For DAX Robotics, Will XBEER and XCHEFF Mark the Spot?

A Q&A with its CEO, Aaron Rojas.

Before we begin, you should know that there are actually two different Dax robots on the market right now. The Daxbot based in Oregon is a sidewalk delivery robot. And halfway round the world from there, over in Spain, DAX Robotics is building food and drink robots for the HORECA sector. (FWIW, I was today years old when I learned HORECA stands for HOtels, REstaurants, CAfeterias. I feel a little embarrassed I didn’t already know the shorthand, but evidently it’s more prevalent in Europe).

After seeing a video of DAX’s XBEER robot pouring out pint of Heineken, I wanted to learn more about the startup, so I reached out to Aaron Rojas, CEO of DAX Robotics. He was busy traveling to Dubai for business (see below), but was able to answer a few questions about his startup via email.

Following is my Q&A with Rojas, lightly edited for clarity.

What does DAX Robotics do in the food/drink robot space? 

We create robotics and automation applications for the horeca sector. We have developed robotic solutions to serve and prepare drinks and meals. This past summer we presented what we call robotic vending kiosk together with Heineken and the British theme park chain Aspro parks.

We are currently working hard on the research and development of plug and play robotic solutions for kitchens and other areas. Our goal is to create easy to install solutions for customers, where they can receive the product, turn it on and put it to work. 

What can you tell me about the XBEER? (How big is it, how many beers does it serve, how many beers per hour does it pour? What is the business model?)

Xbeer has been developed thinking mainly in places where there are high workloads at specific times. We thought of nightlife, crowded events, or places like resorts or theme parks...

We realised that a lot of time is wasted waiting for glasses to be filled under the tap, sometimes it is desperate, and certainly sales are lost by focusing staff on acting like machines. We believe that staff should be connecting with the customer rather than wasting their time performing such simple and repetitive tasks. 

Xbeer is ready to be placed next to the tap, switched on and works 24 hours a day. It is completely adaptable to any tap already installed, so it does not require structural modifications, the customer or the waiter only has to place the glasses they want to fill in our tray and the robot will take care of it. 

The size is very compact and mobile, it weighs only 10 kilos and can serve up to 6 beers in one round, if we have more taps it can fill them two by two to speed up the service even more.

We are working on the new development X-DRINKS, where this same robot will be able to serve not only beer, but also any other drinks. In addition, to benefit from this, the customer will only have to make a simple software update to his XBEER. 

What can you tell me about the XCHEFF? (What types of food does it make? What is the target market? What is the business model?)

Well, X-CHEFF is the cooking version of X-BEER. 

Initially, we developed it to work in kitchens that were already installed, but we realised that it is very complicated structurally, every kitchen is very different.