[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – She is a barista with a very strong arm.
And “Ella”, Singapore’s first fully automated robot barista, will be serving customers their caffeine fixes at the CityHub mall in Lavender starting Saturday (October 3).
Crown Coffee, the food and beverage division of Crown Group, said the store was launched in an effort to drive automation and reduce physical interaction in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Named after the wife of Crown Group founder and CEO Keith Tan, she served a variety of hot beverages to the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Low Yen Ling, and to members of the media at an event. launch on Friday.
In a speech at the event, Ms Low, who is also Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, emphasized the importance of digitization and automation in navigating the pandemic, and focused on Ella as a solution that creates opportunities out of chaos.
“While Covid-19 has severely impacted our businesses and economy, it has also created the momentum for us to develop stronger business capabilities and seek new growth opportunities,” he said.
Crown Coffee’s new robot barista can make up to 200 cups of coffee per hour. It joins a host of new innovations powered by Covid-19, such as cleaning robots.
She prepares and serves coffee behind a transparent display in a non-contact setting. Users must download the Crown Coffee mobile application, through which they can order drinks, starting at $ 4 each.
Developed by Crown Group’s technology division, Crown Digital, Ella is Tan’s response to the cost pressures of training and retaining human workers, and a proactive response to digital disruption.
“We need to change ourselves, rather than wait for things to change,” said the former wealth manager, who founded Crown Group in 2016 to pursue his passion for coffee.
She has been in development since 2017, when the first prototype was built.
Tan, 40, said Ella is part of her company’s goal to serve consistent, barista-quality coffee to more people in a convenient way.
He added: “Ella’s main app will be in high traffic areas like MRT stations or airports. Imagine you are on your way to work and order your coffee from the mobile app and when you arrive at the station, your coffee is waiting for you.”
Crown Group is currently seeking funding to expand Ella in Singapore and beyond, a spokesperson said.
When asked about the costs involved compared to employing human baristas, Tan said it will take some time for the savings from automation to accumulate.
[ad_2]
