5 ms·

It's only a $25k arm if it doesn't need regular parts replacements, which it probably will. In my opinion, in order for robots to be mass profitable they eithe

by bArray 8y ago

It's only a $25k arm if it doesn't need regular parts replacements, which it probably will. In my opinion, in order for robots to be mass profitable they either need to be faster, better or run longer. This machine seems to do none of those things. Novelty factor only has value whilst it's novel.

benj111 8y ago
120 cups an hour is one every 30 seconds, I'm not sure a barrista could keep that up, if they could actually reach that speed to begin with. I'm not sure what you mean by "run longer", it wouldn't get tired if that's what you mean. Agreed its probably a novelty though.
- Udik 8y ago
  I can assure you that a barista in Italy can easily reach that number. And do many other things in between. (In the Netherlands it's probably three cups an hour, with looking at the ceiling or the floor in between).
  - benj111 8y ago
    Possibly, depends on the drinks. Espressos? probably. Large lattes? Not so much. Steaming the milk would kill the throughput too much. I would guess that the Italian would do a much higher proportion of shorter and smaller drinks.
    - Udik 8y ago
      Not too sure about the "large latte", which in Italy might only translate to "cappuccino" (and it's not that large). Anyway, apparently two baristas from Milan have the world record of 623 espresso cups/ hour. :)
      - jaclaz 8y ago
        I believe a "large latte" is more similar to what in Italy is a "latte macchiato" (though as you say is not very "large"[1]) than to a "cappuccino". [1] "normal" bars in Italy only have two sizes of cups, one (smaller) for the espresso and one (larger) for the cappuccino (used also for tea, chocolate, ginseng, etc.). Large mug-sized cups normally exists only in homes where traditionally you have a caffelatte with bread or biscuits at breakfast (or sometimes instead of dinner)
- itchyouch 8y ago
  Starbucks with a staff of 5-7 during peak mornings have a goal of ~40 second drive through times which they routinely achieve, while handling non-drive through customer load as well. Also drive through includes multiple drinks and food items as well crammed into that 40 or so seconds. When timing the serial steps of making a drink, it takes about a minute from start to finish, but their process is to batch and pipeline drinks so that they generally handle 3-5x drinks per batch in a pipeline (repeatable beverage routine), and this is for a lone barista pumping out hot beverages. The other 4-5 people are usually on cashier duty, and drive through duty.
  - benj111 8y ago
    Have you got any links. The research I've done suggests Starbucks are the slowest [1]. I haven't been able to find any figures excluding queuing, but these figures would seem to cast doubt. Unless Dunkin Donuts are doing the same orders in <30s.
hwillis 8y ago
That's a Mitsubishi RV4FR or RV7FR series arm[1]. It's a full on industrial arm, not an in-house solution. Industrial arms are some of the most well engineered devices on the planet; they are expected to last decades of nonstop, maintenance-free operation in factory conditions. They're supposed to go hundreds of thousands of hours without performance problems, while holding .005" precision (for this robot, +/- .0008"). This arm costs as much as a nice car because it has the absolute best components that can be built. If it's the M class version then it's rated to IP67[2], and it can do all of the above while underwater or in a sandstorm. [1]: https://us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en/products/industrial-robots-melfa/vertical-type-robot/rv-fr-series/rv-fr-series https://us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en/products/industrial-... [2]: http://www.dsmt.com/resources/ip-rating-chart/ http://www.dsmt.com/resources/ip-rating-chart/
- magduf 8y ago
  This seems like a classic case of massive overkill. The cheap solution would be to not have the arm at all, and just put the $200 coffee machine out for customers to operate themselves. It's not hard to put a cup in something and press a button.
- bArray 8y ago
  RV4FR and RV7FR are IP40 in the manual? That would mean that it's not protected against dust and has zero protection from water. In a controlled environment this is perfectly fine, where dust and moisture can be controlled - but we're talking about moisture from steam coming off of the coffee, the possibility of coffee spillage on the machine, organic dust from nearby humans, non-clean power supplies and loads which may fall outside of usage rating (i.e. obstacles or heavy loads or continued use close to its maximum). Honestly I would be surprised if it's still working in a year in these kinds of conditions. Another issue with smart motors that generally isn't discussed is that they wear out (can only handle lower loads) and lose accuracy. I've used magnetic encoded smart motors for a few projects and after two years you can't rely on them anymore - and this is easy work for the servos (occasional usage).

by bArray 8y ago

benj111 8y ago

120 cups an hour is one every 30 seconds, I'm not sure a barrista could keep that up, if they could actually reach that speed to begin with. I'm not sure what you mean by "run longer", it wouldn't get tired if that's what you mean. Agreed its probably a novelty though.

