Weary travelers deplaning from a late-night flight into San Francisco’s international airport may blink, then refocus when viewing a dancing robot behind a glass kiosk brew a cup of coffee. But they aren’t sleep walking or dreaming of sci-fi, they are seeing reality.
Café X features an independent robot that responds to app requests for hot coffee and serves the beverage within two minutes through a hatch. Human support is remote via local coffee bean roasters who ensure flavors are exceptional. Even clover organic milk from area dairies is an option.
College friends Henry Wu and Sebastian Gomaz Puerto founded the company in 2017 after designing and assembling a prototype in a garage. The machine first appeared in the U.S. in 2017. “We all had scars on our arms from the sheet metal,” Wu said about their hands-on construction process in the early days.
While human baristas may enjoy being able to sleep, passengers fighting time changes are glad to access caffeine à la mode. Whether or not the technology is a boon or bane for employment remains open for discussion.
As science advances, people may be tempted to think God is too remote to matter. After all, humans occupy international space stations and explore deep-sea mining in the ocean. But none of the technology replaces the relationship with a Creator who loves us.
Perhaps invitations to know Him better originate with each reveal when new discoveries occur. Science is not in lieu of God, but in tandem with Him.
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“Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery,” (Daniel 2:47 NIV).
For more information, go to YouTube’s “Café X Opens a Robot Shop in SF,” posted January 30, 2017 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PRsAGIAnPg.
