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

If only...

[bluprint]

Wonder if I can get my wife to monitor the glass...

Next thing on the list

[llamalicious]

is to modify one of those Japanese humanoid robots to home-in on the signals from these empty glasses.
Strap a keg on it's back, give it a serious collision avoidance and guidance system, and let it roam the bars, filling empties.

drunk tasks.

[r00tarded]

i dunno about you taco, but about the only thing i won't do when i'm drunk is the dishes.

this might be more useful...

[bje2]

how about a beer stein that can scan the crowd in the bar...and then keep ordering you beers until the ladies look good...

Re:this might be more useful...

[binner1]

How about it keeps ordering them beers until you look good?

-Ben

Re:this might be more useful...

[kin_korn_karn]

in my case the women would drop dead of alcohol poisoning first.

*Real* High Tech: Larry Niven's Glass

[Embedded Geek]

In one of his stories, SF author Larry Niven proposed a beer mug that had a matter transporter in the bottom. Instead of calling the bartender, it automatically, silently refilled itself from the keg.

One of the narrator's comments was "A glass like that could destroy a man"

Re: *Real* High Tech: Larry Niven's Glass

[DeadVulcan]

SF author Larry Niven proposed a beer mug that [...] automatically, silently refilled itself from the keg.

Hmm, in that case, the obvious course of action is to eat the mug.

Interesting, but.

[viper21]

I'm sorry, but does anybody realize how stupid this is?

Like people that work at bars (or the bars themselves) are organized enough to guarantee that:

a. somebody will keep track of who, at which table, has which glass.

b. waitstaff will actually use this.

Come on. You look at a table. Glass is either full or empty. Or, if you are smart, you sold them a pitcher. That was probably the last technological update that any beer pouring establishment needed.

Fill glasses, fill pitcher, deliver to table. Periodically monitor the pitcher mechanism until you no longer detect an amber, or red, or dark, frothy content. When content is empty, fork a process to your waitress. Have her deliver a new pitcher of frothy goodness.

Electronic beer glasses, heh. Are they going to assign individual addresses to every glass made? Where there is one bar, there are more bars. Talk about miscommunication.

"OH! That must be glass 716 from across the street"

Heh,

-S

Re:Interesting, but.

[reemul]

Yah, how long before the hackers get involved? This was invented over by MIT after all, so it can't be long before folks have devices to order rounds for folks who aren't done yet, order goofy girly drinks with umbrellas in them instead of the beer the person had been drinking, or even jam a specific mug so that your annoying drunk buddy won't get any more until he gets off his lazy ass and staggers off to the bar.

And wouldn't these need a GPS beacon so that a waitress would know *where* the empty was? And maybe some sort of means of determining what the person was drinking, either special glasses for each offering or have the glasses be uniquely ID'd and the contents updated by the staff at each refill? Yikes. Too hard to implement, too easy to mess with. The only tech advance the local bar needs is some form of EZ-Pass, so I can just wave my keychain at a sensor and they send me a bill or charge my credit card instead of messing with change. That I could use.

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...

Need a new bar

[saintm]

I like that it's dishwasher safe. Drunk people can't be trusted to hand wash glass.

Either the bars you go to are staffed by drunks.. or they make you clean your own glasses.

Either way I'd find a new bar.

Price per glass?

[Arethan]

I didn't see any mention of price on the page.
It has to be comparable to the price of a regular glass, or bars and restaurants simply won't buy them. Broken dishes happen in these places. There is simply no denying it, and no way around it. Damn near everyone has been in an establishment and heard it happen. I can understand an owner shying away from these if they turn $100 in broken dishes into $1000 in broken dishes.

Whats next?

[ZaneMcAuley]

GPS navigation embedded in the glass so it can tell you where to find the toilets?

Not quite...

[BadDoggie]

Umm... Taco? The drunk people are the customers, who are rarely called upon to wash their own glasses, and most bars don't let the staff drink (bah!).

This might be kinda interesting for Oktoberfest, but the cost for more than 1M of the 1-liter mugs would be incredible. Speaking of Oktoberfest, I'll let you all in on how it all works here:

1. Put your butt on a bench and they'll bring you a beer. You will NOT be served at Oktoberfest unless you are seated. Everyone will let you sit down for the two or three minutes necessary to order a beer if you ask nicely and tell them that's what you're doing.
2. Tourists go to the HB (Hofbräuhaus); the best beer is Augustiner.
3. To be sure to get faster service, fuller beer steins and better food, tip 15% or more. The women work HARD (and if you had to listen to the "Hey, Baby" song 3 times an hour, 13 hours a day for 2 1/2 weeks straight, you'd understand).

woof.

