Berlin's Robotic Pub

Gallamine writes: "Take a trip to Berlin, and visit the Automaten Bar to have a drink served by a robot. This members-only bar is completely automated. While this may sound rather cool, the part I find disturbing is the fact that the owner plans on webcamming the security cameras so you can check on who's at the pub. The owner also wants to make it so you can have a SMS message sent to you when a particular person's entrance card is swiped by the system. I guess the idea is that you can get an e-mail to let you know that Bob is having a drink so you can stop by and chat. While it sounds like a bunch of baloney to me, it appears to be pretty popular in Berlin, as they've already got 130 members after 2 weeks without any advertising."

Comments

Re:hrm

[codetalker]

What can we say? There's nothing really

Depends on the bartender...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd buy a drink from her anytime 8-)

so..

[Beowulf_Boy]

What happens when you get to drunk?
Do you get kicked out by a robotic Bouncer?

Re:so..

[MrFredBloggs]

Dunno, but i`d be careful with hi-tech stuff in Germany - some guy got kicked to death there recently because his mobile phone ring tone anoyed someone. On the other hand, i can quite sympathize with his attacker...

Hi my name is Robo

[Sleeper]

I will be serving to you tonight. The mandatory 15% tip will be automatically deducted from off-shore bank account.

video interview with one of the creators

[Kraft]

I found an interview (German) with artist Gereon Schmitz, cocreator of Automaten bar. He also has a pretty interesting website (flash).

But no pictures of the bar!

Re:video interview with one of the creators

[RC514]

They do have a website (but it's quite minimalistic, no fotos). I also found this introductory text (use the fish). There you'll find some more info about the installations and links to the otherwise hidden membership applications on the Automatenbar website.

Re:video interview with one of the creators

[Zwendel]

So, nobody has pictures of this bar?
I'm curious what it looks like....

Re:video interview with one of the creators

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice link for the visomat page! I actually attended some of the hard:edged parties in the WMF club and enjoyed the visuals very much. It's a pity that they discontinued the hard:edged series in the WMF now (they were playing excellect drum'n'bass).
Relating to the Guardian article: In no way is Berlin the only German city where Techno went mainstream. It's more or less a nationwide phenomenon.

Only popular w/single people, I bet

[Brento]

I guess the idea is that you can get an e-mail to let you know that Bob is having a drink so you can stop by and chat.

Grrrreat. Just what I need, my girlfriend having the ability to get an SMS message on her phone whenever I violate my no-carb diet.

Re:Only popular w/single people, I bet

[jmccay]

That would be just the start. What's to stop bill collects from doing the same thing? What about stalkers and other crazy people?
I bet law inforcement will like it. If they need to track down someone who frequents the bar, they can just get an e-mail!
I bet insurance companies would love it too becuase what's to stop the owner from recording what people are drinking? If you get in an accident, they could just check up on you and see how many you had too drink.
If the information is being stored on what you drink, it could then be sold to Health insurance companies. The health insurance companies can then charge based on the good, and bad, practices you have on drinking. They could, and probably would, use it as a cost saver.

Re:Only popular w/single people, I bet

[Anne_Nonymous]

I don't know, but my Internet Refrigerator keeps begging me to take her there.

Bender

[FullClip]

If the bartender is as cool as Bender,
I think I might consider becoming a member :)

Re:Bender

[Chicane-UK]

Customer : I'd like a beer please.

Bender : Why dont you bite my shiny metal ass?

Customer : Erm, okay.. can you tell me where the phone is?

Bender : Its the one over there (points to suicide booth)

Etc :)

Re:Bender

[Heywood Yabuzof]

Or at the very least, iZac :-)

Without advertising????

[uberkuba]

C'mon its been on slashdot! I bet most of those 130 members have slashdot accounts :-)

Re:Without advertising????

[panthro]

It wasn't on Slashdot when the submission was written. :-P

Re:Without advertising????

[uberkuba]

My bad...
Someone should follow up on new members post slashdot posting :-)

Robotic Pubs?

[fleeb_fantastique]

We are Devo.

I find it sad to read that the owner of the bar feels the reason folks in Berlin might be going for the bar is because they're a future-going people... and the reason they're a future-going people is because their past has sucked so much.

Still, it looks like it would be fun to go to such a bar. I'd probably study the machinery (if it's interesting enough) and try to find bugs.

Whoa, wait a tic... 'bugs' in a bar!?

Never mind.

What about the drunks?

[cfulmer]

Hmm... So, in the US, there are all sorts of liability suits about things like "The bartender knew I was drunk, but he let me drive myself home anyway," and there's always the occasional bar fight to respond to. Don't know how they handle that in this bar. Or, how does the bartender respond to the suicidal guy whose wife just left him? Bartenders do a lot more than just serve drinks.

I wonder if they have electronic "Norm"s and "Cliff"s as well....

Re:What about the drunks?

[mirko]

They could have some breath-detector connected to their drink-pouring machines...
But you could still let a friend breath (and pay ;-) for you...

Re:What about the drunks?

[buzzbomb]

Actually, over in Europe, drunk driving doesn't happen anywhere near as much as it happens in the US. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe they just respect the law. Or perhaps their laws entail more than a slap on the wrist for that shit.

Any Germans care to elaborate?

Re:What about the drunks?

[Anonymous Coward]

It certainly has nothing to do with respecting the law.

Re:What about the drunks?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe it's because our roads are not wide enough for drunk driving...

Re:What about the drunks?

[entrox]

I dunno, but people consider it a problem here; especially youngsters, who after drinking at a disco, end up hugging the next tree.
This shows in the laws: you may have 0.5 per mill alcohol in your blood and after that you get punished.. badly (don't let this fool you: if you have an accident and you were under this limit then you are in deep trouble). A friend of mine lost his drivers license for 2 years + 2000eur charges. Not too shabby if you ask me (he had 1.65 per mill).

Re:What about the drunks?

[thenerd]

So, in the US, there are all sorts of liability suits about things like "The bartender knew I was drunk, but he let me drive myself home anyway,"

I think the main problem is that really, one shoudl be responsible for your actions. If you drove while you are drunk it is nobodies fault but yours. You are stupid to do it, and if you hurt someone, you deserve to be punished. It's a silly thing to do. The bartender can't possibly be able to accurately guage whether the 200 people in his bar are above the legal limit for the region, and planning to drive home. It is unreasonable.

thenerd.

