Robot-operated coffee shop, AI flower shop in Ho Chi Minh City.

A coffee shop and flower shop in Ho Chi Minh City is attracting attention for using robot baristas and AI to suggest flower arrangements. Customers can enjoy coffee while choosing and arranging flowers according to their budget.

Located at 632 Dien Bien Phu Street , Thanh My Tay Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, this cafe and flower shop is attracting young people in the city with a unique experience: enjoying coffee brewed by robots and personally selecting and wrapping bouquets of flowers based on suggestions from an AI assistant.

Here, two robotic arms developed by a team of Vietnamese programmers act as the "left and right arms" of a barista. The robots perform the entire brewing process: grinding beans, tamping and extracting coffee, then frothing milk and pouring it into the cup. All operations are automated, and a cup of coffee is completed in about 2 minutes. However, during peak hours when the number of customers increases, many customers still have to wait more than 10 minutes to receive their drinks.

Representatives from Blooms and Brew by Ellum Saigon stated that the cafe operates on a semi-automatic model, where robots and AI are not intended to replace humans but rather act as "companions," supporting customers' experiences. The entire robot system at the cafe was designed, programmed, and operated by a team of Vietnamese programmers. These robots perform various tasks, from brewing coffee like a barista, suggesting flower arrangements via AI assistants, to scanning and calculating the price of flower bouquets. Currently, the cafe serves four basic coffee drinks: latte, americano, cappuccino, and more.

Besides serving coffee, the cafe also functions as a flower shop, where customers can choose their own flowers, pay, and even arrange their own bouquets to their liking, with assistance from staff if needed.

When a customer interacts, the virtual assistant will ask some basic questions to understand their needs, such as the occasion for which the bouquet is intended, desired colors, or budget. Based on the answers and the actual amount of flowers available in the store, the AI ​​system will provide suitable suggestions. Customers can also enter their desired budget, and the AI ​​will calculate and print a list of flower combinations that fit within that budget.

The shop offers around 60 types of flowers and foliage for decoration, ranging from common varieties to imported ones such as Ecuadorian roses, buttercups, tulips, cluster roses, sunflowers, and willow branches… Customers can choose and combine flowers according to their preferences before having them wrapped.

Katie (an American citizen residing in An Khanh ward) shared: "On International Women's Day, my friend and I came here to drink coffee, buy flowers, and personally wrap them to give to the women I cherish," Katie said. This was also her first time experiencing a coffee shop where the coffee is brewed by robots. According to Katie, the Americano at the shop had a rather impressive flavor. She even filmed a video of the robot brewing coffee because she found the experience very interesting. "You can't chat with the robot and the drink choices are limited, but this is an experience that's hard to find elsewhere," she shared. Katie said she spent about 300,000 VND on 6 mini bouquets of flowers to give to her friend.

The flowers are kept in refrigerators to maintain their freshness and are continuously replenished when they run low. Prices range from 25,000 to 60,000 VND per stem, while decorative foliage costs from 5,000 VND. Tulips are the most expensive flower because they are imported and seasonal.

After selection, the flowers are placed on a scanner equipped with an AI camera so the system can identify the type and quantity of flowers and automatically calculate the price. The accuracy rate is currently around 70-80%. Staff will assist in checking the order before the customer scans the QR code to pay.

After selecting and paying for their flowers, customers can either wrap their own bouquet or ask the florist for assistance and advice on flower arrangement and coordination. During peak hours, the shop limits the experience time to approximately 30 minutes per customer to ensure sufficient space for service.

Having learned about this concept on social media, Quoc Tu (from Binh Thanh district) visited the shop to buy flowers and personally wrap them as a gift for his girlfriend. Because the ordering area was quite crowded, he didn't use the AI ​​assistant's suggestions but instead chose simple flowers in white and green tones, according to his girlfriend's preferences. "I find this concept quite novel; it feels like participating in a small workshop. Instead of buying a ready-made bouquet, choosing and wrapping the flowers myself makes the gift more meaningful," Tu shared.

The cafe is designed for "takeaway," so seating space is quite limited. The outdoor area only has about 5 tables and over 10 chairs for customers stopping by for a short time.

Source: https://znews.vn/tiem-ca-phe-robot-pha-che-ai-ban-hoa-o-tphcm-post1633186.html