What I need is not a beer mug that tells the staff I need another. I need one that tells me I don't!

Japanese "to do" list

[totallygeek]

I would like to see the Japanese "to do" list. I mean, they come up with some interesting stuff, but it is all filler for Sharper Image or some other yuppie, worthless rag.

Bars are too chaotic

[e1en0r]

Unless this has a GPS embedded in it, how are the waitresses going to find the glass to refill it? People wander around at bars so the glass probably won't be in the same place that it was filled. It's too much to keep track of.

A better use of this would be at a restaurant where there's assigned seating and people stay in the same place.

Re:Bars are too chaotic

[shren]

GPS. Rule. I can snitch mine and take it on a mountain hike.

"We need a refill at table 2, two at table 11, and one at ... glacier national park? dispatch a chopper..."

... and in related news.....

[CharlezManning]

Mitsubishi Beer Glass Division (MBG) to be sued by mother of social misfit that drank himself to death.

Says Mrs B Sober:"My boy, Larry (37), was such a nice boy. Sure he couldn't talk to people so never went out. When he drank at home I would switch to serving him warm milk after the third glass and send him off to bed. Then MBG came along and he could sit in the corner of the pub and the beer kept coming. The MBG didn't know when to stop, didn't order milk after the third glass or snuggle him into bed. MBG killed my son. MBG is responsible because they should have a warning label that says it can enhance addictive behaviour and won't order milk or put you to bed."

Costs more, but works just as well

[Enry]

I go to the local Irish pub and say:

"Keep this Guinness full"

Then leave a nice tip.

Works every time.

Re:Costs more, but works just as well

[DrXym]

Obviously you don't know much about Guinness or you wouldn't suggest such a thing. It should be poured slowly, left to settle and then drunk at leisure. You go up to the bar to order the new Guinness when the old one is about 1/5th from the bottom, to give the new one time to settle while you finish off the old one. If you keep topping it up, it will never settle properly.

Personally I drink Murphy's which is nicer.

Where the beer really is

[Tattva]

Beer is a subject close to many slashdot-readers' hearts

Prolly closer to their guts.

Chicken Soup for the Beer Drinker

[spruce]

Remember "I" before "E," except in Budweiser. *Anonymous

To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a support Group. *Anonymous

Beer - Because one doesn't solve the world's problems over white wine. *Anonymous

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading. * Henny Youngman

Reality is an illusion that occurs due to lack of alcohol. *Anonymous

Drinking provides a beautiful excuse to pursue the one activity that truly gives me pleasure : hooking up with fat, hairy girls. * Ross Levy

Sometimes I reflect back on all the beer I have consumed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their Hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." * Jack Handy

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. * Frank Sinatra

The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober. *William Butler Yeats

An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. * Ernest Hemingway

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. * Ernest Hemingway

Time is never wasted when you're wasted all the time. *Catherine Zandonella

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her. *W. C. Fields

What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch? * Tee Mans

Life is a waste of time, time is a waste of life, so get wasted all of the time and have the time of your life. *Michelle Mastrolacasa

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy. *Tom Waits

When we drink beer we fall asleep. We fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven! * Brian O'Rourke

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. * Frank Zappa

Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me. * Winston Churchill

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. *Benjamin Franklin

If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. *Jack Handy

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza. * Dave Barry

The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind. *Humphrey Bogart

Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world. * Kaiser Wilhelm

Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer. *Dave Barry

You know you're drunk when you fall off the floor. *Anonymous

And God said, "Let there be vodka!" And He saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let there be light!" And then He said, "Whoa - too much light." * Anonymous

You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. *Dean Martin

Beer: Helping ugly people have sex since 1862! *Anonymous

Future Upgrades

[DeadBugs]

If the girl with the mustache and 3 chins starts looking attractive the Beer mug should stop ordering refills and start ordering coffee.

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!

Half empty?

[Bender Unit 22]

So when it's only half filled, will the chip see it as half empty or half full??

Beer? Whisky glasses are more important.

[Igirisu]

Heck, when my pint's finished, it's pretty obvious, and I'm not overly pissed off if the bar stewards nick the last few dribbles...but when they walk off with a not-yet-empty tumbler of whisky, that really pisses me off.

This is the type of glass that needs to have a loud "I'm not empty, leave me alone" sensor. Bar staff are just blind when it comes to whisky tumblers!

Privacy Alert!

[ConceptJunkie]

How dare they consider this?! Now every time I visit a bar, they will be keeping tabs on when and how much I drink and sell it to the Alcohol industry. This is a gross violation of my privacy and I will only ever drink straight from the bottle/keg/bathtub/still to preserve my precious privacy!

Won't someone think of the children?!?! er...