On September 25, UCC Japan began experimental trials at the “Ueshima Coffee Shop Woven City Store” (Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture) opened in Phase 1 of Toyota’s large-scale demonstration city “Woven City.” Their aim is to develop new methods to maximize the power of coffee and improve the customer experience.
The trials are conducted in a dedicated “experience zone” within the shop. Video cameras are installed on the ceilings in all four corners of the experience zone to record participant activities. These video data are then analyzed by Toyota’s “Vision AI,” a system that combines video data analytics and AI.
On September 25, Taku Hanzawa, R&D Promotion Team’s manager of R&D Division at UCC Ueshima Coffee, explained, “By using Vision AI, we can capture visitor movements on camera and detect various actions as data. This detected data enables us to verify, for example, movements after drinking coffee and in what situations people consume it.”
As one example, experimental trials will examine coffee drinking habits that enhance productivity and concentration, as well as how variables such as taste and aroma affect productivity.
Participation in these trials requires advance registration via the “Woven App.” The experience zone can only be accessed by holders of an Experimental Area Pass.
In the future, UCC plans to use devices such as smartwatches to measure daily vital data, conduct experiments to observe psychological and physical changes in people who habitually drink coffee, and also investigate the positive effects that coffee has on human communication.
Additionally, a special menu item exclusive to this store, not available at other Ueshima Coffee shops, is the “Hydrogen-Roasted COFFEE FLIGHT.” This item allows customers to compare hydrogen-roasted coffee with traditional roasted coffee, available only in hot form.