On Friday, Rhode Island Hospital became the proud owner of the state’s first MooBella Inc. Ice Creamery.

Customers type their orders on an LCD touch-screen in the front of the Ice Creamery, choosing regular or low-fat ice cream; one of 12 flavors; and one of three mix-ins, like chocolate chips. Then they open a small door in the machine and stick in an empty cup, which a robotic arm lifts into the machine.

Inside, an aseptic bag of room-temperature milk is punctured and the contents are mixed with the designated flavor. That liquid mixture gets blasted with air and flash-frozen, and within 40 seconds, voilà – the robotic arm lowers a 4.5-ounce cup of fresh ice cream.

It’s interactive; it’s creative; it’s unique. For goodness sake, it’s Brown! So where’s our machine??