Japan has a new robot 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." 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.

"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.