be applied in such a business. Of course, this would require intense training and study which is specific for each franchise. Chinese milk tea production requires rhythms which are extremely fast and tiring. The average age is extremely low for a reason – similar to what happens in fast foods. Furthermore, there are so many franchisers that keep expanding quickly. Training new employees is a difficult job, and requires time. What about training a robot?
Hiring a Robobarista may actually be even safer and cheaper than an employee, in certain cases. After all, a Robobarista can work 24h a day.
But will it be able to reach the efficiency levels of young humans?