As you walk up to Cafe X, a friendly robot arm in a glass case waves at you, as if beckoning you forward.
Tapping on a tablet, you select from a menu of matcha lattes, espressos and traditional lattes and cappuccinos.
When you place your order, the arm suddenly springs into action. Grabbing a cup, it brews your coffee drink for you entirely autonomously, ultimately placing it in a little compartment so you can open it up and grab your beverage.
That’s the futuristic vision I experienced while traveling through SFO, where Cafe X is located (at the border between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.)
Here’s a video that I made showing the Cafe X espresso robot in action.
AI and robotics are clearly coming for the food service industry. And given how good the Cafe X espresso was, I say to them, “Welcome, robot food overlords!”
