Miso Robotics Brings Hands-On Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Analytics Learning to Cal Poly Pomona
A new partnership between Cal Poly Pomona and AI-foodservice solutions company Miso Robotics is bringing autonomous fry station, Flippy, to campus while creating opportunities for students to gain practical experience in engineering, technology, data analytics and operations.
Now operating at Burger Envy, CPP Enterprises Dining Services’ newest eatery, the collaboration marks Flippy’s first university deployment and serves as the foundation for a broader collaboration involving student internships, technical certification and graduate research.
“Flippy has been a standout feature since the fall term began,” said David Corral, director of Dining Services. “The fries come out consistently perfect, our staff loves having the extra support in the kitchen and Miso has been an exceptional partner.”
More Than Just a Fryer
Flippy’s impact surpasses the confines of Burger Envy’s kitchen; the partnership offers an opportunity for students to engage directly with a working technology system and learn firsthand about robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
As part of the Miso Internship Program, mechanical engineering junior Tyler Torres is dividing his time between maintaining Flippy on campus and working with Miso’s Hardware Engineering team at the company’s Los Angeles robotics laboratory. The internship connects concepts from his engineering courses with the daily operation, maintenance and improvement of commercial robotics technology.
“In class, we learn about robots, but at Miso, I get to work with one that’s actually making food for my classmates,” Torres said. “It’s exciting to be part of making it better.”
“One of our goals at OSPRIE is to bring real industry challenges and technologies into the student learning experience,” said Navid Nakhjiri, co-director of the Office for Student Projects and Research through Industry Engagement (OSPRIE). “Having a commercial robotic system operating on our campus creates opportunities for students to go beyond classroom learning and gain hands-on experience with the same technologies and engineering challenges they will encounter in industry. This is exactly the kind of partnership we want to build with industry.”
Through OSPRIE, Cal Poly Pomona also plans to launch the Miso Flippy certification program in the spring. The five-level, self-paced program is designed to introduce students to Flippy through progressively advanced training, from basic machine operation to field service and hardware repair. Students who complete the program will earn the Miso Robotics Certified Technician credential.
Real World Problems, Real World Solutions
The collaboration opportunities also extend into graduate education. Launched in October 2026, two teams of students in the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program began analyzing Flippy’s system logs and video data. Their projects will examine operational throughput, human-robot interaction patterns and food waste reduction.
The capstone projects are being coordinated by Maha Ghosn, lecturer in the International Business and Marketing Department and MSBA program coordinator, with Fadi Batarseh serving as the faculty lead. The Flippy project serves as the MSBA program’s final culminating experience in which students apply research, communication, and analytical skills to real-world problems.
“When Maha shared this opportunity with me, I recognized that it was a very important avenue because we’re dealing with leading-edge technology,” Batarseh said. “They’re not just learning technical skills. They’re going to delve into real-world, cutting-edge problems.”
Unlike projects based primarily on structured numerical datasets, the Flippy capstone will require students to work with large amounts of video and other unstructured data. Students will determine how to evaluate qualitative information, identify meaningful patterns and collaborate with Miso Robotics to develop useful solutions.
“This is not an easy problem to identify the solution,” Batarseh said. “The students have to collaborate together and also collaborate with Miso Robotics to really come up with an innovative solution.”
Ghosn said the project reflects Cal Poly Pomona’s emphasis on experiential education and career preparation. Students met with faculty leads and industry partners before ranking the capstone projects they wanted to pursue. The Flippy project generated significant interest because of its connection to AI, robotics and descriptive video analysis.
“Career readiness is one of the most important skills that we are trying to hone,” Ghosn said. “This is exactly what we want for our students. They can come to class and learn, but what we’re trying to do is get their hands on experimental, applied research.”
A Future-Forward Campus
The Flippy collaboration builds on Dining Services’ broader efforts to incorporate AI and data-driven tools into campus operations. At Centerpointe Dining Commons, Dining Services implemented Winnow and MetaFoodX to improve food-waste tracking, production forecasting, quality control and employee training. In addition to the MSBA analytics project, Flippy will provide opportunities for engineering students to dive into robotics hardware and software.
Miso Robotics Chief Revenue Officer Bruce Friedman said the partnership is intended to prepare students for the changing food service and technology industries.
“Miso builds technology that puts people first, and core to that mission is supporting the students who will run this industry,” Friedman said. “Flippy is cooking on campus today. We are taking this model to more universities across the country, inspiring and training the next generation of engineers and operators as we grow.”
The partnership represents a model for expanding collaboration among academic programs, campus operations and industry partners. As artificial intelligence and robotics become more common across sectors, students will need opportunities to apply their knowledge in varied environments, from dining and hospitality to health care and education.
“A key strength of this partnership is how directly it supports student career readiness,” said Jeyoung Woo, co-director of OSPRIE. “By bridging academic concepts with hands-on industry experience, the collaboration embeds cutting-edge technology into practical class projects, field trips, internships and collaborative Senior Design Projects.”
The transformative partnership was commemorated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 10 at Burger Envy (Building 97). Guests had the opportunity to experience Flippy in action and enjoyed free swag from Miso Robotics and exclusive deals at Burger Envy.