Re:What about the drunks?

[rm-r]

I don't know about Germans, but any Brit who is caught drink-driving recevies an automatic ban of at least one year and has to take a much harder test afterward to regain their license. Anyone who causes an accident whilst drink-driving can expect up to ten years in nick, even more if someone dies and never see their license again. There has also been a consilidated push by government to over the last ten years to real bastardify drink-drivers (you should see the TV ads we get around Christmas, they get worse each year) so that drink-driving is simply no longer socially acceptable (a few years ago it was seen as ok to 'just have a couple' or 'have one for the road')

Police are allowed to stop any when they suspect of being drunk and breathalyse them, it is an offence to refuse a sample, anyone near the limit (which works out at about 1 litre of 5% ABV beer in an average sized man) is taken to the station for a blood test (if you refuse on religious grounds you get a urine test, but they hold you longer)

I heard that the US was a lot more lax, maybe that is why it has more of a problem there- any USians care to tell us what the rules are, is it State based or Federal?

Most people over here have no sympathy for drink-drivers and I think it is this unacceptability that has driven it down more than anything else.

Re:What about the drunks?

[mcubed]

I believe it's because they don't have quite the hang-ups about alcohol that you find here in the U.S. Of course, I'm speaking in gross generalities, but that's kind-of the only option you have when talking about national characteristics.

In France, certainly, it's quite common for children to be allowed a glass of wine at dinner, or at least wine mixed with water. Every Frenchie I know has told me they drank wine at home from age 10-12 (Note: I'm not reporting the finding of an official study!) and that there was nothing unusual about that. So you find fewer instances of 18-21-year-olds who take the first opportunity, and many subsequent opportunities, to go out and get blasted.

I don't know for sure that a similar attitude prevails in Germany; I've only been to Berlin once, for a week. They do love their beer!

Re:What about the drunks?

[simon_cockle]

*members only*, you probably waive your rights etc. when you join

Re:What about the drunks?

[radish]

All true, but I think the real difference is the legal culture. If I got arrested for drink driving after leaving my local, the last thing I'd think of doing would be too sue the barman. The british culture is one of "responsibility for your own actions", rather than the US one which is all too often "find someone else to blame".

Re:What about the drunks?

[grungie]

Replace wine with "beer and wine" in your post and you have my Belgian story.

True, simply saying "don't" or "it's the law" is no sensible education. My parents did not get me drunk or make me an alcoholic by pouring me some wine or beer when I was 10 or 11. Now this must probably horrify most Americans but at least, not many EU teens drink themselves to death during weekends just because it is illegal and therefore sounds attractive.

I didn't know that drink-driving was so common / well-tolerated in the US but here it will cost you quite a lot, including your license. Many people, however, occasionally drive themselves back home slightly above the 0.5 limit (after a good meal or something) but they know they risk a lot and usually feel guilty about it.

Re:What about the drunks?

[Kierthos]

Well, here in the U.S. (or at least in South Carolina) the cops can still pull you over for pretty much any reason they can think of, and the breathalyser test is used frequently, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. The penalties, from what I understand (never been charged with a DUI) are not as severe. A drunk driver can "get away" with a few points being shaved off of his license (which translates to higher insurance rates). Or he could have the book thrown at him. It all depends on the judge presiding over the case and who the defendant knows.

Thing is, there are cases reported fairly regularly about drivers who have been busted numerous times for drunk driving, lost their licenses, kept drinking and driving, continue to get busted even more, serve little to no time, continue drinking and driving and eventually kill someone. The U.S. judicial system needs a severe overhaul, IMAO, for anything to be done. Of course, the U.S. population is much higher then any one European country AND I think we have a much worse drinking problem.

What we need is a good Orwellian system to keep drunk drivers under control.

Kierthos

Re:What about the drunks?

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, the U.S. population is much higher then any one European country

Even more so is the area of the U.S., leading to the conlusion that U.S. drunk drivers are less likely to hit someone/something.

Re:What about the drunks?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's moron based. Our brunk driving laws are formed so that the morons aren't offended.

All I know is that I like what I just read - the US should have such good policies. And fine the pants off those caught drinking and driving, it might help our national finances to boot!

Re:What about the drunks?

[SubtleNuance]

So, in the US, there are all sorts of liability suits about things like

In other parts of the world, ones with less conservative puritan moralizing, people arent committing a crime just by being drunk. Further, they are responsible for themselves, and have no Plutocratic Judicial system setting up Lawyers-R-Us liability free-for-alls.

Think about it.

Re:What about the drunks?

[monkeywez]

Nitpicky I know, but I think the limit works out to be more like 500ml (just less than a pint) of 5%ABV beer (e.g. Kronenbourg, Stella).

Re:What about the drunks?

[remande]

In the US, bartending requires a license, which requires training. Patrons are fully responsible for their actions (if one gets pulled over for drunk driving, they can't pass the buck to the bar), but the bar and the bartender are at least partially responsible for making sure that inebriated patrons don't get behind the wheel.

That is to say, if somebody gets sloshed at a bar and then T-bones you on the street, you can file two different lawsuits. You can sue the driver, who is fully responsible for driving drunk. You can also sue the bar if they didn't take reasonable precautions to prevent it (like offering to call a cab, asking for the keys, etc.). The bar can't keep you from driving drunk, but it has to put some effort into trying.

So under US alcohol law, drinkers are fully responsible for their actions. The bartenders are responsible for their actions as well; the act of serving drinks.

Re:What about the drunks?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sadly you're right the US is more lax...I think the fact that in most places in the US you can't possible make a living without a car (public transportation is not always available nor are cabs) has made people very jumpy about life bans on drivers licenses. We are just too spread out and have too much land to cost effectively cover without vehicles.

That coupled with the fact that we don't have federal laws regarding this (not necessarily a bad thing) means that in any given state/county the law may be lax or strict.

It has become much better in recent years and it is no longer socially acceptable in most places but we are not where we should be given the consequences of the action.

Re:What about the drunks?

