Miso Robotics Inc., maker of a frying robot called “Flippy,” has added the CookRight Coffee system to its product lineup.
The system, part of the CookRight platform announced last year, is designed to monitor a coffee pot’s volume, temperature and time, and “combine these with predictive analytics to guarantee a quality cup of coffee and a more efficient team member experience,” according to the Pasadena-based company. Miso is testing CookRight Coffee at Panera Bread restaurants, and will make it available to other eateries through a subscription model.

“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,” Chief Executive Mike Bell said in a statement. “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.”

Caltech alumni David Zito, Buck Anderson and Ryan Sinnet launched Miso Robotics in 2016, and brought Flippy to market in 2017. Their first deal was with restaurant operator Cali Group to install Flippy in March 2018 at its CaliBurger Pasadena location. After success with this pilot, CaliBurger signed an $11 million contract for two Flippy’s at each of its more than 50 locations worldwide. The robotic arm also made it to Dodger Stadium, cooking baskets of chicken for vending operator Levy Restaurants Inc. In 2020 White Castle began a pilot of an updated version of Flippy at a restaurant in the Midwest, and later committed to 10 more locations.

In June 2021 Miso Robotics began developing automated beverage dispenser “Sippy,” that automatically pours drinks.