Leer en español: Cafe X el Brazo robótico para preparar café.
Robotic arm to prepare coffee
A few years ago, we watched with fascination certain futuristic movies where robots performed some tasks that made human life easier.
At present, living with robots is a reality. We can see the use of robotic machines in different applications, such as assembly companies, surgical equipment, amusement parks, and space explorers.
We have seen coffee dispensing machines, where you just have to enter the payment and press a button to get the coffee. But can you imagine a robotic arm that can prepare your favorite coffee?
This futuristic coffee concept is developed by the company Cafe X, which uses a robotic arm in the style of an assembly line, to prepare your coffee. This makes Cafe X the center of attention for automated restaurants in San Francisco.
The beginning of Cafe X
The Cafe X company was founded in 2015 by Henry Hu, who conceived the idea in his second year at Babson College, after being stuck in a line for a long time to buy coffee at an airport.
With an initial fund of $ 100,000 from The Thiel Foundation, Hu and two friends built the prototype coffee bar by hand in a garage in San Mateo, California. After obtaining $ 5 million in investor funds, the project attracted additional investors, including the Thiel Foundation and Jason Calacanis, one of the first investors in Uber. To date, the total financing is $ 7 million.
In Cafe X they are convinced that their robotic arm can create an exceptional cup of coffee, however, one of the biggest remains was to make the robot look warm and friendly, as many consumers create a bond with their favorite baristas.
Cafe X Robotic arm
How does the robotic arm Cafe X work
The operation is very simple and intuitive. Customers place the order through a touch screen on the site or through a mobile application, then the robotic arm prepares the order and finally, the system sends a text message to the customer notifying that the order is ready to pick up. The preparation process can take approximately one minute.
As in a normal cafeteria, Cafe X offers a wide variety of beverage options, such as single-origin espresso coffee, coffee with different types of milk, cortado coffee, etc.
Each Cafe X location has one or two specialists (humans) who work together with the machines and focus on replenishing the ingredients, providing customer service and what the company calls “coffee education.”
The robotic arm is designed to prepare an average of 120 cups of coffee per hour.
