2026世界机器人大会｜咖啡机器人有了“人情味”2026 World Robot Conference - Coffee robots have a 'human touch'

When it comes to robots, many people first think of factory production lines and hardcore research and development. At the 2026 World Robot Conference, more and more robots are stepping out of factory workshops and into daily consumer and household life scenarios, becoming convenient new partners. Accompanying interaction, household cleaning, elderly care assistance, retail services... Robots continue to iterate, transforming from conceptual exhibits to tangible consumer goods, but at the same time, they also bring new issues such as cost and safety. This column will use the conference as a window to focus on the new applications of robots in daily life scenarios such as home, cultural tourism, and elderly care. It will observe how technology adapts to the real needs of ordinary people, decode the transformation path of the robot industry from the laboratory to the consumer market, explore the opportunities and challenges of integrating intelligent products into daily life, and depict a new life scene of human-machine companionship.

In the transparent operation cabin, a six axis bionic robotic arm completes the entire process from grinding beans, pressing powder, extracting, milking to latte art, with seamless movements. Italian espresso can be brewed in 28 seconds, cappuccino can be brewed in 38 seconds, and a premium coffee with latte art can be brewed in just 58 seconds - this is the scene that the reporter saw earlier at the 2026 World Robot Conference.

Coffee robots are not a new thing, and related products have been introduced since around 2018. But early products were mostly simple combinations of "robotic arms+automatic coffee machines", with limited technological maturity, and did not enter people's daily lives on a large scale. In recent years, with the continuous iteration and upgrading of products, coffee robots have gradually entered public spaces such as airports, scenic spots, commercial districts, schools, and subways. So, what qualitative changes have occurred in the new generation of coffee robots?

From 'being able to make coffee' to 'defeating' baristas

Robots are no longer just relying on customized coffee machines to make drinks like traditional robotic arms, but learning new skills and actively interacting with humans, "said Guo Yandong, founder of Zhifang (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd.

The reporter saw in Chaoyang Park, Beijing that the "Smart Magic Cube" coffee robot landed here can make various drinks such as espresso and latte, and it takes about 1 to 2 minutes to serve a single cup. Unlike devices in the past that only mechanically repeat actions, this robot's "hands" and "mouth" are not idle: while completing the entire production process in an orderly manner, it interacts and chats with consumers. There are also dynamic facial expressions feedback on the body screen, and interesting interactions often make on-site consumers laugh heartily.

The picture shows a child interacting with a robot.

Besides interaction, the increase in categories is a more intuitive change. The general robot developed by the company is equipped with a self-developed body model, which can quickly learn popular beverage methods in the market. The category has also expanded from coffee to ice cream, cocktails, beer, and milk tea, "said Guan Shan, the brand manager of Zhifang

With the continuous enrichment of the list of beverages that can be made, the precision of production has also significantly improved. Due to hardware limitations, it was difficult for early devices to achieve delicate milk foam shapes. Now our robots can achieve a repeated positioning accuracy of plus or minus 0.03 millimeters, and the floral patterns produced are even more exquisite, "said Wang Rong, the sales manager of Anno Robotics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. To meet the personalized needs of consumers, floral patterns can also be uploaded by themselves or generated with the help of AIGC.

Mr. Zhang, the Operations Manager of Shanghai He Bao Robot Technology Co., Ltd., said that in May of this year, at the first Robot Coffee Competition in Shanghai, the company's seventh generation "COFE+Coffee Robot" competed with baristas on the same stage and ultimately won with a production speed nearly 1.5 times faster than manual labor and a production accuracy three times higher.

Large scale implementation still requires "human-machine collaboration" as a backup

Nowadays, coffee robots have achieved cross regional scale implementation. Mr. Zhang said that the company started related layout as early as 8 years ago, and the products have been launched in more than 70 countries and thousands of landmarks around the world, iterating to the 7th generation. Anno robots cover over 80 countries and hundreds of cities, with landing scenes spread across scenic spots, airports, campuses, commercial districts, hospitals, and more.

The transition of coffee robots from exhibition booths to daily life scenarios is inseparable from the balance between production efficiency and operating costs. The reporter learned that different models have different cup making speeds: regular American coffee takes less than 1 minute, customized latte coffee takes 1 to 2 minutes, a single machine can stably produce hundreds of cups per day, and some models can even produce thousands of cups per day.

