Posted on 05/08/2018 7:30:18 AM PDT by EdnaMode
The robot revolution is here, at least for your morning caffeine fix. Cafe X Technologies is a new, $25,000 automated barista designed by the award-winning team behind Dr. Dre's Beats headphones and speakers: the Ammunition Group. The Jetsons-style coffeemaker can sling 120 cups of joe per hour at specs that satisfy finicky roasters (and project partners) like Intelligentsia, Ritual and Equator.
The robo unit is essentially a fully operational café beneath a six-axis animatronic arm. Customers place orders on a kiosk touchscreen or via the Cafe X app and receive a text when the drink is ready, after around a minute of preparation. Like at a regular coffeehouse, you get a multitude of beverage options: latte, single-origin espresso, matcha latte, cortado and so on, and with different types of frothy milk, including organic Swedish oat milk. Even the robot gestures are crafted to evoke a true coffee bar experience. As it presents each cup to customers, the machine offers a sweeping "ta-da!" gesture.
"We knew a robot could create an exceptional cup of coffee, but we also wanted it to appear warm and friendly," said inventor Henry Hu, 24, who conceived the idea in his second year at Babson College after being stuck in a coffee line for too long at an airport. "The baristas to me looked like factory workers," he said. "They were moving cups around and pushing buttons, which made me think, 'I bet we can build a product that automates these boring tasks way more efficiently."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
I drink black coffee, so I don’t need a robot other than my brewer and espresso machine at home. I do like the atmosphere of the local independent coffee shops. They roast the beans or buy locally roasted beans. Some great food as well.
I don’t mind human bartenders. You can talk to them, and they to you.
I don’t give a rat’s patootie if my coffee comes from a robot, as long as it is made well.
Changing to robots also has the benefit of removing the view of the nasal studs and ear plugs on a runny-nosed barista so you don’t have to wonder if there is any dripping into the cups going on.
From “You’ve Got Mail”:
“Joe Fox: The whole purpose of places like Starbucks
is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever
to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee.
Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc.
So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are can,
for only $2.95,
get not just a cup of coffee
but an absolutely defining sense of self:
Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.”
It’s the $4 version of the lowrider.
I've been a coffee drinker since I was about 12. I've always liked it black and strong. Now that I am in my early 60's, I find it to be bitter and acidic. I don't drink nearly as much as I used to, and now I frequently use cream to cut the bitterness. Funny how our tastes change through the years.
They have an outlet on my route to work. The coffee drinks are great and I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of overpriced coffee.
It is better for people to work than be idle.
I would rather people make coffee than come up with more regulations/requirements for building cars, houses, etc.
One-time 25K costs pays for itself the moment you buy it.
Yeah, like a vending machine? Oh, but it's not a vending machine. It's a robot. Ok, got it.
Hysterical!
Great point!
You can get a Keurig from the Goodwill for 20 dollars these days.
Going to a Starbucks once could cost you that much.
But will it discuss race with me while it’s making it?
Haha. Yeah it’s a fancy vending machine.
You can get a brand new coffee press for <$10, and the coffee is better.
Starbucks will still have openings to regularly clean up after all the urban ferals. No robot can do that yet.
Yes, but does the robot have a nose it can look down at you with a snooty attitude???
“Who the hell needs someone else to make their espresso for them ?
25000$ ? Duh”
They’re designing it for businesses. If you have a coffeehouse chain like Starbucks and can replace 3 employees with 1 employee and a robot, the $25k pricetag makes a lot more sense.
But they can still program it to call the cops on black people who are loitering, right?
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