A Japanese Coffee-Making Robot Is Coming To Steal Barista Jobs
Oct 18, 2014, 02:46 IST
Kawada Robotics/YouTube
Nextage, a robot envisioned by Kwanda Industries to work side by side with people, is terrible at making coffee.
Kwanda Industries wanted to make a big impression at Japan Robot Week and presented a tech demo of its service robot making a Nespresso.
And while the robot itself is an incredibly impressive feat -a two armed robot that basically moves like a human- watching it make coffee is pretty painful. It takes the robot a whole three minutes to make a cup of instant coffee while elevator music plays softly in the background.
Kawada Robotics/YouTube
Overall, Japan's Robot Week featured some pretty incredible products, according to Bloomberg News: a robot that can respond to you, one that will tell you the weather, and even machines that look after bedridden patients by helping them walk.
Although Nextage was showcased as a 'barista who will make you coffee,' it was designed to do so much more.
Kwanda Industries is working towards building industrial robots that are not only used in manufacturing plans, but ones that will work alongside human laborers. The Japan Times reports that the Robot has cameras on each of its arms and can detect movement and doesn't collide with people who enter its space.
Kawada Robotics/YouTube
The description for the product is actually pretty creepy: "Nextage liberates human beings from menial repetitive labor, allowing us to focus on areas that require creativity and generate added value, such as process management and improvement activities."
There has been a growing fear of robots replacing human workers, and Kwanda's description of its goals does not help to alleviate those concerns.
"Nextage coexists with human beings, at the same time it collaborates with conventional industrial robots and specialized equipment," the company said. "Industrial robots are now in the next phase of their evolution, from mere 'equipment' to becoming a 'partner.'"
What would be really impressive is if the robot could make latte art.