If production efficiency determines how fast a coffee robot can run, then procurement cost and payback period determine how far it can run. The reporter learned from the interview that the procurement cost of commercial coffee robots is mostly concentrated between 100000 yuan and 400000 yuan, and the price fluctuates according to different configurations. Wang Rong calculated the cost and profit account for the reporter: if a cup of American coffee is priced at 9.9 yuan and a latte is priced at 15 yuan to 20 yuan, and the daily sales at the sales point remain stable between 80 and 100 cups, it will take about seven to eight months to recoup the cost; A location with excellent business performance can achieve an annual turnover of four to five hundred thousand yuan or even five to six hundred thousand yuan.

However, in order to sustain profitability, relying solely on machines is not enough, as the operational support behind them ultimately relies on "people". At present, the industry generally adopts the operation mode of "human-machine collaboration". Guan Shan explained, "Robots are responsible for the entire beverage production and delivery of finished products to customers after ordering, while raw material supply, daily deep cleaning, and equipment failure handling still rely on manual processing." Wang Rong further added, "Some robots are equipped with sensing modules, and shortage and failure information can be sent reminders through WeChat, email, and other methods. One operation and maintenance personnel can simultaneously monitor equipment at 7 to 10 dispersed locations without the need for long-term on-site monitoring

However, upon delving into the consumer end, it will be found that "human-machine collaboration" is not only a cost consideration at the operational level, but also a practical need for product experience and quality assurance. Ms. Dai, a consumer, admitted after experiencing it, "If given the choice, I would still buy handmade products because I like to drink freshly squeezed orange juice, sparkling water and other beverages. Although robot made products are relatively affordable, the variety is not yet rich enough

Some practitioners have pointed out deeper issues: details such as whether coffee beans are damp or whether milk is fresh still require human touch and smell to judge, and robots are currently unable to achieve such subtle distinctions. During the visit, the reporter also found that the current coffee robots are mostly used to fill the gaps that cannot be fully covered by human labor, such as large-scale scenic spots, late night commercial districts, and office buildings. However, some equipment is still prone to malfunctions in operation, requiring manual monitoring, maintenance, and if necessary, human "backup".

Breaking away from a single track and moving towards diverse interactive scenarios

The reporter observed that the current coffee robots on the market are specialized beverage equipment mainly composed of robotic arms, focusing on efficient retail; The other type is general-purpose humanoid robots, and making coffee and other beverages is just one of their many application scenarios. Industry insiders analyze that once product technology and business models have been validated in the market, the development of the industry will be more reflected in the potential for multi scenario expansion of general robots.

Currently, multiple companies are practicing the research and development model of "one robot brain, multiple landing scenarios". Guan Shan gave an analogy: "Simply put, our robot may make coffee today, ice cream tomorrow, and cocktails the day after tomorrow, but they are all the same entity that can be trained on small sample data to perform different tasks." This also means that the robot may no longer be a specialized machine that only knows how to make coffee, but a universal terminal with "generalization ability".

UniX AI's third-generation robots are a concrete manifestation of this idea - they can not only brew tea, bake bread, mix salads, but also make beds, fold clothes, draw ink paintings, and play musical instruments. Mr. Feng, a staff member, told reporters, "Any robot can do the above behaviors. The hardware configuration of the ontology is basically the same, but the difference is the software algorithm package. Our logic is to first create the ontology and then explore different scenarios, which greatly reduces the marginal cost of scene switching

It can be seen that coffee making is more like a gateway for general robots to enter people's lives, just like Zhifang has already tried to sell lottery tickets with robots in Shenzhen. Looking ahead, the same robot is expected to not only make coffee and ice cream, but also undertake diverse tasks such as hotel room service, office building night inspections, and reception explanations.

In addition to the expansion of scene boundaries, the relationship between humans and machines is also being redefined, and emotional value has become a new driving force in product competition. Wang Rong said, "The robotic arm used to make coffee only has functional value. In the future, we plan to develop it towards humanoid robots, allowing them to chat and interact with consumers while making drinks, giving the consumption process more fun and emotional value

The development of embodied intelligence is definitely not cold and indifferent, but constantly coexists and interacts with people, creating value and surprises. We hope to transform consumption from 'buying a cup of coffee' to 'an interesting interactive experience', making intelligent services more warm and exciting, "she said.

Article | Reporter Hu Jing □ Chen Yuejia

【 Source: Consumer Daily 】