Illinois Walmart Debuts 1st Humanoid Drink Robot in State
Richtech Robotics Inc., a Las Vegas-based provider of AI-driven service robots, has installed its advanced robotic beverage system, ADAM, at a One Kitchen in a Rockford, Ill., Walmart. This milestone marks the second installation as part of a planned rollout across 240 One Kitchen locations in the United States, and the first one in Illinois.
One Kitchen restaurants feature various national and local brands using a single kitchen. The Rockford Walmart will also have Richtech’s Matradee L and DUST-E S installed.
The deployment is also part of Richtech’s new commercial management venture, AlphaMax Management LLC, which was formed to optimize the integration of the company’s robots into clients’ businesses. A wholly owned subsidiary of Richtech, AlphaMax Management will oversee the entire commercial workflow of One Kitchen restaurants within Walmart, to better integrate the operation of robots with traditional restaurant operations, and to provide overall restaurant data analysis, digital marketing and the integration of artificial intelligence applications.
“We continue to reach new milestones, this time celebrating the first humanoid drink robot in the state of Illinois and also officially launching AlphaMax Management,” noted Richtech President Matt Casella. “Our new subsidiary is expected to generate a new revenue stream and also stable cash flow and profit. We look forward to its continued growth.”
Featuring AI technology, ADAM began operations at the Rockford One Kitchen on Aug. 16, serving a range of coffee and boba drinks to customers. The robot is expected to serve 100-200 cups of coffee and tea daily.
Richtech Robotics will handle the programming, maintenance and repair of the ADAM systems, while One Kitchen will manage staff, location logistics and leasing. ADAM will operate through a fully integrated touchscreen point-of-sale system for ordering and payments, providing customized beverages on demand and connecting with customers through its intelligent-conversation AI.
With restaurants across Canada and the United States, Toronto-based Ghost Kitchens International (GKI) is expanding to open 240 more restaurants under the One Kitchen banner in both countries. Each restaurant features various national brands made to order, a single operator, innovative front- and back-of-house technology, and walk-in and delivery customers.
In the area of foodservice automation at retail, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Blendid opened an automated kiosk at a Walmart in Fremont, Calif., in October 2020. Later that year, Blendid rolled out its first-ever co-branded concept, a Jamba by Blendid kiosk, at a Walmart location in Dixon, Calif.
Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit Walmart’s more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, the retailer employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Walmart one of its Retailers of the Century.
