AODA

• The flagship location of the coffee chain revived the long-dormant retail concept of the automat: a restaurant where food and drinks are served by technology, rather than human staff.
• The new coffee automat consisted of a touchscreen for placing orders, a window that allows customers to watch a robotic arm prepare their coffee, and a slot that dispenses the completed order.
• Toronto has seen the arrival of numerous autonomous business concepts, ranging from Aisle 24’s cashier-less grocery stores to PizzaForno’s 24/7 pizza vending machines.

No card, no phone, no service

• Checkout is accomplished through a touchscreen interface paired with a point-of-sale device that only accepts debit, credit or smartphone payments.
• Since these underbanked individuals often hail from low-income communities, they are already disproportionately burdened by the transaction fees associated with debit payments.
• This not only presents an obstacle for the communities mentioned above, but also impacts seniors, who still lag behind in smartphone adoption.

Automation and accessibility

• This poses a potential problem should a customer require immediate assistance — specifically, assistance related to a disability.
• The Canadian National Institute for the Blind notes that touchscreen payment terminals often lack haptic feedback or other accessibility features, creating a barrier for Canadians with vision loss.

Disappearing public amenities

• Lastly, the automation of these retail locations often closes off taken-for-granted public amenities.
• In large North American cities like Toronto, spaces like public parks, shopping malls and subway stations are increasingly being designed without expected amenities like sitting areas, drinking fountains and public bathrooms.
• This general divestment from providing public amenities slots into a broader trend within Canadian urban planning towards defensive architecture, often disproportionately targeting youths and those experiencing homelessness.

Mathew Iantorno does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.