A robot barista in Muji stores can make you a latte but don't be surprised if it asks you for a tip.
MUJI
A robot coffee barista named Jarvis has joined four Muji stores in the US and Canada.
The bot's mechanical arm can swing around and bend to pick up the frothed milk, tamp coffee grounds, and even make Latte art. Customers can choose anything from an Americano to an Iced Honey Rose Latte.
But as customers go to pay, they're prompted to give the robot a tip, The New York Post reported.
Jarvis isn't replacing staff just yet. In a comment on Instagram in January, Muji Canada said that two staff members are the main support for Jarvis but others also chip in.
"While Jarvis can remain independent, he still requires an entire cafe staff for additional support," the company said.
The use of robots in the service industry has proven to be effective in racking up tips in the past. One restaurant in Florida said in 2021 that staff received more tips after it began paying for a $1,000-a-month robot to carry plates.
And Jarvis could soon have some competition in the robot-coffee-making realm. Earlier this year Figure AI — the robotics company backed by Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — shared a video of its humanoid making coffee.
The AI bot learned how to make a coffee after watching humans, the company said in a post on X. Although Figure's robot only puts a coffee pod into a coffee machine — it doesn't quite earn it the title of a robot barista just yet.
