Will Robots Take Over Starbucks?

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Austin-based Briggo has automated the process of making a barista-brewed cup of coffee. At press time, a prototype in operation at the University of Texas, Austin, was due to be upgraded with the official commercial model. The company raised $3.2 million last year and plans to push test kiosks at hospitals, airports and corporate campuses.

Company founder Charles Studor hired champion barista Patrick Pierce to serve as the model for his "robotic barista." Behind the walls of a kiosk, a robotic mechanism grinds coffee to order, using a real tamper and stable water temperature to make precise shots of espresso, as well as a steam wand that mimics the precise angle used by Pierce. The machine can handle a high level of customization and can make multiple drinks at once. "This is the most complex coffee machine on the planet," Studor says. "It replicates what champion baristas do every time they try to make their best shot."

Consumers get 24/7 access to gourmet coffee drinks. Briggo gets a piece of the colossal $32 billion coffee market, as estimated by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

[Via - Entrepreneur.Com]

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