No barista, no delay: Delhi airport launches robotic cafe that makes coffee under three minutes; the robot also dances and serves ice cream

Picture a long walk through Terminal 3 at Delhi airport. Your flight is boarding soon and you want a quick coffee. You reach Gate 42, and there is no barista behind the counter. Instead, a white robotic arm sways to music behind a glass screen, waiting for its next order.

This is the airport’s new fully automated cafe. The airport is run by the GMR group. It revealed the cafe in a post on X. Delhi Airport wrote, “There’s something new brewing at Delhi Airport, and it’s robotic!"



What is the robotic cafe at Delhi airport?

It is a small kiosk where no staff member takes orders or makes drinks. A robotic arm does the whole job. Everything sits behind glass, so travellers can watch the machine at work. The airport says an order takes about two to three minutes. For a passenger short on time, that is fast.

How does ordering work?

A small screen faces the customer. You pick your item and pay on the spot. Payment is cashless, so there is no need to dig out notes or wait for change. Delhi Airport posted on Instagram, where its caption read, “Simply order, pay cashlessly and enjoy your next airport pick-me-up!"

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What does the robot do with a coffee order?

The video in Delhi Airport’s post on X shows each step. The arm picks up an empty cup and sets it under the coffee machine. Then it waits while the coffee pours. When the cup is full, the arm lifts it and places it by a pickup window. The customer collects the drink from there.

It can serve ice cream too

Video shared by Delhi Airport shows the arm making ice cream too. It takes a paper cup from a stack and holds it under the soft-serve machine at the back. When the ice cream is ready, it puts the cup on the counter. A small automated window then slides open, just wide enough for a hand. The customer reaches in and takes the cup.

Ice cream and coffee are not the only items. The kiosk also sells flavoured milk, tea and snacks.

Why does the robot dance?

When no one is ordering, the arm does not just freeze. It waves and moves to music. Delhi Airport said, “It also waves and dances when free.”

The dance has nothing to do with making coffee. But it catches the eye, and in a busy terminal a passenger who stops to watch may well end up placing an order.

Passengers at an airport often have only a few minutes. A machine that follows the same steps every time can keep the wait short and the line moving. Cashless payment adds to the speed.

There is also the novelty. People like to film a robot making their coffee, and such clips travel far on social media. For an airport, that could be just free attention.

The details shared so far do not mention prices. They also do not say whether more robotic kiosks are planned at other gates or terminals.

For now, Gate 42 at Terminal 3 is the place to see it. If you are flying out of Delhi soon, give yourself a few extra minutes. You may want to watch the arm finish its dance before it takes your order.