Will machines eventually take on every job? Maybe. Toward that end, one campaign is tackling the soul-numbing line waiting of Starbucks lines.
The answer is RoboJoe. Well, at least that’s what the Johnson family is envisioning with their robotic barista prototype. The RoboJoe takes all that is good with a standard coffee shop and condenses it all in a 4X4X7 space in which cups of black gold are created using a proprietary brewing method. The result? A ‘coffee drink’ — a concoction containing all the caffeine of a standard coffee without the bitterness or the upset stomach that can occasionally mess up an afternoon all in 60 seconds.
The process exclusively uses InBru coffee flavoring for up to 400 different combinations of morning joe — everything from Cinnamon Blueberry Muffin to Chocolate-Caramel Nut. Combined with a mobile ordering app, RoboJoe seeks to one-up Starbucks in serving up over-caffeinated and over-sweetened bombs to the soon-to-be underworked masses. $100 gets the Johnson family closer to their prototype and backers a T-shirt, a pair of coffee mugs and a free coffee at the launch event. The RoboJoe Kickstarter campaign is looking for $13,000 by March 13th, 2016.
Many Kickstarters are peddling brewing solutions. This one is peddling a robotic coffee revolution. As a result, there’s really nothing like RoboJoe out there. While the idea may be sound, no proof exists as the RoboJoe prototype is being kept under wraps due to patent concerns. Unfortunately, due to this and the lack of a chance for backers to get a hold of it, the chance for success is next to none. It’s a shame: RoboJoe shows promise in places like airports and universities. Oh well, there’s always Starbucks’ mobile order app.