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Another Beer Please
jmichaelg writes "What do you get when you combine a glass, a PIC computer, two capacitors, a coil and a zener Diode? A wireless beer glass that signals your waiter when you need a refill. The circuit is an RFID transponder that measures the fluid level in a glass and transmits a globally unique ID coupled to the fluid level reading when queried by an antenna hidden in your table. The query provides enough power to drive the circuit so no batteries are needed. A technical paper describes the circuitry in the table and the glass." This hit the news over a year ago, but we didn't have the technical details.
Inductive coupling. Those PIC chips don't require much power at ALL to run! Like in the microamp region. All they have to do is put a ferrite flux concentrator in the bottom of the glass, and it will coax the magnetic flux to intercept the energy pickup/transmit coil. The data could be easily be transmitted by selectively loading the coil in a serial fashion. The glass processor could easily use the energy coil's frequency as its clock, hence its serial output stream would be synchronous to its power source - quite easy to detect.
A couple of diodes and a small capacitor is all it takes to recover DC from the field to run the processor on, and those PIC processors are not picky at all on their supply voltages. My guess is they are doing "synchronous rectification" of the field, so they can "modulate" the power converter with the data transmit stream.
All in all, I think its a quite ingenious plan.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
How is the glass going to know how drunk the person is, and if they should be seerved any more alcohol?
Well, you see, it tells the waiter that the glass is empty. Remember, if your still able to avoid the floor, your sober enough for another beer.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
Do you know that there is a low tech solution that is in use for years? In germany beer mugs have a lid. If the lid is open, the waiter knows you want a refill, if not you don't want a refill...
This solution is also wireless...
Geez, this image is 1500x1575 (550 KB) on http://www.merl.com/projects/iGlassware/ ... I feel bad for slow connection users. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I remember some talk about wireless power and I think Tessla had it figured out a long time ago, but it still boggles my mind :)
There are lots of everyday examples of wireless power to get energy from one place to another without physical contact. Sunlight, induction, convection, radiation, sound, etc... I believe these are planning to run on induction coils. Very similar to a crystal set radio (a very cheap radio receiver that boyscouts can choose to build for a badge). It can pick-up standard radio stations and uses the power from the radio wave to power the ear piece.
-Ab
Nothing fails quite like prayer.
Some pubs in the UK use a system called 'autovac' (tetleys I think?), this system for bitter delivery is not very hygienic IMHO.
If someone is using a glass and has it filled from the autovac, the nozzle of the pump goes into the dirty glass, possibly getting contaminated with germs.
To top that off, any overspill is 'sucked' back into the supply and ready again for delivery to next customer.
I live out in the sticks, and lots of drinkers like to keep the same glass, some even getting annoyed if the bar staff replaces glass.
So, thats why I don't drink from autovac, its minging.
This advice on Oktoberfest bears repeating:
I don't need a mug that tells the staff I need another beer; I need one that tells me I don't!woof.
I've been working in restaurants here in the U.S. for longer than I care to admit. I've proposed the idea of a handheld device for server's orders more than once, but most restaurants don't want to go through the expense of upgrading their equipment. Never mind that it would save, not only a few miles of paper, but also loads of time, it's just not worth it to them.
I think it would also be wonderful if the handhelds had credit card scanners. That way a customer's card would never leave their tables, cutting down on fraud that, alas, does take place with some of my more unscrupulous co-workers.
Beauty will lure a man into bed, but it won't bring him back a second time, unless he's awfully young or very stupid.
I am also familiar with the restaurant industry and I'm not sure this is at all practical. I assume they would transmit the "empty" signal somewhere? Is a mom and pop joint or even a franchise supposed to buy $100 sensor wrist watches for all its waiters? LAUGH! They can barely pay rent, who would raise their overhead by thousands of dollars when they should be hiring GOOD waiters not lazy asses. And how many of those beeper/watches do you think will get stolen or broken by the end of the night? Or if you turn them in they'd certainly be disgusting to wear after someone else has sweated in one and spilt drinks or gumbo on it night after night.
Oh, or would it be on a monitor in the waitress station? That's all we need, more waiters standing in a crowd and chatting around the waitress station instead of checking on the customer.
And finally how much extra for one of these "miracle" glasses? At the rate they break glasses in most restaurants this could get expensive quickly even if it's only $1 more.
I say less of these silly glasses and more competent waiters if you're trying to keep your glasses full.