[mcubed]

True, simply saying "don't" or "it's the law" is no sensible education.

I wish more U.S. parents would take that to heart. But this is the land of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. Although we've made some strides in some quarters, that simple-minded mentality is still what passes for alcohol and drug 'education' in some quarters of this country.

Replace wine with "beer and wine" in your post and you have my Belgian story.

Wait ... are you saying Belgium is a separate country from France?? :-)

Re:What about the drunks?

[Kefabi]

I heard that the US was a lot more lax, maybe that is why it has more of a problem there- any USians care to tell us what the rules are, is it State based or Federal?

Reminds me of something. I was riding the bus in Santa Barbara, CA once (car broke down, and I'm a poor college student) and I over heard some guy talking about why he was riding the bus. He lost his licence. He had just gotten off probation after having been on probation for over 20 years, and had gotten 14 DUI (driving under the influence) over that time period. Granted, drinking laws in the 1970's were pretty lax compared to now (he had gotten most the 14 in the 1970's and 1980's) but that right there is a huge difference from what you describe as the average Brit's experience.

Re:What about the drunks?

[SubtleNuance]

So, in the US, there are all sorts of liability suits about things like


In other parts of the world, ones with less conservative puritan moralizing, people arent committing a crime just by being drunk. Further, they are responsible for themselves, and have no Plutocratic Judicial system setting up Lawyers-R-US liability free-for-alls.

Think about it.

note to troll moderators: its only karma, and ive got lots.

Re:What about the drunks?

[mr qix]

The German drinking age is 16.

IMHO, the reason that Europeans have lower drinking ages and fewer drinking problems is because :
a. America = founded by Puritans... the Puritanical attitude still prevails.
b. Americans started actually producing wine in large quantities for sale in the mid 1900's (correct me if i'm wrong)... in Europe, wine, beer, and spirit-making has been a part of the culture for millenia.
c. AFAIK, the prevailing attitude among European parents and schools is to be very open about subjects that would be taboo in the US. I was watching French news the other day and I saw French teenagers discussing AIDS with their teacher, and mentioning oral sex in graphic terms. This would be very rare in the US. In the US, parents and teachers are more likely to try and hide things from kids, rather than bring them out in the open.
d. In Europe, as previous posters have mentioned, it's accepted for young kids to drink (sometimes watered-down) beer or wine with dinner. Since kids need to find out about alcohol by experience, and the US kids don't get the experience at home, they have to experiment to find out how much is too much. Not a recipe for success ;)

Re:What about the drunks?

[markmoss]

Thing is, there are cases reported fairly regularly about drivers who have been busted numerous times for drunk driving, lost their licenses, kept drinking and driving, continue to get busted even more, serve little to no time, continue drinking and driving and eventually kill someone.

For instance, if the drunk's last name is Bush...

Re:What about the drunks?

[markmoss]

You may be right about wine-making getting a very late start in America. Distilled liquor was an early American product -- there was even a small rebellion against the federal gov't in the 1790's because of a tax on distilled spirits. The basic issue was that with dirt roads and all, farmers living more than a few miles from the cities couldn't get their grain to market. But turn that grain into whiskey, and it was worth shipping out even through terrain that only pack-mules could handle. This was gradually eased by roadbuilding, the acquisition of Louisiana (giving the Ohio and Tennessee valleys the option of simply rafting their produce down to New Orleans), and railroads, but by the time most farmers could ship grain economically, there was quite an American tradition of distilling whiskey and drinking too much of it, and not much tradition concerning weaker stuff.

Re:What about the drunks?

[Aexia]

In Washington state, at least, it's illegal to serve alcohol to anyone's who's obviously drunk.

How do you...

[C0vardeAn0nim0]

argue with the bartender if the drink you ordered doesn't come the way you wanted ?

or is the robot code opensource so you can hack it and teach it how to make it right or how to make something it doesn't know like caipirinha ?

Re:How do you...

[Anonymous Coward]

you have to submit a patch

Carefull what you order

[Andy.T.BOFH]

Cant quite be sure what you'd get if you ordered a screwdriver ;-)

Re:Carefull what you order

[Anonymous Coward]

Mustn't forget the sledge hammer, antifreeze, rusty nail, or oil slick.

Re:Carefull what you order

[Andy.T.BOFH]

Given the nature of this article, do you recon I could get 5 pints rather than 5 points?

SMS message

[morie]

I would really like to decide for myself to whom I send an SMS message saying that I'm in a specific bar...

Re:SMS message

[Anonymous Coward]

Just think about it for a second you retard. It'll probably be something like in IM clients, where you only get alerted to someone going in the bar (or online) if you add a person to your "Buddies", and you can only do that if you know their membership number.

Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[Brento]

This is the perfect application for Ellison's national ID card. With one swipe, your age would be verified, your bar tab put on your credit card, your friends would be notified, and the government would know if you were hanging out at the same watering hole as known terrorists.

Why is it that when Ellison pushes stuff like this, everybody screams invasion of privacy, but when a German bar owner does it, the rabid /. paranoia doesn't show up?

Re:Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[jezreel]

I'd prefer a place of which I KNOW is monitored and accessible through web rather than any place of which I DO NOT KNOW wether it's weird-wired or else

Re:Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[lllama]

The convenience offered by an I.D. card is too great to ignore. This is the ideal application, the card can verify your age to buy drinks, and could be used to stop you driving your car after a heavy night out boozing.

As ever the real problem doesn't lie in whether or not there exists a record of you being somewhere at somewhen but who can get at that information and how easily.

Given the strong feelings against the collection of this data any government that allows easy access (or, heaven forbid, sells) to the data will be thrown out on their ear.

It's important to remember that there will have to be human interaction at some point. No robot will come and arrest you. Think face matching in casinos. The computers just bring suspects to the attention of operators, who then make the decision. Provided that a human makes the final choice on what action to follow there should be cause for complaint.

Re:Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[Maran]

"Why is it that when Ellison pushes stuff like this, everybody screams invasion of privacy, but when a German bar owner does it, the rabid /. paranoia doesn't show up?"

Dude, it's beer, so privacy doesn't matter. Everyone's too busy thinking of ways to hack it to get more beer, or to not pay for beer. That, or wondering if they could make a beowulf cluster of beer taps in order to perform distributed inebriation.

