Ella – The First Fully Autonomous Robotic Barista

A barista named Ella works quietly but quickly at Japan’s busiest train stations. Ella brews and serves coffee from a small transparent kiosk day and night. She’s the only employee at the place, working all by herself 24/7 and yet there is no complaint about her. She receives the customers’ orders via a mobile app. As soon as the order is received, Ella gets to work. She stretches her arm professionally and retrieves a paper cup, after that, she turns around and puts the cup on a coffee maker. Before you know, a steaming hot cup of coffee is ready to be served.

The prepared coffee cup is then placed on a “pigeonhole”. From there, the customers can collect their coffee after scanning a QR code. This whole process is not only efficient but is also completely contactless. Ella fulfills orders in the shortest possible time. In addition to that she takes no breaks and works 24 hours a day. This robot can prepare up to 200 cups of coffee in an hour. Her employer, Keith Tan is totally pleased with her. According to Tan, “Customers are loving it”.

The Launching Of Robotic Barista

This robotic Barista was launched on December 8^th, at Tokyo and Yokohama stations. The two stations are managed by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). JR East is one of the major investors in Crown Digital which has its roots in a coffee shop founded in 2016 by chief executive officer Keith Tan. Keith Tan from Singapore had this innovation plan which was a result of high staff turnover and manpower costs. Japan has been the first overseas market for this innovation. Mr. Teruyuki Omote, managing executive officer of JR East is constantly on the lookout for innovation. “The robotics hardware is one thing, but Keith’s unique experience in managing a cafe adds to the appeal of working with Crown Digital” Omote says.

Expansion Of The Robotic Barista

Ella was under the “test marketing” phase until February 28^th at Tokyo and Yokohama stations. Only after that, a final decision regarding the market expansion was to be made. Mr. Omote says that with the labor cost and the shortage of employees, especially in the Tokyo station, this innovation will solve a lot of issues. Mr. Tan aims to expand Ella to 600 places around the globe during the next three years. He however knows that the company will have to struggle with issues like attrition. Mr. Tan agrees that the start-up culture is not for everyone.