(KERO) — Talk about high-tech coffee! Panera Bread is testing out an artificial intelligence-based coffee monitoring system.
The system - "Cookright Coffee" - is from a California company called Miso Robotics. The goal? Quality and efficiency.
"In order to meet the needs of the rapidly evolving restaurant industry, we want our products to come to market quickly and maintain a high level of flexibility," said Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics. "When we announced the CookRight platform in 2021, we knew we could apply it to various stations at a restaurant as the product developed, and we saw an immediate need for it at the coffee station. We are thrilled that Panera shares in our vision to revamp the coffee monitoring process, and can't wait for CookRight Coffee to be installed at their restaurants to help customers and team members alike."
The company says the system monitors coffee metrics like volume, temperature, and time data. It uses predictive analytics aimed at creating the perfect cup of coffee.
"Panera has a long history of tech innovation in service of meeting the needs of our guests and associates when they walk through our doors each day," said George Hanson, SVP and Chief Digital Officer of Panera. "CookRight Coffee is a gamechanger when it comes to convenience and operational efficiency, and we are extremely excited to take our coffee station into the future with Miso Robotics."
The system eliminates the need for manual checks of coffee urns and is meant to help workers brew coffee at just the right time so the coffee stays fresh and hot.
Panera wants the system to free up workers to spend more time helping customers.