Maybe that's how the government'll get us to stop fighting ID cards - "Free beer for slashdotters carrying ID cards" outside every bar ^_^

Maran

Re:Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[juggler314]

I think it's got something to do with no bill of rights over there!

Re:Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[pubjames]

Why is it that when Ellison pushes stuff like this, everybody screams invasion of privacy, but when a German bar owner does it, the rabid /. paranoia doesn't show up?

Because it is completely different, that's why.

This is a trendy bar, that people who like tech can go to, and the bar owners use tech in a cool way. Nothing to be paranoid about. What Ellison is proposing however...

Re:Larry Ellison pops up at any moment

[BELG]

How about that you can decide not to visit the bar, but would be forced to resign your citizenship to get away from the ID card privacy issues?

You're comparing a hamster to Darth Vader here.

Robotics

[Maran]

So, we've got the robotic DAT changer and the robotic bar. The DAT changer was probably much more fun to engineer, but I know which wins the "post-creation fun" contest.

Maran

Nation vs bar

[DaveMe]

Sometimes its easy to forget it, but in reality(tm) a nation is quite different from a bar.

Re:Nation vs bar

[Halloween Jack]

More's the pity.

Cynthia's Cyberbar in London

[twoshortplanks]

Has had a robot bartender for years...

http://www.cynbar.co.uk/

The robot was rather clunky and took ages to serve drinks...nothing at all like the nimble robots out of Short Circuit that mixed drinks. Also, it was all very 'mix this and mix this.' None of the cool presentation you get from a decent bartender. The worst thing is that they have to have a human to take your money anyhow (something to do with not having automated alchol serving machines by law IIRC).

Don't really like the place myself...when I went in about a year back it was all covered in mirrors and hady the most tacky decor. The Anchor nearby is a much better pub, with real beer, seats by the river for the summer and warm fire in the winter in a classic hundred+ year old english pub.

Re:Cynthia's Cyberbar in London

[chiddiscokid]

we were not even allowed to key in the order and after the second drink the robot broke down.

Also, the control screen in the back room had a bluish tint to it but I'm sure that was just coincidence :-)

(and I agree, the Anchor is definitely better)

Re:Cynthia's Cyberbar in London

[dipfan]

Cynthia's was awful, stainless steel everywhere. The "drink-bot" was always broken. Is it still going? Always full of drunk suits I recall. Actually, I was one of them, once.

Bah, The Anchor's rubbish, for tourists (although OK in summer sitting outside). Now, the Globe just under the rail tracks in Borough Market, there's a decent pint poured there. That's the pub that Bridget Jones "lived" upstairs from in the movie... and where Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was filmed.

Sorry for going off-topic...

Re:Cynthia's Cyberbar in London

[nunoalves]

Man... But the idea itself is great! Imagine a bar full of high tech robots walking around left and right serving drinks, washing the cups and just chilling there watching TV. Let me tell you this... If you put one bar like that here in Boston, you will make so much money that you will retire in one year.
:)
Rock on,

Bartenders

[jezreel]

They use to make you pay more for a drink than the usual price... Especially when you're on vacation in a foreign speaking country. Or when you're drunk.... err ... or can't read ... mhh.. both?

This is great...

[AccUser]

If you're single. Now your wife will know that you are in the pub, because she was emailed when you entered. :-)

what happens when it crashes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wonder how long before some person decides to see if they can crash the robot...

Breathe Into My Ear...

[heretic108]

... purred the synthesised female voice of the sexy-looking robot.
The patron willingly obliges.
The robot's voice loses its seductive charm and, growing sterner and less human, intones:
"Blood... alcohol... levels... excessive... no... more... alcohol... for... seventy... three... minutes..."

Re:WinXP is shit! I'm so e1ee7 I use Linuks!

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone please mod this prick down before tens of thousands of people injure their mouse wheel fingers!

Timothy, get that compulsive knee jerking seen to

[Rogerborg]

• the part I find disturbing is the fact that the owner plans on webcamming the security cameras so you can check on who's at the pub

You do know what "pub" is an abbreviation of, right? Public house.

I'll (selectively but honestly) pick one definition of public:

• Open to the knowledge or judgment of all

Get a clue, get a life, get a job, get a haircut, whatever. But do yourself a favour and don't write single sentences that highlight that you're either trolling or a moron. Although I concede, that's not necessarily an "or" proposition.

Re:hrm

[Anonymous Coward]

because only no-members can enter *this club

Dry bar?

[Britney]

How does anyone get a drink without breaking the laws of robotics?

• A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
• A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
• 
  
  From Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in I, Robot. In Robots and Empire (ch. 63), the "Zeroth Law" is extrapolated, and the other Three Laws modified accordingly:
  
  A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

Re:Dry bar?

[Drakin]

Easy. Forgo the use of a positronic brain. Or, alternatively, use the variety of robots that have a weakened first law. I beleive there was one story that mentioned that being done, in secret because the robots were interupting work done by humans in a radiation high envitoment that could be harmful.

But can it pour a Guinness ??

[macarthy]

... Irish concerns

Re:But can it pour a Guinness ??

[TheConfusedOne]

Hmmm, the AI Robotic bartending "pouring test" eh?

Re:But can it pour a Guinness ??

[rm-r]

needs to be able to draw the clover in the top as well, not easy...

Cynthia's Cyber Bar

[Anonymous Coward]

There's been a robotic bar tender at Cynthia's Cyber Bar on Tooley Street under London Bridge for a couple of years now.

This is cool, not "disturbing"!

[pubjames]

While this may sound rather cool, the part I find disturbing is the fact that the owner plans on webcamming the security cameras so you can check on who's at the pub.

Is this a site for nerds or what? This bar owner is doing something cool with technology, and the main point you make is that you find it disturbing? What is there to be paranoid about? Really?? I can't think of a reason to find this disturbing. Please explain...

Re:This is cool, not "disturbing"!

[Anonymous Coward]

My boss checks out the webcam. Sees me having a brew while contemplating a solution to a bug. To him it looks like I am drinking instead of 'working hard'. Any time someone can watch you without your knowing, and without being present, in a private place, it is not exactly comforting.