Udik 8y ago
I can assure you that a barista in Italy can easily reach that number. And do many other things in between. (In the Netherlands it's probably three cups an hour, with looking at the ceiling or the floor in between).
- benj111 8y ago
  Possibly, depends on the drinks. Espressos? probably. Large lattes? Not so much. Steaming the milk would kill the throughput too much. I would guess that the Italian would do a much higher proportion of shorter and smaller drinks.
  - Udik 8y ago
    Not too sure about the "large latte", which in Italy might only translate to "cappuccino" (and it's not that large). Anyway, apparently two baristas from Milan have the world record of 623 espresso cups/ hour. :)
    - jaclaz 8y ago
      I believe a "large latte" is more similar to what in Italy is a "latte macchiato" (though as you say is not very "large"[1]) than to a "cappuccino". [1] "normal" bars in Italy only have two sizes of cups, one (smaller) for the espresso and one (larger) for the cappuccino (used also for tea, chocolate, ginseng, etc.). Large mug-sized cups normally exists only in homes where traditionally you have a caffelatte with bread or biscuits at breakfast (or sometimes instead of dinner)
itchyouch 8y ago
Starbucks with a staff of 5-7 during peak mornings have a goal of ~40 second drive through times which they routinely achieve, while handling non-drive through customer load as well. Also drive through includes multiple drinks and food items as well crammed into that 40 or so seconds. When timing the serial steps of making a drink, it takes about a minute from start to finish, but their process is to batch and pipeline drinks so that they generally handle 3-5x drinks per batch in a pipeline (repeatable beverage routine), and this is for a lone barista pumping out hot beverages. The other 4-5 people are usually on cashier duty, and drive through duty.
- benj111 8y ago
  Have you got any links. The research I've done suggests Starbucks are the slowest [1]. I haven't been able to find any figures excluding queuing, but these figures would seem to cast doubt. Unless Dunkin Donuts are doing the same orders in <30s.

hwillis 8y ago

That's a Mitsubishi RV4FR or RV7FR series arm[1]. It's a full on industrial arm, not an in-house solution. Industrial arms are some of the most well engineered devices on the planet; they are expected to last decades of nonstop, maintenance-free operation in factory conditions. They're supposed to go hundreds of thousands of hours without performance problems, while holding .005" precision (for this robot, +/- .0008"). This arm costs as much as a nice car because it has the absolute best components that can be built. If it's the M class version then it's rated to IP67[2], and it can do all of the above while underwater or in a sandstorm. [1]: https://us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en/products/industrial-robots-melfa/vertical-type-robot/rv-fr-series/rv-fr-series https://us.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en/products/industrial-... [2]: http://www.dsmt.com/resources/ip-rating-chart/ http://www.dsmt.com/resources/ip-rating-chart/

magduf 8y ago
This seems like a classic case of massive overkill. The cheap solution would be to not have the arm at all, and just put the $200 coffee machine out for customers to operate themselves. It's not hard to put a cup in something and press a button.
bArray 8y ago
RV4FR and RV7FR are IP40 in the manual? That would mean that it's not protected against dust and has zero protection from water. In a controlled environment this is perfectly fine, where dust and moisture can be controlled - but we're talking about moisture from steam coming off of the coffee, the possibility of coffee spillage on the machine, organic dust from nearby humans, non-clean power supplies and loads which may fall outside of usage rating (i.e. obstacles or heavy loads or continued use close to its maximum). Honestly I would be surprised if it's still working in a year in these kinds of conditions. Another issue with smart motors that generally isn't discussed is that they wear out (can only handle lower loads) and lose accuracy. I've used magnetic encoded smart motors for a few projects and after two years you can't rely on them anymore - and this is easy work for the servos (occasional usage).