Singapore’s train stations are being taken over by robots. Robot baristas, specifically. Transit retail and advertising solutions company Stellar Lifestyle and food and beverage-focused Internet of Things (IoT) startup Crown Digital announced this week that they are partnering to bring ELLA, a robot that can serve up to 200 cups of coffee an hour, to 30 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations by the end of 2022.
“We plan to enhance commuters’ experience by enlivening and transforming Singapore’s public transport network spaces with innovative and new-to-network concepts,” Tony Heng, president of Stellar Lifestyle, said in a statement. “ELLA is an example of the kind of lifestyle concepts we are actively looking for at MRT stations across the island.”
The Background
With the pandemic’s acceleration of existing trends in the restaurant labor market, leaving fewer workers willing to accept the low pay and unpredictable conditions that employers in the field have historically offered, restaurants have been seeking out alternative ways to meet their labor needs. Robots that offer the opportunity to reliably automate foodservice tasks are drawing increased interest. Back in the United States, for instance, foodservice technology company Botrista recently raised $10 million in Series A funding — bringing the company’s total to $16 million — to roll out DrinkBot, its own robot barista, across the country.
Read more: Automation In Foodservice And Prep Eases Restaurant Labor Shortage Challenges
What The Experts Are Saying
These robot baristas are just one example of the sort of situation in which automation can thrive, by executing a simple but time-consuming task, potentially more consistently than a human would.
As Clayton Wood, chief executive officer at Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) company Picnic, told PYMNTS in an interview about the company’s pizza-making automation system. “We’re doing something that, for a human, is not complicated — it’s just hard. It’s tedious and requires attention to detail. When you have lightly trained workers, it’s hard for them to be consistent.”
Related news: Kitchen Automation Turns Digital Order Volume From Challenge To Opportunity
Those in the field are predicting that these sorts of robotic solutions will quickly become the norm.
“I’d say partially automated or semi-automated food production — that’s going to be the norm within five to 10 years, no doubt,” Stephen Klein, co-founder and CEO of kitchen automation company Hyphen, told PYMNTS. “If you’re ordering from your phone, and the only interaction you’re having with the restaurant is through that digital device, it really doesn’t matter who’s making your food, as long as it’s fresh, fast and consistent.”
See also: Hyphen’s Restaurant Robotics Fend Off Delivery Giants
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