Commuters are doing a collective double take on their morning dash to work as fully automated robot baristas quietly pop up at some of the country’s busiest transport hubs.
At Sydney’s Central station you’ll be greeted by COFE+’s Robot Café from Shanghai Hi-Dolphin Robot Technology, an artificial intelligence and robotics company founded in 2018.
These fully automated barista coffee machines are rolling out across the country. Reddit
In Melbourne, you’re more likely to see Caffè Robotica made by Australia technology and automation company Robotica Group.
What was once a new-age novelty is now becoming commonplace, as the Australian beverage industry embraces these latest technologies.
Robot baristas are popping up around the country. Instagram/@robotica.coffee
Far from delivering the barely drinkable filtered coffees of automated vending machines of yesteryear, these robot barista are stocked with high-quality coffee beans and multiple milk options, with robotic arms doing the job of the barista for those wanting a barista quality skim cap or flat white on their way to work.
And importantly, the prices are comparable to some of the most affordable barista coffees in Sydney and Melbourne, priced at $3 to $5.50.
The rollout has embedded itself into key commuter corridors, turning them into testing grounds for the “faceless café” trend and so far business is booming.
Charles Wang from Robotica Group has told nine.com.au the robot was “the most visible part of our service”.
“Behind it is an operating model that includes daily cleaning and replenishment, supported by ongoing servicing and maintenance, to help maintain consistent drink quality and dependable operation,” he explained.
There are three permanent Caffè Robotica installations in Victoria at Burwood One Shopping Centre, Chadstone Shopping Centre, and in the Melbourne CBD on Russell Street, and they operate 24/7. This is in addition to regular pop up locations.
There are three permanent Caffè Robotica installations in Victoria. Caffè Robotica
In Sydney, you’ll find COFE+’s Robot Café at the Central Station concourse, the Devonshire Street Tunnel, and the busy underground links connecting Town Hall to the Queen Victoria Building and Wynyard through to Barangaroo.
They have also expanded into foot-traffic magnets such as Darling Harbour, the ICC precinct, and the University of Sydney and UNSW campuses.
You’ll find COFE+’s Robot Café at the Central Station. COFE+’s Robot Café
For many, the theatre of the setup is half the draw. COFE+’s Robot Café robot baristas are designed to be “efficient and precise” and reduce the amount of waste generated during the coffee-making process.
“For example, a coffee robot can measure the exact amount of coffee needed for each cup, reducing the risk of overfilling or underfilling,” the company’s website explains.
“It can also grind coffee beans to a consistent size, ensuring that each cup has the same flavour and quality.”
Caffè Robotica promises precise orders each time, including over 55 different beverages from gourmet hot and iced coffees, hot chocolate, and matcha.
And barista coffee is just the latest part of Australia’s food and beverage industry to grow in popularity. Drinks and snacks were rolled out before it, although not all of these concepts has survived the cutthroat trial phase.
Back in 2022, Sydneysiders buzzed over Pizzabot at the North Sydney Aldi Corner Store – a robotic oven that baked raw dough and fresh toppings into piping-hot artisan pizzas in two minutes flat.
Back in 2022, Sydneysiders buzzed over Pizzabot at the North Sydney Aldi. Aldi/Pizzabot
While the spectacle drew crowds, the trial was wrapped up later that year due to the overheads of maintaining internal stone decks and restocking short-shelf-life ingredients.
Dessert automation, on the other hand, has cracked the code.
At Westfield Chatswood, an automated Cake Mail glass kiosk has been drawing crowds since mid-2024, using a motorised elevator lift rather than a robotic arm to deliver signature ooze cupcakes, layered cake jars and brownies to customers without smudging a single swirl of buttercream.
This cake vending machine is at Westfield Chatswood in Sydney. Facebook/@chrissy_wine
Backed by central commercial bakeries that restock the refrigerated machine daily, it delivers instant indulgence with none of the hurdles of automated cooking.
Savoury food automation has also had to adapt. Early attempts to install all-in-one robotic ramen dispensers across university campuses between 2021 and 2025 frequently ran into trouble, with scalding broths, noodle starches and water scaling causing maintenance headaches.
Instead of persisting with mechanical arms inside a box, operators pivoted toward unattended, Korean-style instant noodle bars across Sydney CBD, USYD, UNSW, and Melbourne, where students simply pick a bowl and use automated countertop induction hot-water taps to craft their own late-night supper.
The trend has reached full throttle in suburban shopping strips, where colourful, showy automated kiosks are becoming regular weekend fixtures. Units like Robot Floss have taken off in Westfield centres across Burwood, Chatswood, Rhodes and Carlingford, where internal robotic arms spin sugar into intricate floral shapes behind clear domes.
Noodle vending machines are also commonplace in busy shopping centres. Sydney Morning Herald
The same appeal extends to autonomous soft-serve kiosks rolled out by operators like Vend Brands, Sundae Crunch, AusVending and AusBox Group.
Stationed in high-energy family zones like Timezone, Zone Bowling and mall cinema corridors across Sydney and Melbourne, these units use mechanical grippers to fill fresh cones and squirt toppings on demand.
It’s proof that while human hospitality will always have its place, Australia’s appetite for fast, fun and contactless dining is only just getting started.
