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  • Robot makes coffee at new cafe in Japan’s capital

    Robot makes coffee at new cafe in Japan’s capital

    By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

    TOKYO (AP) — Japan has a new cafe where customers can enjoy coffee brewed and served by a robot barista.
    The robot named Sawyer debuted this week at Henna Cafe in Tokyo’s downtown business and shopping district of Shibuya. The shop’s name in Japanese means “strange cafe.”

    Robot barista named “Sawyer” makes a coffee at Henn-na Cafe, meaning “Strange Cafe” in Japanese, in Tokyo.

    The single-armed robot scans a ticket purchased from a vending machine and greets the customer.
    “Would you care for a delicious coffee?” the barista, with a screen showing a pair of cartoon eyes, asks in a flat tone. “I can make one better than human beings around here.”

    It grinds the coffee beans, fills a filter and pours hot water over a paper cup for up to five people at once. A cup of brewed coffee costs 320 yen ($3) and takes a few minutes.

    Sawyer can also operate an automated machine for six other hot drinks including cappuccino, hot chocolate and green tea latte.
    Customers, many of them young men, took photos with their smartphones while they waited in line.

    The cafe operator, travel agency H.I.S. Co., says robots can increase productivity while also entertaining customers.
    “An essential point is to increase productivity,” said Masataka Tamaki, general manager of corporate planning at H.I.S. He said only one person needs to oversee the robot cafe, compared to several people needed at a regular coffee shop, so it can serve better quality coffee at a reasonable price.

    Tamaki says it’s not just about efficiency. “We want the robot to entertain customers so it’s not like buying coffee at a vending machine,” he said.

    Takeshi Yamamoto, a 68-year-old restaurant employee who works in the neighborhood, said his first experience with the robot cafe was very enjoyable, and his robot-made coffee was delicious.
    “It’s quite rich, and tastes very good,” Yamamoto said, as he took a sip. “You can get machine-made coffee at convenience stores, too, and it’s actually good. But here, I had great fun.”

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    Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
    Find her work at https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi
  • Spacewalking astronauts give new hand to robot arm

    Spacewalking astronauts give new hand to robot arm

    By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts gave a hand to the International Space Station’s big robot arm Tuesday.
    As the federal government geared back up 250 miles below, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle successfully installed the new mechanical gripper.Because of the lingering effects of the government shutdown, the spacewalk got started in the morning without coverage on NASA TV. An on-air message simply stated: “We regret the inconvenience.” Nearly an hour into the spacewalk, however, NASA TV came alive and began broadcasting the event with typical blow-by-blow commentary.

    Space station operations were largely unaffected by the three-day shutdown. Considered essential personnel, Mission Control kept watch as usual at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

    Vande Hei performed a similar spacewalk last October, when he replaced the first of two original hands on the Canadian-built arm. This second new hand will go on the opposite end of the 58-foot arm, able to move like an inchworm by grabbing hold of special fixtures.
    The bulky bundle of latches — more than 3 feet, or a meter, long and weighing more than 440 pounds, or 200 kilograms — needed to be replaced because of wear and tear. It’s been in orbit, grabbing cargo capsules and performing other chores, since 2001.

     

    NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, top, and Scott Tingle work outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, to give the robot arm a new hand. (NASA TV via AP)

     

    Tingle had to use extra muscle to release a stubborn bolt securing the spare mechanical arm.
    “Nice work,” Vande Hei said. “And the crowd goes wild,” chimed in Mission Control.
    Next, the spacewalkers wrested the old, degraded hand from the robot arm. Once the new hand was in place, a software issue cropped up briefly. Six hours into the spacewalk, NASA declared victory. The spacewalk lasted 7 1/2 hours.
    It was the first spacewalk for Tingle, who arrived last month, and the third for Vande Hei.
    “Make us proud out there,” astronaut Joe Acaba told the spacewalkers from inside. “We’ll have hot chow for you when you get back.”
    Vande Hei will go back out Monday with another astronaut to finish the job. Then the two Russians on board will conduct a spacewalk Feb. 2 to install a new antenna on their country’s side of the outpost.
    The space station is home to three Americans, two Russians and one Japanese.

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