A Robot named Sawyer is a big draw in a café in Tokyo because here the robot brews, serves and sells coffee. The robot was unveiled in Tokyo's downtown business and shopping district of Shibuya. It is a marvel of Artificial Intelligence, and the single-armed device can not only scan the ticket purchased by the customer from the vending machine but can greet the customer as programmed.

New Zealand Herald reports that the activities of the robot involves grinding the coffee beans and preparing the refreshing drink for five persons at a time. The process takes a few minutes and a cup of coffee is priced at $3.

It can also operate an automated machine for six other different types of hot drinks like cappuccino, hot chocolate, and green tea latte.

Positives of a robot

The café in Tokyo is operated by a travel agency, and in the opinion of Masataka Tamaki, general manager of corporate planning of the agency, robots like Sawyer can increase productivity and simultaneously entertain the customers. That is a practical application of artificial intelligence where a single robot can handle the café, eliminating the need to employ more persons. The plus point is that it is not just like a vending machine that sells coffee but it can interact with the customers and entertain them.

Robots in healthcare

Healthcare is another area where robots can be useful.

According to BBC, a healthcare revolution is underway in Britain. The Edinburgh Centre for Robotics (ECR) has developed a robot named Pepper. It is about 4ft tall, has a humanoid body, and has been funded by the EU in a project to create a socially-intelligent robot. It is expected to be deployed in outdoor locations like shopping malls to gauge the acceptance of the people.

Robots are used to access hazardous locations where it is unsafe for humans, Examples are for handling radioactive material or dealing with suspect devices. Healthcare is another area where robots can be invaluable. Robots are usually associated with space research but times are changing and they are entering our daily lives.

Thanks for this must go to artificial intelligence which is opening up new horizons be they in Tokyo or in Edinburgh. In the case of healthcare, the experience of a doctor is limited to that of a few patients but a robot can store huge volumes of data and recall them instantly. This will certainly be a boon to the medical profession because it will save time and result in more accurate diagnoses.