SLS Bearings

Introducing the SLS Cobot Café. Fancy being served by a cobot?

As you walk through the doors of SLS’ headquarters in Tuas, Singapore, one of the first things you’ll notice is a minimalistic mini café. Tucked in a cosy corner, this is where you can get your caffeine fix or enjoy a cool ice cream treat.

The difference between this café and one that you can typically find in your neighbourhood? Well, here at the SLS Cobot Café, you’ll be served not by a human barista but by a friendly, automated cobot! What’s more, proceeds from the Cobot Café will be donated to Dementia Singapore which assists individuals with dementia and their families so, it’s for a good cause too.

Nothing beats seeing what innovation or emerging technology can do with your own eyes. That is why we conceptualised the SLS Cobot Café to demonstrate how tasks can be delegated to cobots in a suitable workplace setting. Through this, our customers can observe first-hand how cobots can assist humans in their day-to-day operations.

Improve efficiency and productivity

At the café, a UR cobot is mounted on Ewellix’s LIFTKIT and SLIDEKIT which extends its range of motions. The cobot can pivot, slide across, move up or down, as well as grip and release items. The SLIDEKIT enables the cobot to move towards the coffee machine and the ice cream freezer display while the LIFTKIT can help to position the cobot accurately to activate the coffee machine menu and to pick up the ice cream.

Mimicking a human arm, the cobot taps the coffee machine once you’ve placed your order. Once your drink is ready, it’ll grip the coffee cup and serve it to you. The cobot can also slide open the ice cream freezer display, reach into it and pick up the mini tub of ice cream you have ordered. Voila, you can enjoy your favourite brew or tuck into your favourite ice cream flavour in no time!

How did the idea of a Cobot Café come about?

SLS is a distributor of Ewellix products. The LIFTKIT and SLIDEKIT, which work with UR cobots, are innovative products which can help our customers in the industrial space to improve efficiency and productivity. For instance, they can be used in pick-and-place and palletising of goods in warehouses and factories. However, cobots can also be used in other sectors such as retail, hospitality, and F&B. After some brainstorming, we felt that a mini Cobot Café would be a suitable concept to showcase the application of the cobot in a commercial setting.

How long did it take to realize the Cobot Café?

On the whole, it took us over a year to complete the project. We kickstarted the project in February 2020. It took us two months to brainstorm, conceptualise and do the prototyping for the café. We worked closely with TDS Technology, a local company specialising in robotic automation, to come up with the programming platform for the pick-and-place function of the UR cobot. We also collaborated with Beep, a digital payment solutions provider, on the mobile payment gateway system. We officially launched the Cobot Café in April 2021.

About SLS bearings

Established in 1963, SLS Bearings have built long-standing relationships with our key trusted partners. This has equipped us with the capability to offer a wide range of mechanical systems and components, including bearings, power transmission and related products. We get what our customers need as quickly as possible to minimise downtime. Over the decades, we have developed the engineering expertise and technical capabilities to help our customers achieve operational excellence, cost-effectiveness, and safety compliance. Through our reliability optimisation and predictive maintenance services, customers can count on us to extend the longevity of business-critical assets to save costs and enhance profitability.