An automated barista serving beverages through artificial intelligence

Ratio is an automated barista system that serves a full range of beverages throughout the day, from coffee and nitro tea in the morning to a full cocktail menu at night. Customers use an app and scan a QR code to place their beverage orders.

The app features a memory function that tracks repeat orders, helping customers customize their beverage selections based on their personal preferences. A metallic white robotic arm powered by artificial intelligence then creates the drinks. RATIO is a versatile coffee shop in the morning that converts into a cocktail bar at night serving wine, beer, and hundreds of cocktail variations.

Business objective 

Ross Digital sought a partner to help it bring its vision for a fully-automated barista concept to life. When the project kicked off in June 2017, only a concept and some sketch layouts existed. There were no proper bills of materials, specifications, or detailed documentation. We closely partnered with Ross Digital to create, develop, and formalize all these items.

Solution

We provided a solution, including mechanical design, software logic and IPC coding, PLC, robotic arm programming, safety features positioning, electric circuitry, water and air management, supply chain setup for parts fabrication, full assembly integration, and stress tests.

In addition, throughout the year, our agile engineering responded swiftly to numerous optimization and design changes. In particular, our team needed to learn and respond to new robotic arm programming logic from Epson to KUKA. Finally, we settled on the Stäubli logic which the current Ratio product now employs.

Our team also needed to apply additional adaptations that we encountered during the project, including managing multiple versions of chuck designs to accommodate eight different types of cocktail glasses; re-designing each sub-mechanical element to accommodate optimization efforts that resulted in layout changes of the product; and supporting on-site final assembly integration at our customer’s site.

Result

We helped Ross Digital bring their vision of this fully-automated barista solution to life in one calendar year.

The first Ratio shop launched on June 9, 2018 at the K11 Shopping Mall in Shanghai.

Our agile engineering responded swiftly to numerous optimization and design changes including new robotic arm programming logic.

We leveraged our extensive, cross-industry expertise and applied it to a non-traditional electronic customer beyond pure manufacturing to bring value to the project.

— Project Manager, Flex