Robotic Bartender Assembles Your Drink, Monitors Alcohol Consumption

First time accepted submitter Sabine Hauert writes in with news about a robotic bartending system called Makr Shakr. "You're at a busy bar. You order your personalized cocktail through a smart phone app; a drink dispenser measures out the beverage according to your instructions and a Kuka robotic arm give it a shake (or stir), while another garnishes it with a slice of lemon; the made-to-order concoction is delivered to your waiting hand via a slick little ten-lane conveyor belt. The 'mixology system' tracks your order from start to finish: a large display behind the bar shows you the number of drinks ahead of yours in the queue, the current wait time, and lets you know when your drink is ready to be picked up. It also shows you what's popular to drink tonight among both the ladies and the gents in the crowd, and lets you influence drinking trends in real-time by incorporating your suggested tweaks on popular recipes."

Comments

Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Head hanging low, the ex-bartender heads down to the welfare office to apply for the entitlement. Your cheap night at the bar is followed by an enormous tax bill.

Re:Another job is lost.

[flayzernax]

Well at least this bar tender will just require some wi-fi and cracking by a script kiddie probably to violate all of it's directives and provide free booze. No personal skills required. Fits right in with the inhumane detachment of people these days.

Who knows maybe you will be able to just post something on facebook to fool it.

Re:Another job is lost.

[flayzernax]

*from your shiny new iphone

Re:Another job is lost.

[pokoteng]

Don't think so. Although it's common to imagine a bartender as someone who just pours drinks, it's just as possible to say a programmer is someone who types stuff into a computer to do some work. It doesn't even scratch the surface of any actual professional work.

I'd say the robot would be good enough to do pre-mix drinks, for people who don't particularly care for the drink. Sort of like a vending machine. For actual bartending work involving complex cocktail production, where the bartender needs to have extremely high perception, flexibility, stability, control in mixing the drinks in just the perfect timing, temperature, amount, AND on top of that being social and friendly with ability to reply to the drinkers who sit at the bar? Nah, I think bartenders will still hold a job for a long while yet.

At least, until we get robots that pass turing test. Then we're all fucked.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Joe_Dragon]

In some areas self serve beer taps are not legal.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Head hanging low, the ex-bartender heads down to the welfare office to apply for the entitlement.

Not a chance in hell. Not until they make a realistic looking cleavage on that bartender!

Re:Another job is lost.

[chromaexcursion]

Back in my bar hopping days.
The bars I went back to were the ones I could have a conversation with the bartender, regardless of their sex.
You don't pick up the bartender. It's nice to chat with them when they aren't busy.
Interaction is part of the bar scene.
Hard to do that with a robot

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

In most states you have to be 18 (or 21) to serve alcohol. So no worries about these newly manufactured robots for a while.

Re:Another job is lost.

[game kid]

Said ex-bartender is later found in his home, slumped in front of a computer with Vega Strike in fullscreen, dead of an apparent suicide. Hillary Clinton blames the game for driving him melancholy, and promises to ban all such games with robot bartenders. Rand Paul calls it "yet another scary example of government overreach", while Mike Bloomberg calls for his own ban on illegal capship turrets and milspec vessels ("You don't need a Goddard to fly to the bodega," he pleadingly says).

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

I pay it happily, one more job eliminated, and now another of our fellow citizens can be liberated from wage slavery and live life like a modern human being should. The selfishness of capitalism is on its way out, it is simply to primitive a system for modern humans. The future is an evolution towards a more sophisticated system, a collectivist system, where the people take care of each other and we gain real liberty.

Re:Another job is lost.

[DeathElk]

Hmm, try driving (or worse still, riding a bike) in Port Macquarie for a day and your optimistic outlook on humanity will sadly be inverted.

Re:Another job is lost.

[flayzernax]

In high class establishments or under the radar establishments that are more or less community driven yes.

At the meat market or in low class establishments. They might as well have fending machines selling whatever drugs are in vogue.

But if I was to go to a 'bar' I would be genuinely interested in meeting people who know how to order a drink vs "just give me whatever will fuck me up". Haven't seen a place like that in the states in awhile.

