Robots have finally taken over San Francisco! Okay, not really. But a Mitsubishi 6-axis industrial robot is currently hard at work serving up espresso drinks from a coffee kiosk in the Metreon. Coffee drinkers can swing by Cafe X, the first of its kind in the United States, and have an actual robot arm prepare an Americano or Cappuccino.
According to the folks behind the concept, the Cafe X experience hopes to improve on-site wait time, avoid the human error that comes with the occasional barista mistake, and remove "unexpected variability." Basically, the Cafe X robot makes a very precise cup of coffee with very fancy beans. Read: Coffee, Verve, and Peet’s are all participating roasters. In fact, customers can not only select their drink via an app or kiosk computer screen, they can choose the roaster of their coffee's beans.
"So what people are able to get from Cafe X is basically specialty coffee, but being able to get that very consistently and efficiently," explained CEO Henry Hu. "You can order from an app, or one of our ordering stations."
The Cafe X concept is backed by an initial seen of $5 million raised from various Silicon Valley funders, including The Thiel Foundation. One kiosk is already open in Hong Kong and the company hopes to open the next one just south of us in Fremont.
While customers might miss the usual banter that comes from a traditional coffee shop experience, Cafe X drinks start at an affordable $2.25 for an 8 ounce coffee. Cafe X is open every day from 10:30am until 9pm and promises "no lines."
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