Nestle Serves up Robots in Japan to Woo Chinese Customers

TOKYO -- "How about a coffee?" greets Pepper the humanoid robot in Chinese, as tourists come to an open booth on the third floor of a commercial complex in Asakusa, Tokyo's historic downtown area.

The visitor chooses the type, size and strength of coffee using the tablet held by SoftBank Group's Pepper. Once the selection is made, the humanoid places the order to a dual-arm robot built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries nearby, which makes coffee with a Nestle coffee machine and places a cup filled with the beverage on the serving tray. The entire process takes exactly three minutes and purchases can be made through Alipay, Alibaba Group Holding's mobile payment system.

Welcome to the coffee drinking style a la Switzerland-based Nestle -- one that may not be as fancy as drinking at Starbucks, but not as routine as buying from a vending machine.