Re:This is cool, not "disturbing"!

[Anonymous Coward]

Pubs arn't private, pub is short for public house. And if I was your boss I couldn't give a monkeys if you have a drink during your lunch hour, we don't have your dumb alchol hang ups on this continent thank you.

Re:This is cool, not "disturbing"!

[radish]

"Without your knowing" - except you know the bar has webcams, so if you were trying to hide you'd have to be pretty dumb to be there.

"private place" - errr....pub?(lic)

"without being present" - so it's OK if the bar has windows and he walks past and sees you?

Re:This is cool, not "disturbing"!

[PW2]

Local police make link to the site; revenue increases;

Re:This is cool, not "disturbing"!

[jellybear]

In addition, though, I think that *you* should receive an e-mail notifying you that someone else put you on *their* notify list. It's only fair. Reciprocity has to be programmed in, to preserve mutually-pleasing social relationships.

Re:hrm

[Anonymous Coward]

well, let's see..
perhaps you posted first.

and the best thing about a robot bartender...

[rapid prototype]

... you don't have to leave a tip.

-rp

Education

[aepervius]

I can't speak for all the French, but I was educated by my parents on what is alcohol, why adult like to drink it, why it is sometimes bad (driving), why abusing is bad etc... Then they let me drink under their supervisory like other adult in my family a milimetter of red wine with many centimeter of water. Education and explanation is the snag. They did the same with cigarette,drug, and yes when I was very young (but too late), on sex. Now the very few US friend I know personally (2) told me about the same things : they werent educated, they were told *not to*. Which is the best way to force a teenie to "try" sometimes. It isn't probably a majority of parents doing so (2 aren't a statistic). But it can be clearly an indication. Now I am not sure we in Europa drive less drunk. How many death per million people is there each year due to drunk driving ? Anybody a statistic for US and europa ?

What's next.....

[darketernal]

robotic bar prostitutes?
I mean, they've already synthesized skin, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

*remembers A.I. and that electronic gigolo*

Re:Timothy, get that compulsive knee jerking seen

[rm-r]

But if the public can go there then it shall be open to the knowledge or judgement of the public fuckcandle. What you don't appreciate is that over here in Europe we have far more protection of our personal data. The bar would not be able to sell your information to Budweiser so they can txt you everytime you enter the place with an advert, only other members of the bar, and if you find this so offensive they are forced to allow you to opt out- in fact it is becoming common practice to force people to opt in rather than opt out.

No tipping required!!

[JJ]

This alone will cut back on my costs.

Everyone should believe in something . . .
I believe I'll have another drink.

A good thing!

[Little Dave]

I based my complete lack of effort at school on a firm believe that by the year 2000, when I was of a working age, it was a sure-fire certainty that all the menial tasks would be performed by a slave race of sentient robots. This would leave us free to persue a hedonistic lifestyle of art, poetry and free love!

I had been a little disappointed to find that 2000 arrived and this utopia was nowhere in sight... but now, I'm re-energised with hope! Where's my toga?? I'm off to hand in my resignation!

Robots compteting for "food"

[Alien54]

I am going to be self serving this morning. This was posted early this morning over on Radio Free Nation.:

The BBC is reporting a sort of experiment with robots, where robots are being let loose in a colony of machines in an attempt to find out whether they can learn from their experiences. The Living Robots Experiment will be open to the public from 27 March at the Magna Science Adventure Center in Rotherham in England. The scientists behind this unusual experiment describe it as an evolutionary arms race for robots. The robots have one goal - to obtain enough energy to survive and breed. The "prey" robots find their food from light sensors within the arena, while the robot predators feed off prey by stalking and chasing them before sucking away their power. 'Living Robots' is a world-first experiment into artificial evolution." huge amount of info at the Living Robots link

yeh, and there is an electronic form of genetics too. Links on the RFN site in the story

Now to get some coffee

Player Piano

[Myran]

This sounds like the setup Kurt Vonnegut had in Player Piano. Most bars had robots in them, but those were always empty, because no one wanted to talk to a robot about their problems.

Re:Player Piano

[cheesebot]

exactly, one of the main reasons to visit the pub is your friendly chatty bartender.

and do they do buy-backs? (i.e. freebies)

And when the bar loosing money

[lexcyber]

They can sell the info who is drinking what and how much
for unsolicitaed alchohol spam. What a wonderful
idea!

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU MIGHT ALREADY BE AN ALCOHOLIC! HAVE YOU TRIED OUR BE SOBER IN THREE DAYS PROGRAM!!! ONLY $9.99

Wouldnt you just love that? =)

mailto::recruitment@automaten.com

[Andy.T.BOFH]

Will barter backups for beer.

Nothing new

[Lord Hugh Toppingham]

Cynthia's Cyber bar in London's Tooley Street has has this for a long time.

Plus on Tuesday nights you can see top UK Garage DJs and MCs 'So Solid Crew' perform their unique style of Garage music. A bullet-proof vest may come in handy...

Cams in bars...

[UM_Maverick]

Depending on the bar, cams can be a fun addition...at The Rack in Boston, they have webcams all over the place, and you can control them online...www.therack.com

I guess when your clientele is as attractive as the people who frequent that place on a friday/saturday night, it can't hurt to make views of the place available online...

Re:Cams in bars...

[lordkuri]

hey all.... how about the right link

Re:Cams in bars...

[plimsoll]

Remote Lounge on Bowery in Manhattan is webcammed to the hilt. Went there the day after it opened with some work friends and had a blast.

There are easily 200 or more cameras in here, most are controllable by patrons from their tabletop consoles. You can even save as many as you like for later consideration on their website.

But yeah, not the best place to commit adultery.

Re:Cams in bars...

[UM_Maverick]

doh...my bad...I was a little paranoid about checking the link here at work...they're watching, you know!

thanks for the correction!

Re:Cams in bars...

[lordkuri]

heh... the sad thing is... I posted that *while* I was at work =)

Gallamine probably thinks

[Scratch-O-Matic]

that it's "disturbing" when the camera pans the crowd during a sporting event. An invasion of privacy! Especially when they zoom in on some hot babe.

