Doosan Robotics supplies barista robot to Mega Coffee

South Korea's Doosan Robotics Inc. announced on Monday that its cooperative robot barista solution has been installed at the Mega MGC Coffee Konkuk Star store for trial operation. 

Mega MGC Coffee operates 2,847 stores in Korea, ranking second in the number of stores in the country. It opened more than 500 new stores last year.

Doosan Robotics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for improving the work environment of domestic F&B franchises through automation with Ann House, which operates Mega MGC Coffee last year.

The collaborative robot barista solution developed by the two companies minimizes the movement of employees while utilizing the existing coffee brewing space structure within Mega MGC Coffee stores.

Integrated with grinders and semi-automatic coffee machines, the cooperative robot can extract espresso. With the ability to prepare for the next extraction while extracting espresso, it can produce coffee at the speed of a human.

The two companies plan to conduct additional pilot operations at one or two more stores in the future, and then hold an explanation session on the cooperative robot barista solution for franchisees in the first half of this year to share the operation outcomes and effects.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com