Slashdot Mirror
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.
And I'm still sitting here trying to puzzle out how the signal from the table provides enough power to run the circuitry in the glass. 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 :)
And I haven't even started puzzling how a glass full of ice is somehow different than a glass full of beer.
The things geeks play with when they get bored...
You just don't drink the last fucking glass! In Japan, it's considered impolite not to keep your guest's glass topped up. So, when the said guest has had enough, the wise course of action is to leave the glass full.
The real world has deeper meanings than what-you-see-is-what-you-get. STOP THINKING LIKE COMPUTER ENGINEERS!
Speaking of which, drivethroughs have been hacked. Who wants to bet a couple of drunk grad students whip up something (RFID is pretty damn easy to forge) that sends the waiters scurrying all over?
May we never see th
Why is it that engineers always invent the best stuff over beers?
At [former employer, large defense contractor], our entire design staff came up the best things at the local bar. Of course, it meant we usually went to the design meeting bleary-eyed and with notes scribbled all over beer-stained cocktail napkins (sometimes still damp).
Many employers give programmers free all-you-can-drink soft drinks. Engineers should get free all-you-can-drink beer. As caffeine boosts productivity for some, alcohol boosts creativity for others.
MmmMM... beer.
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
This is just one more piece of evidence to subpeona against you at your DUI trial.
They don't charge you $5 for that glass in Japan. They charge for what you've had and throw out the "last glass" because the cost of the beer to the restaurant is negligable compared to what you paid for it. It's similar to how your condiments are free.
Here in Holland, most of the waiters in the cafes with outdoor terraces use wireless handsets to transmit their orders to the kitchen and to receive a signal the order is ready. This way you get the interaction without the hassle of the waiter buggering off to chat to the chef :)
Troc
Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
Instead of having a sensor on/in the glass to determine if its going empty or not,, why not make a high tech table that has a spot or a button to place the drink when you want a refill so they know instead of rushing one to you when you finish. This would give the consumer the option to get a drink instead of having one after another till they are blitzed because some consumers (along with me) have the "if I buy it then I might as well drink it" mentality.
I am sure that this approach would be more cost effective then buying 200 of these glasses at $100 a pop.