Sharpa x DQ

The world’s first no change, fully autonomous, year-round robot restaurant.

Full Video

Industry

Food & Beverage

Location

Shanghai, China

Project Launch

Aug 29,2026

10%

A Useful Robot Performing a Real-Life Shift

For the first time, Sharpa North steps behind the counter of a real kitchen, completing a full shift at a DQ store in Shanghai while serving real customers, real orders, and real ice cream.
Each order is a long-horizon sequence of 55 consecutive manipulation steps, performed end to end without cuts
North is fully backward compatible with existing infrastructure: he works inside an operating store, using existing equipment, ingredients, and process, unmodified.

Difficult Manipulation Tasks, Performed Without a Glitch

North must repeatedly complete complex tasks that call on human-level dexterity, adaptation capabilities, and embodied short-term memory.
Succeeding end to end, live, in public demands a level of robustness and reliability far beyond a staged demo.

Securing the metal ring to the cup & Blending the Blizzard

The metal ring is held against the paper cup by thumb and index finger throughout blending — a level of contact control that's difficult to achieve with grippers or low-DoF hands.
Force feedback governs how hard the hand grips and moves throughout the blend.

Opening the cabinet door

The cabinet door uses a narrow handle — a standard industry fixture, not retrofitted for robot use.
W01 has to be close enough to a human hand in shape and size to operate handles built for people, not robots.

Memorizing the topping distribution steps

Per the SOP for Oreo Blizzard preparation, each serving requires three scoops of Oreo crumbs.
Because the scene looks identical scoop to scoop, the model can't rely on vision alone — it has to track its own progress through the sequence.

Flipping the Blizzard upside down

Force-controlled, tactile-driven grip keeps the paper cup from crushing as it's flipped upside down.
The grip is precise enough that no ice cream is dropped.

Achievements Summary

Bringing Useful Robots to More Workplaces

At DQ, North brings dexterity, tactile control, and task sequencing together in a working environment built around people. The ability to handle everyday tools and complete a connected workflow provides a foundation for extending robotic capabilities across more service tasks.

Building on this foundation means improving reliability and efficiency through experience in real operations, then adapting those capabilities to new tools, tasks, and settings. Each deployment offers an opportunity to deepen our understanding of what makes a robot useful to the people working alongside it.

Our ambition is to make autonomous robots a practical part of everyday work: capable of fitting into existing workplaces, taking responsibility for complete tasks, and helping teams serve their customers. The DQ project is a concrete step toward that future.

Sharpa robots demonstrating food-service manipulation tasks