Perhaps he hasn't witnessed this peculiar behavior, which may or may not be uniquely American: when a camera is present, everybody crowds around it and raises their drink like a trophy. If they could, they would probably email everyone they knew: "Hey, I was just on camera! Turn to channel 7 or go to www.robotbar.com!."

Now its all done automatically.

So how does one become a member?

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in Berlin and just heard about this now. Where do you become a member? :)

Cocktails

[nick255]

Yes, but will it make me a Pan Galactic Gargleblaster?

Re:Cocktails

[Anonymous Coward]

But will the whole bar breakdown if you ask it to make tea?

Drink Driving in America

[ArsSineArtificio]

The federal government (theoretically) has no power to enact drunken-driving laws. (Typically called DUI or DWI - "driving under the influence" or "driving while intoxicated".)

The states all have their own legal standards, which are generally 0.08-0.10 percent blood alcohol levels. Each has its own varying penalties for DUI, multiple offenses, compounded by actually killing someone, etc.

Alcohol consumption is, in the aggregate, less socially acceptable than in the UK; actual drunk drivers are on a social plane more or less with Taliban John.

Drunk driving is more of a problem in the US largely because virtually nobody lives within walking distance of a liquor establishment.

Re:Drink Driving in America

[skajohan]

Drunk driving is more of a problem in the US largely because virtually nobody lives within walking distance of a liquor establishment.

Bullshit, it's a cultural thing. There are such things as public transportations, taxis and designated drivers, you know.

Re:Drink Driving in America

[ArsSineArtificio]

> Drunk driving is more of a problem in the US
> largely because virtually nobody lives within
> walking distance of a liquor establishment.

Bullshit, it's a cultural thing. There are such things as public transportations, taxis and designated drivers, you know.

I'd be fascinated to hear what you thought public transportation, taxis, and designated drivers had to do with "walking distance". I'm talking about people living half a block from a pub.

Re:Drink Driving in America

[markmoss]

Public transportation in most American cities shuts down long before the bars do, and isn't all that safe to ride when you're staggering and looking like mugger meat -- and where most slashdotters live (outside the cities) generally either buses don't exist or they're back in the garage around 6 PM. Taxis cost too much -- the driver has to make a living after paying for gas, car payments, and repairs, cleaning up after drunks who barfed in the cab, paying sky-high insurance, etc. Designated drivers aren't always available or trustworthy... So too damned often the drunk winds up attempting to drive himself home.

The legal climate is close to what was described for the UK, only the actual legal penalties normally assessed are quite a lot less. E.g., a guy I knew about 20 years ago got drunk and crashed his car, while his license was suspended due to previous drunk driving convictions. He slept in the county jail and picked up trash along the roadsides for six months, but that was all. He wasn't kicked out of the Air Force or even busted in rank, although I think his brother in law the congressman had something to do with that. Surprisingly, he did learn from this -- at subsequent squadron parties, he stayed at the soft-drink end of the bar.

The penalties now are stiffer, but nowhere near 10 years unless you kill someone, and even then you are probably going to get paroled early to make room for some really "dangerous" prisoner like a marijuana user... Do Brits actually spend 10 years in prison for drunk-driving accidents? I had the impression that -- same as here -- most _murderers_ get paroled in less.

Re:Drink Driving in America

[skajohan]

Duh, my point is that you don't have to drive home drunk just because you can't walk home. If you can walk to the pub, fine. If you can't walk, that's when taxis, public transportation and designated drivers come into the picture. That's why I'm saying the culture is the problem, not the average distance to the pub.

Re:Timothy, get that compulsive knee jerking seen

[Spunk]

Although I concede, that's not necessarily an "or" proposition.

No no no, it is necessarily an "or" proposition. Just not necessarily an xor one.

Heres a novel solution...

[Captain_Frisk]

If you're single. Now your wife will know that you are in the pub, because she was emailed when you entered. :-)

Or you could just tell your wife that you're going to the bar. She's your wife, she has the right to know these things.... you'd want to know if she was out at a bar right?

Out of the closet

[Zwendel]

"C'mon loverboy, you can come out of the closet now! My husband isn't comming home, he just entered his favorite pub and I hacked the bartender so he'll spice up his drinks...."

Yeah, right!

Heaven

[koekepeer]

This *must* be heaven for Applianthologists, they don't have to go back into the closet after all ;-)

Plus: they are German! A lot of the really cute ones are from there...

Aber beflecke nicht das sofa, sofa...

(This is a test: any Zappa fans on /. ?)

State-based

[gila_monster]

Each of the fifty states has its own rules for licensing of drivers and vehicles, although the federal government forces states to honor licenses from other states. (Same for marriages. And it's easier to get married than to get licensed to drive where I live. :)

Each state also has its own legislation for maximum speeds, school zones, rules-o-da-road, and drunk driving definitions. Most states (possibly all, I'm not sure) have a limit on blood alcohol content (BAC) of no more than 0.1. My state uses 0.08, and a few are even lower, or trying to get lower, which would put them on par with the British limits. There are no federal regulations on this, but if the feds decide they want something done, they make it "voluntary" but withhold funding for other projects from non-compliant states unless a certain percentage of all states comply. (This has caused a lot of arguments on states' rights.)

The penalties are not as severe as the British penalties in any state with which I'm familiar. There's also some variance among localities as to how diligently the police enforce such things.

Re:State-based

[Andy Dodd]

Good point w.r.t the powers of federal government. The Feds have no influence whatsoever on drinking aged and speed limits, but it's amazing the power little green pieces of paper and their electronic brethren have... The reason the legal drinking age is 21 in *every* state in the US is not because the government passed a nationwide law, but because the government withheld highway maintenance funds from all states that didn't comply.

Penalties, etc. for drunk driving vary a lot, but they're getting much stricter very quickly these days. Laws are definately stricter in the Northeast than in the South or Southwest. Most Northeastern states (NY, NJ, PA, etc.) have "open container" laws - There are stiff penalties for even having an open container of alcohol in your vehicle, even if you're not the one drinking. (i.e. you can get heavily fined and jail time is a possibility if your passengers are drinking and you're dead sober.)

On the other hand, according to a friend that went to Rice University in Houston, "open container" laws are a completely alien concept in Texas, where a bunch of college students can sit in the back of a moving pickup (illegal in the Northeast in and of itself) and drink to their heart's content.

