Shanghai Hi-Dolphin Robot Technology to Unveil its 7th Generation Fully-Unattended Robot Cafe COFE+ at 2026 NRA Chicago – CoffeeTalk

Shanghai Hi-Dolphin Robot Technology is set to unveil its 7th-generation robot café, COFE+, at the 2026 National Restaurant Show in Chicago. This intelligent café, announced as the world’s first fully unattended robotic café solution to reach its 7th generation, is claimed as the most advanced model globally.

Dr. Han, the founder of Hi-Dolphin, highlights the traditional café industry’s challenges with costs associated with rent, labor, energy, training, and waste. COFE+ aims to address these issues by allegedly outperforming human baristas in terms of quality, speed, cost, and operational stability. The café operates using proprietary embodied-intelligence algorithms, allowing it to prepare an 8-ounce cappuccino in 43 seconds, an espresso shot in 30 seconds, and produce handcrafted or 3D-printed latte art in about one minute. It offers over 300 drink varieties across eight categories, including coffee, matcha, and iced beverages, along with signature drinks from 197 countries.

Designed for continual operation, the COFE+ kiosk occupies a modest 25 square feet and boasts a service life of 10 years or 500,000 cups. After extensive testing in over 100 venues and serving more than 500 million cups worldwide, COFE+ hopes to be industry-leading in terms of stability, energy efficiency, variety, throughput, and intelligent control.

The introduction of COFE+ could dramatically shift the cost structure in cafés, where traditional operations typically allocate 60-70% of revenue to overheads related to labor, rent, and equipment depreciation. In contrast, COFE+ can potentially reduce daily operating expenses by up to 80%, requiring no barista, no renovations, plumbing, or special software purchases, with utility and connectivity costs falling below $100 monthly. Its mobile design allows for adjustments based on customer foot traffic, minimizing the risk associated with fixed locations.

COFE+ is distinguished as the only coffee robot to achieve a comprehensive set of global certifications, which includes FDA, CE, and recognition in numerous international markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Additionally, it holds 120 patents worldwide.

Dr. Han expressed enthusiasm about the interest from restaurant owners and franchisees in adopting COFE+ as a high-volume, premium beverage solution, suggesting that it signals the future of unattended beverage services.

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