Abstract:At the 2026 China Franchise Conference in Wuhan International Expo Centre, two transparent coffee kiosks named “ALIENS-POD” served visitors with a humanoid robot handling cup pickup, filling, lidding and delivery — with no human intervention at all. Over the three-day event the two kiosks served 1,500 cups at an average of about 90 seconds per cup. Each kiosk is compact and can make around 100 cups per refill.
At the Wuhan International Expo Centre, the smell of coffee drifts out of two transparent kiosks at the 2026 China Franchise Conference. Inside, a humanoid robot takes a cup, fills it, lids it and hands it out; outside, visitors gather, some raising phones to record, others watching the pickup window for their own cup. The two “ALIENS-POD” kiosks were one of the most continuous draws on the floor.
The first-generation product of Alien Coffee (waixingren kafei) was unveiled at the conference. Its initiator, Du Hanwu, presented it at the opening ceremony, after which it served coffee to visitors in the exhibition area, bringing humanoid robot application into a real consumer setting. According to the project team, over the three days the two kiosks served 1,500 cups, with an average preparation time of about 90 seconds per cup.
On site, once an order is placed, the alien-looking robot starts work: taking the cup, receiving the coffee, lidding and delivering, all in one continuous motion. The transparent capsule makes the process visible, and every movement becomes a detail the crowd watches. The project team says the pod integrates intelligent equipment and that the entire preparation process involves no human intervention.
The ALIENS-POD coffee kiosk serving visitors in Wuhan
At the pickup window, one visitor who had just received a coffee said: “I didn’t expect the movements to be so fluid — it takes the cup and pours by itself. The taste is quite consistent too. If I came across one day to day, I’d be happy to buy.” Another cared more about the interaction: “The on-screen prompts are clear, the flow from ordering to pickup is smooth, and above all the output is stable.”
A humanoid robot preparing coffee inside the transparent pod
Operations staff on site explained that the pod is compact and can make around 100 cups per refill; when raw material runs out, a person must top it up, and cleaning is done manually after the kiosk closes for the day. An exhibition environment is closer to a real consumption scenario: the robot must not only be able to make coffee, but stay stable through continuous operation.
Visitors watch the robot barista at work
A person in charge of ALIENS-POD said coffee making is a concrete window through which to observe the commercial application of humanoid robots. It connects equipment operation, product quality, delivery efficiency and customer experience, testing both whether the technology can complete the motions and whether the whole service can keep running. The buzz at the exhibition shows humanoid robots have appeal in everyday consumption scenarios; but the real test comes in daily operation — whether cup output stays stable, whether operation is reliable, whether maintenance costs are controllable and whether consumers will buy again. The market will answer all of that in due course. (Zhao Mengyao, Zhu Wenpu)
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