Re:State-based

[gila_monster]

"On the other hand, according to a friend that went to Rice University in Houston, "open container" laws are a completely alien concept in Texas, where a bunch of college students can sit in the back of a moving pickup (illegal in the Northeast in and of itself) and drink to their heart's content."

In that case, the open container is the pickup itself.

Re:State-based

[markmoss]

Depends where you are in Texas. Deaf Smith county (west of Lubbock) is dry (Prohibition still in effect by county law), or at least it was when I was in the Air Force near there 1978-1987. That is, the cops saw you with a drink, in or out of a car, it could be an instant bust. OTOH, _someone_ was selling the booze, and I wouldn't have been surprised to find out it was a close relative of the sheriff...

Re:Robots competing for "food"

[Alien54]

God bless SlashHosting.com of course the Server went down hard at the worst time

so here are the links

BBC News story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid _1 801000/1801985.stm

Magna science adventure centre
http://www.magnatrust.org.uk/

Robotic Center with the good info
http://magna.livewwware.com/acg/acgsmg01.dll/gen /t /robotics/ptxt/robot/ptxt2/000000

From the conspiracy theory dept.

[jargoone]

the part I find disturbing

Shut up. You said yourself that it's members only. They know exactly what they're getting into. The cameras aren't on street corners.

German techno-waitresses...

[Junior J. Junior III]

All have hi-tech scientific calculators that they use to tabulate your bill. And when they greet you, in stead of saying, "Hi, I'm __________, and I'll be your waitress," they say, "I'm the operator of my pocket calculator," and then they start beeping and stuff.

Before Anyone Goes Paranoid Berzerk

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a members only bar. The front page blurb had a slant of "Why would anyone submit to web-cams and @ann's whey they walk in the door?" I just had to rush to yell that it is members only. I'm sure none of this is opened to the public at large, just you and 129 of your (not-so) closest of friends.

Sorry about the anon post, didn't feel like looking up my password.

-Travis

MOD PARENT UP!!

[lucius]

That is *really* clever

Webcamming not bad

[cybercuzco]

I wish that more security cameras were webcammed. Who says that only the police shoudl be allowed to know whats going on? What if theres a brutal police beating and the police just "happen" t o lose the video tape? I think corruption among law enforcement officers would be greatly reduced if every security camera were webcammed. What if that quick-e-mart clerk is taking hotdogs off the floor and selling them? webcam his ass. The only way that public cameras dont violate any rights is if they are truly public and available to everyone, not a select few.

Re:Webcamming not bad

[noahm]

I wish that more security cameras were webcammed. Who says that only the police shoudl be allowed to know whats going on? What if theres a brutal police beating and the police just "happen" t o lose the video tape? I think corruption among law enforcement officers would be greatly reduced if every security camera were webcammed.

This is absolutely correct, and a very important thing to consider. People don't realize that their every move is on some camera somewhere. By making the output from these cameras available, people can see what others are seeing. They are more aware of the fact that they're on camera.

For a much more articulate description of why this is a good thing, please read David Brin's The Transparent Society. A good exerpt can be found at wired.com.

noah

You'll love it, it's a way of life

[BCoates]

At least two

What do you tip the bot?

[Zenjive]

silicon? industrial lubricant?

Pointless

[Pope]

Unless the robots look like Buffybot or Aprilbot, what's the appeal? I can't make rude remarks about the waitresses to my mates if they're all stainless steel and endoskeletons!

Ah well, thank goodness there's always the local pub for brew and browsing! ;)

Duh....

[Xiver]

Hey looks Bob's at the pub. Lets rob his house.

Re:Timothy, get that compulsive knee jerking seen

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you realize that the Automatenbar is not a public place, strictly speaking? It's a members only club. The word "pub" is used in a more beverage-related way.

Re:Timothy, get that compulsive knee jerking seen

[dilger]

Sigh. That wasn't Timothy's comment, it was from the poster. That's what the italics mean.

Apparently that error is worth mod points. Go figure.

cbd.

A log of how much time a person spent there...

[Anonymous Coward]

Will be helpful to the police when the town drunk mows down a pedestrian on the way home.

Town Drunk: "No Officer, I wasn't there long enough to get smashed"

Officer: "Well the bars card swipe logs say you were there 6 hours, and purchased $183 in vodka and pretzels"

Und now is de time...

[Graff]

I can see it now:

Und now is de time on Sprockets ven ve dance!

Thank you Mike Myers and Saturday Night Live...

like IRC, but real

[zaf]

complete with bots; only, by bringing drinks, they're actually useful!

don't be fooled

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't be fooled SMS and email notification is for Bob's wife, not for his buddies. =)

A place where everyone knows your number

[Anonymous Coward]

"Good evening, everybody."

[In unison] "0xDEADBEEF!"

Re:Timothy, get that compulsive knee jerking seen

[Pxtl]

well, they couldn't very well call it a privy, now could they?

What is it, whaddayagonnagive me?

[koekepeer]

it looks just like a telefunken U-47

:-)

This could be the first good Slashdotting

[satsuke]

at the physical bar anyway.

Oh the extreme problems a new business must face. Having more business than they know what to do with.

Given the amount of markup on alcohol, they'd make a mint off of just a few weeks of thirsty Berliners wanting they're drinks made automatically.

.. though i'd imagine the common practice here of making very heavy drinks won't occur .. 1oz is 1oz

What's wrong with webcams?

[Restil]

Are we so damn privacy concious that the very thought of stepping in front of a camera violates some deep rooted right? Its simple. There are cameras in there. Everyone in the world can watch them. If thats a problem......

DON'T GO IN THERE!!!!!!!

This would be like telling someone who's about to go on a game show that it will be televised, and having that person balk. Oh no... I thought it was just the hundreds of people in the audience watching. Didn't know there would be a CAMERA for the live televised show.

