Animo coffee machines with a mold for the visually impaired

“I can now get myself a coffee and offer someone a drink.”

Draw coffee or tea from a coffee machine in the office or cafeteria. We all do it several times a day. This gets tricky when you close your eyes and then try to make a choice on the big smooth screen. That is why Provinciehuis Drenthe, together with 3D Ambacht*, has developed a mold that allows you to choose the drink of your choice by touch, the so-called CoffeeBoy. The mold has a 3D printed text for the correct coffee choice and comes in a striking bright green color, making it easily visible to people with low vision.

Full participation in coffee culture
Employee Bram Schultinge says, “With these plastic molds placed on the new coffee machines, as a blind county employee I can now fully participate in our coffee culture. I can now tap a good cup at my own time and according to my own needs. And therein lies the rub. Before, I wasn’t lacking anything with so many great colleagues around me, but being able to fetch and offer something myself really makes me feel good. Like everyone else, I attach great importance to my autonomy and although this adjustment seems small, the effect is anything but.

Dedicated to every cup
Fitting with Animo’s slogan, dedicated to every cup, this shows dedication. Professional machines with attention and dedication and attention to detail and sense of service. This applies to every machine, inside and out. Made of high-quality materials and machines that look beautiful. This applies to every cup of coffee. From espresso to latte macchiato, from regular coffee to cappuccino. But also tea,chocolate milk or soup. And that includes large quantities. The first headline is as good as the hundred thousandth.

The CoffeeBoy awarded prize
On April 4, the award for “best autvinder” in the Netherlands was presented by the Foundation for Neurodiversity to Bastiaan Jong and Ruben Plooster. Bastiaan and Ruben developed the Coffeeboy together with Jolanda Knuman at 3D Craft. Jolanda is visually impaired and, like her five blind colleagues in the province of Gelderland, had a desire to be able to get coffee and tea independently. Based on their requirements, the Coffeeboy was developed. Meanwhile, to the great satisfaction of users, all coffee machines at the province of Gelderland and Drenthe are equipped with the invention.

*3D Craft is an organization that pays attention to the talents and efforts of people who experience a distance from the labor market due to autism or a condition similar to it. At 3D Craft, they learn to discover their talents and have the opportunity to develop in working with digital techniques under supervision.