"Robot Cafe" in Gaya-dong, Jin-gu, Busan.
A robot barista makes a hand drip.
Busan Robotics SI Company STS Robotech
"3D industry job shortage, robots are the alternative"


In the cold, windy winter, I went to a cafe to drink warm coffee. The barista started grinding when he chose the beans. Put the ground beans into the filter to a perfect thickness and shake carefully so that the powder is flat. Pour water heated to an appropriate temperature of 88~92℃ so that the coffee powder is sufficiently wet. Minimal movement for hand drips, no shaking or hesitation for this barista. The degree of swelling is observed and repeated mechanically. Perfect amount of water, temperature, and drip skills that seem to measure with a ruler. In fact, it is not people who make coffee. The counter is equipped with a long robot arm. This place where a robot barista makes coffee is a "Weing Robot Cafe" located at the intersection in front of Dongu University in Gaya-dong, Busanjin-gu. Lee (26), a university student at Dongui University, said, "At first, I came because I was amazed that a robot made coffee, but as the robot made coffee, the taste was constant, so I often visit it."

A chicken restaurant in Dean-dong, Sasang-gu. The robot arm, which is a little longer than what I saw in the robot cafe, is frying chicken this time. It's a bit bolder than a barista robot. Darely take out the sliced chicken that is being fried in hot cooking oil and shake off the oil in the air. It lifts the crispiness, the life of chicken, by getting cold air in the middle. This place where the robot owner fries chicken is a "Weing Robot Chicken" restaurant.

In fact, both stores have been operated by STS Robotech, the largest cooperative robot company in Korea based in Busan, since 2022. It is a place where robot companies do not enter the self-employed market, but serve as a "test bed" to experiment and promote the performance and effectiveness of cooperative robots. "It has been operating for a year and is conducting various experiments such as coffee taste," said Kim Ki-hwan, CEO of STS Robotech. " Above all, it is a place that promotes the merits of cooperative robots and plays a role in making robots familiar to people."


A cooperative robot refers to a robot that helps people in the same space as a person and has the advantage of being easier to operate and cheaper than an industrial robot. Since its establishment in 2021, STS Robotech has been a leading company in the fourth industry, accounting for 9.1% of sales in the domestic cooperative robot market last year. It recorded 6.4 billion won in sales last year and is estimated to have about 10 billion won in sales this year. It not only has the largest cooperative robot (210) in Korea, but also uses this cooperative robot to produce high-quality accessories such as semiconductors, and at the same time specializes in integrating robot systems (SI, reprocessing cooperative robots according to demand). CEO Kim said, "Cooperative robots will be able to help many self-employed people who are suffering from rescue difficulties," and added, "We can also prevent safety accidents in the 3D industry." The cooperative robot industry market continues to grow. According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, the global cooperative robot market grew from $30.1 billion in 2020 to $43.5 billion last year. It is expected to grow to $103.3 billion (about 127 trillion won) by 2026. The size of the domestic market is expected to grow 23.3% annually from $440 million (about 560 billion won) last year to reach $1.03 billion (1.33 trillion won) by 2026.

However, there are many cases where the administration cannot handle the explosive growth of the robot industry. This is because various regulations are holding back the growth of the robot industry. In September, STS Robotech signed an agreement with Daegu Metropolitan City to build large-scale robot R&D and manufacturing facilities. CEO Kim said, "Not long ago, a demonstration complex called the 'National Robot Test Field' passed the preliminary feasibility study in Daegu, and all robot-related companies in Korea will head to Daegu." "Building R&D centers such as robot research institutes and creating integrated complexes in Busan will also prevent the outflow of highly educated talent and help Busan grow into a hub of the robot industry," he stressed.

The Busan Daily
Reporter Nam Hyung-wook (thoth@busan.com )