Beer Stein Goes Hi Tech

Spudley writes "Beer is a subject close to many slashdot-readers' hearts, so you'll be pleased to learn that Mitsubishi has invented a glass that can tell when it's empty, and order a refill from the bar. Of course, it'll still have to be filled the old fashioned way, but at least the bar staff will know which ones need refilling - the... ehm... empty ones." I like that it's dishwasher safe. Drunk people can't be trusted to hand wash glass.

Comments

Good idea? Maybe...

[donutz]

Yahoo is also running a similar story, based on a New Scientist article. In the New Scientist article, this technology makes sense: in a restaurant setting, waiters can make sure to keep people's glasses topped off, that way the customers stay happier. But in a pub setting, I dont see this technology working as well. I mean, how does the glass know when the drinker has drunk enough for the night? Obviously it doesn't....and because everyone is different, there's no algorithm that can tell you how much a person should be allowed to drink, and that'd be treading on the person's privacy anyway. But yeah, I'd love to see this used on restaurant soda and water glasses...

Application: karaoke bars.

[sulli]

Those of you who have been to Japan or Japanese neighborhoods in the US will be familiar with the "karaoke box" type bar, where the user rents a room and sings with 10-20 of his closest friends.

Now many of these places offer bottled beer because there isn't a good way to offer draft beer when you don't have a bartender in the room. And putting a tap in the room would be an invitation to massive floods when a drunken salaryman (or woman) accidentally forgets that he needs a glass for all that beer he's drinking.

But with this solution, problem solved! The manager simply looks at the beer status display, and when enough glasses show up as empty on the display, he sends a waiter back to the room with freshly poured Super Dry. Happy customers, more revenue, perfect!