I've got webcams in my house. I tell anyone who walks in here that only the entire world can watch them. While some seem a bit aprehensive about it at first (and more so when the lights are constantly going on and off), they can at least accept it. I've thought about putting a huge notice by the doorbell that by ringing that bell they provide permission to be broadcast to the world (which they are the moment the doorbell is pressed when the camera in the front door takes a picture)

As with my house, as with the bar, you know the cameras are there. You know that people might get IM'ed if you swipe your card. Your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/boss/annoying best friend/dog will know you're going into that bar. Consider this fact carefully before entering. But don't get disturbed by it. There are for more serious issues in this world than that.

-Restil

Re:What's wrong with webcams?

[ekrout]

So damn privacy conscious? Since when is privacy so underrated?

As I type, the federal government is probably passing yet another post-9/11 "anti-terrorist" law which will most likely serve to take away the average citizens' privacy while doing nothing to make the country a safer place.

So, yes, privacy is important to many people. And these days, once you step over a certain "line" of privacy infringement, you can't go back.

It's entirely fine with me if you feel that you need to broadcast video and sound of yourself as you walk around your house, but please understand that others may not share your viewpoint.

Re:What's wrong with webcams?

[Restil]

And all of that is fine. Regardless, if I want to broadcast to the world in my house or my place of business, then that is my choice and I hardly see why its "disturbing" to the rest of the public when they are under no obligation to participate.

-Restil

Re:What's wrong with webcams?

[ekrout]

Deciding to click on over to your site to watch you sit around the house is one thing. But being forced to be in YOUR place in front of all of the cams is where there's a problem.

Re:What's wrong with webcams?

[Restil]

Who's forcing anyone to be in my place? Nobody is forced to enter my house, just as nobody is forced to go in that bar.

-Restil

Re:What's wrong with webcams?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll agree that _today_ no one is forced to be under observation since it's just some trendy club or a few geekazoids doing it, you know kinda like those few goofballs in accounting using something called doors or windows on their computers. Like THAT crap will ever take off! Uh wait a minute that was five years ago and now it's a WORLDWIDE STANDARD. Wake up McFly! The actions you and I (all humans collectively)are taking right now are very critical in setting the course of the future. You may think I'm just one little guy, what can I do, but you are rresponsible for changing much more than you will ever know. Just something to think about.

I Don't Think So

[Halloween Jack]

From the article:

When I dropped by this week, my bottle of beer was served by a robotic arm that fetched it off a revolving platform inside the vending machine. And when I had finished with it, I put it on a conveyor belt and pressed a button. The conveyor belt jerked to life and carried the bottle unsteadily out of sight.

I'm going to go all the way to Berlin to drink bottled beer? Don't think so... I can stay in Memphis and drink St. Pauli Girl if that's what I'm into. The only person this would really appeal to is the protagonist from Memento, if you remember what happened to him in that bar.

human or mechanical

[K7001]

A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory.

Robotic Waitresses? Gimme the real thing!

[heyitsme]

Hmm, robots for barmaids? I guess that puts hitting on the waitress out of the question... unless you are into that robo-eroticism.

heyitsme

robot portions???

[i7dude]

this sounds cool...well at least the webcam part, face it cameras in bars just make for excellent comedy!!! anybody concerned about privacy in a bar should have their head examed.

what concernes me is the robots, being served by one is just fine if i order a pint...but what about the occasion when i fancy a drink. if im a regular patron (who spends considerable money in such a place) will the bots know enough to be "generous" with the alcohol??? or are we going to get perfectly rationed 1 oz. shots mixed in our drinks...these are the pressing questions we should be asking.

dude.

You've Obviously Never Been To Pittsburgh

[hotsauce]

There, it is all fun and games until someone gets killed. No, seriously.

[OT] reply to previous comment

[jbridge21]

I must reply in a slashcomment because there is no other contact information given for this guy here.

> I was offering download of a banned book on a
> website hosted on my server here in NZ. The ISP
> pulled the plug in obedience to a US court
> order, and in so doing, 'acknowledged' US
> jurisdiction on New Zealand soil.

I might be willing to host this; definitely at least check it out. I run the censored archive at http://censored.firehead.org:1984/. Contact me if you wish at jeffrey at diddl dot firehead dot org.

The only thing I want to know...

[Robotech_Master]

...is do they have beer that's "free as in software"?

Sign over entrance:

[sharkey]

ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!

Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen das cotten-pickenen hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten.

The Fifth Element and Porcelain

[aztektum]

Does he know when to cut you off, or does he just ask, "Do you want some more?"

I'm waiting for them to be in the can to help hold my head up.

Rocky IV

[asv108]

Robot bartenders are old news, the great technolgist known as Rocky, had one in his fourth movie.

Not particularly novel...

[Kymermosst]

In the 80s my grandma used to take me to a place called "The Robot Restaurant" in Pasadena, California. The had robots there that took your orders and brought you food.

I'm sure they didn't do much autonomous thinking, and were probably more like rolling tape recorders than "robots", it was cool, and the operator could take control from the back room and play tic-tac-toe via the robot with an unsuspecting kid.

It was all very impressive to an 8-year old. :)

There's not that much novelty in being served by robots, at least to me!

You...wantsomemore?

[zrk]

You...wantsomemore?
You...wantsomemore?

You...wantsomemore?

(I feel like putting in a LeelooDallasMultipass jokes in here, but I'm not feeling particularly funny).

Fish Translation (heh)

[gmanske]

NOTE! EVERYTHING LOOKENSPEEPERS!

The computermachine is not for gefingerpoken and mittengrabben. Easy snatches if that is branching factory, blowenfusen and poppencorken with sharpen-deactivate. Is not for trades with the dumpkopfen. Rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen the that cotten pickenen Hans in pockets must; relaxen and watchen that flash-light.

Remember Back to the Future 2!

[wackybrit]

They had this in Back To The Future 2! How cheesey was that! It was a face on a stupid 14" TV that flew around on an arm or something, and it served you up with coke. We laugh at the predictions of the future in 1950, but Back To The Future 2 was the worst.

Nice film though.

Members-only?

[inner lemming]

Can I use my jacket to get in?

Nagging little voice in the back of your mind

[Anonymous Coward]

You know the one. The one that you usually drown out with the other "logical" booming voice that allows you to charge onward. Little voice is saying I wonder if this will be the experiment that is pointed to in legend a thousand years from now as humans pass it on to their children - as why we are now pets of computers.