In Ecclesiastes 1:9, it’s says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” It’s particularly germane when considering consumer products and services. At the end of the day, we all have the same physiological need for food, water, warmth, and rest.

When it comes to food, there are trends, fads, new packaged products, and designer produce, but the need to spend 5 to 30 minutes, several times a day, eating a meal, at home, work or another place doesn’t change. The way we “obtain” food, however, is constantly evolving. Home- or community-prepared meals have morphed into grabbing a bite or leisurely enjoying a meal at a multitude of fast food eateries, greasy spoons, cafes’, restaurants and bars, grabbing prepared foods at supermarkets, ordering take-out or plunking spare changing in a vending machine.

The latter became popular, starting in 1895 when exhibits of automated “push button” restaurants, later coined Automats, began appearing at international fairs in Holland and Germany. These waiter-less food delivery systems quickly spread, touted as a convenient and quick way for business people to get something to eat.

By 1902, manufacturer Horn & Hardart opened the first Automat in Philadelphia, featuring rows of vending machines that dispensed simple foods and drinks in a dining setting. Guests inserted the necessary coins then lifted a hinged window on the front of a shoebox-sized compartment to remove their food. The vending machines backed-up to a kitchen where the food was meticulously prepared and discreetly slid into the compartments.

Automat food was affordable, tasty and instantly available, including sandwiches, baked beans, macaroni-and-cheese, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, beef stew, fried fish, Salisbury steaks, tapioca pudding, cakes, and pies. In addition, they had long steam tables where workers ladled out hot food from large tureens and directed diners to large percolators of hot coffee and tea.

According to an article in the March 1942 National Geographic, Horn & Hardart east coast Automats served around 800,000 people per day with 72,000 pieces of pie sold daily. That’s a lot of pie!

Fast forward roughly 76 years, and the automation of food services is returning in the form of fast food robots and voice-activated systems.

In New Zealand, Domino’s Pizza is testing a three-foot high pod-like contraption on wheels that lets customers place orders using natural language. The Domino’s Robotic Unit (DRU) communicates via text or simulated voice. When making deliveries, it can carry and keep 10 pizzas warm. In a separate refrigerated compartment, it keeps drinks and ice-cream cool. Domino’s is marketing DRU as the “world’s first autonomous pizza delivery vehicle.”

A continent away, Café X in San Francisco is employing a one-armed robot to make coffee drinks. Customers place orders at self-service kiosks, which relays the information to the robot. When their order is ready, they’re sent a text with a pickup code and the hinged “hatch” where their drink is located. Only one worker is needed to refill coffee beans and advice customers on how to use the system.

Outside of the novelty of watching a robot prepare your cuppa’ joe, I’m doubtful the quality would be much better than today’s bean-to-cup coffee vending machines – like those by Seattle’s Best Coffee — that grind beans at the time of selection, and offer a breadth of options from coffee strength to types of creamers and flavorings.

Further south at CaliBurger in Pasadena, Flippy, also a one-armed robot is taking the drudgery out of making hamburgers by flipping patties and removing them from the grill. The robot can distinguish between using a spatula for raw meat and one for cooked meat. In addition, it can clean equipment and grill surfaces. With the amount of labor necessary to assemble a hamburger from grilling the bun to delicately placing sliced tomatoes, pickles and lettuce, and squeezing on sauces, it’s doubtful Flippy will be moving up the peeking order and replacing humans anytime soon.

Zipping back to San Francisco, Eatsa is on the cusp of bringing back the automat, whereby customers order, using their smartphone or iPad, and then retrieve their meal from a cubby with their name on it. While the restaurant doesn’t disclose how their food is prepared – by human or robot – their offerings are delectable, combining ethnic flavors with fresh and grilled vegetables, cooked grains and beans,  cheeses, proteins, and a breadth of sauces, toppings, and “crunchies, served in utilitarian white bowls for breakfast or lunch.

While there’s no denying automation and technology will play a greater role in tomorrow’s restaurants, rest assured, robots are a long way from being able to taste food and prepare complicated menus. For the near future, humans will continue making food for humans.