Selfridges Smartech store welcomes a new staff member: the robot barista YuMi

YuMi resides in Smartech, Selfridges' in-house innovation hub
Amelia Heathman|Kate Moore11 September 2018

If you wander into Selfridges' Oxford Street store and head down to its Smartech innovation hub, you will be greeted by a new staff member: YuMIi, a robot barista and the store’s first robot.

YuMi, made by the tech company ABB, has taken up residence in Smartech as part of the store’s dedication to providing the best in tech and innovation to its customers.

YuMi can make you a great espresso, using its dual arms that work together to find the cup, the espresso capsule and turn the machine on by itself.

The robot even dances in between coffee making, showing off some serious moves.

That’s not all that’s new at Smartech. The innovation store launched only 18 months ago in a tiny seven sqm space with only seven brands. Now, Smartech is about to double its floor space to 100 sqm and is home to over 50 different products and brands.

The idea for the store was born out a sense of frustration, says Smartech’s founder Jacov Nachtailer. “Everyone was writing and talking about innovation but there was nowhere you could discover it in retail and play with it,” he tells the Standard.

“Innovation isn’t just iPhones and computers, it’s touching your everyday life. We want people to come to Selfridges and to Smartech to discover the latest and greatest products.”

Smartech handpicks interesting and cool brands to sell in store and online. From gadgets from major brands such as Snap and Nintendo, there are also niche devices from companies that launch on Kickstarter, giving innovative founders a retail space.

There’s the Meural Art Canvas, a digital art frame that comes with a membership to access tens of thousands of artworks so your wall always looks different.

A new product this year is the Ayo Light glasses which use advanced blue light therapy to help you fall asleep faster, beat jet lag, and even reduce fatigue.

The Ayo Light Glasses uses blue light to help you sleep better and beat jet lag
Ayo

If you want to fall asleep faster, simply choose that setting on the connected app, wear them for about 10-15 minutes and then your sleep cycle will be improved. Genius.

And there’s the Quip Toothbrush. About a third of the size of your usual powered brush, and a third of the price with a retail price of £50, Quip is a light, stylish and effective toothbrush.

Many of the products the store sells are exclusive to Selfridges so even if you’re not planning on buying anything it’s fun to explore and try out the interesting gadgets.

Tech is also central to the design of Smartech. Each product has its own dedicated space in the store, with a screen depicting a video of how it works. Brands control the content on the screens through Smartech software, so they can update regularly with each new product iteration.

“We try to bring the products to life. We want to change the perception that tech is intimidating and only for techies,” explains Smartech’s CEO Nathalie Bernce.

Whether it’s a levitating light bulb you’re after, an electric skateboard, or a chance to see Yumi in action, Smartech is cementing its reputation as the ultimate tech shopping experience.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in