Is the 21st century the end for Baristas? This question is already being asked in San Francisco, where the city welcomed their first robot barista at the Café X kiosk this past January 30th. The engineer Henry Hu developed the project in which robots replace baristas to make coffee. Also present in Hong Kong, after ordering your coffee on a digital screen, this robot is capable of preparing the coffee of your choice in a few seconds only. Nothing easier!
Crédit photo : Cafe X
Order from anywhere:
The customers can order their coffee from almost anywhere with a mobile app. A 4-digit code is sent to them via SMS and can be entered on a tablet near the kiosk. If the client isn’t there in time (the coffee is conserved for 8 minutes), they can order a fresh one at the kiosk.
For now, the start-up is prioritizing the preparation of orders according to the geo-localization of the clients and the distance in which they are from the machine. Therefore, a latte can be prepared right after a Ristretto, if whomever has ordered it is located a dozen blocs away while the second is at the entrance of the mall.
Different type of barista?
Even though the concept isn’t seducing baristas and fans of coffee terraces, there are already a number of investors such as Khosla Ventures, Social Capital, Jason Calacanis, Felicis Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank and Thiel Foundation. Over 5 million dollars have been gathered for the development and expansion of the Café X project across the United States. An employee is present to verify the quality of coffee and do necessary adjustments to the machine if needed. Simply put, the goal is to allow the “human” employee the opportunity to interact more with the customer, allowing clients to truly have a specific and personalized experience.