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The robot barista, ELLA, has been serving gourmet coffee to Japanese commuters since Dec. 8.
Soon, train passengers in Singapore will also be able to try out a new kind of coffee experience.
Serving coffee in Japan
ELLA is an AI-powered robot barista that can prepare up to 200 cups of coffee in an hour, created by Singaporean startup food tech company Crown Digital.
The coffee kiosk is contactless, fully autonomous, and occupies a retail footprint under five square metres.
In a press release, Crown Digital said that it will be collaborating with East Japan Railway (JR East) to bring ELLA to Tokyo and Yokohama Stations, from Dec. 8, 2021, to Feb. 28, 2022.
During this "test marketing collaboration", commuters can make e-payments at the ELLA kiosks using Suica, prepaid IC cards issued by JR East for train commutes -- similar to our EZ-Link cards.
Photo by Crown Digital.
ELLA kiosks also have transparent OLED screens, so coffee drinkers can watch ELLA brew with freshly roasted beans and milk while enjoying engaging content.
Customers can order coffee remotely via the ELLA mobile application, and pick up their coffee using designated “pigeonholes” that swivels 180 degrees to open for collection.
Photo by Crown Digital.
ELLA in Singapore
Currently, an ELLA kiosk can be found at Plaza Singapura.
Crown Digital said that Singapore's first ELLA kiosk will be launched at a "key MRT station" in Jan. 2022, in collaboration with Stellar Lifestyle by SMRT.
In total, Singaporeans can expect to find ELLA kiosks across 30 MRT stations by the end of 2022.
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Top images by Crown Digital.