Re:Another job is lost.

[dgatwood]

For actual bartending work involving complex cocktail production, where the bartender needs to have extremely high perception, flexibility, stability, control in mixing the drinks in just the perfect timing, temperature, amount, AND on top of that being social and friendly with ability to reply to the drinkers who sit at the bar?

Well, except for that last part, I'd expect the robots to immediately do a better job. The last part can be handled by an ordinary member of the wait staff without lots of experience at tending bar. This doesn't really remove the need for the people, but it does remove the need for the training and experience, which means the pay is likely to go down.

Re:Another job is lost.

[noh8rz10]

all you have to do is get the robot to violate its prime directive, and all heck will break loose. wait sorry, wrong show!

Re:Another job is lost.

[viperidaenz]

What if you assemble the robot out of 18/21 year old surplus equiptment?

Re:Another job is lost.

[cayenne8]

Well, I for one, do NOT welcome our robotic bartender overlords.

I like a real human bartender. One that I get to know, that knows me....at bars I'm a regular at, I like to have them set my usual drink in front of me when I sit down. I like that since I'm a good tipper...I get pretty heavily poured drinks.

I don't want anyone counting my drinks either.

Re:Another job is lost.

[viperidaenz]

I believe a lot of work as gone in to fake boobs over the years. Some women even replace their own ones with fake ones.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe if you're like 70. Get a decent phone gramps!

Re:Another job is lost.

[ozmanjusri]

I'll get my axe!

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

But it's for your own good! Why do you hate progress?!

Re:Another job is lost.

[flayzernax]

Lol. +1 nerdgasm

Re:Another job is lost.

[pokoteng]

Again, you're underestimating the careful care a (good) bartender has to follow when preparing for drinks. Say for instance, the recipe calls for lemon juice. A typical implementation of a robot would be to have lemon juice prepared earlier, but that has different taste profile to freshly juiced lemon. Then ok, let's have a juicer... except are you going to also roll the lemon carefully first to bring out the juice and flavour before cutting it carefully for the wedge? Or are you going to shred/press it? How are you going to do careful presentation work on the slice, like zesting it? Carefully pinch the skin to bring out the oils from the skin, but not actually put it in the drink?

And hell, that's just lemons.

I can't imagine having machines that are yet delicate enough to do this quickly, that are also small enough to fit in a bar, as well as being so versatile. Most likely, for a while yet, only humans can do the task considering how delicate the work is.

Re:Another job is lost.

[jimmydevice]

YES! I want two TV cameras with the integrated Alcohol Measuring / Intoxication System scanning my every sip with a clock and my weight stats then calling the cops as soon as I rise to take a piss?
  Will the robot continually check your eye reflex, looking for that little JERK!

Interesting fact: Idiot =Jerk = Yank = Northern USA native.

Sign me up! I'm into bars and gray bars and penis flavored pina-colada shaped glasses.

Re:Another job is lost.

[c0lo]

*from your shiny new iphone

Why? If I can do cheaper with a second-hand Android, I'll have more money to spend on whatever else.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Look:
-the bar on roof of the Hard Rock hotel will have human bartenders to appeal to the ego of the people who need subordinates to feel a sense of status in life.
-the bars which cater to clients who want to gawk at the attactive bar tender will still have humans

For the rest of us eating with our wives at buffet's, we will gladly accept a consistent drink from a robot that we don't have to tip & which gives even-handed service to all customers; Faster and for less money.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

All of that actually sounds remarkably easy to automate, Just have a chamber with a conveyer belt that wraps around the lemon, half of the belt is regular belt half of the belt has microblades embedded in it for zesting, squeeeze tight to roll it then drop it cut and juice, or advance the belt to the zesting portion and bring some form of spindle like a lathe in to hold the lemon, tighten the belt up and zest.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

You sound like a manager.

>Manager: Hey, it's just another window with couple buttons that does this and that, it shouldn't take more than a couple hours, right?
>Dev: No boss, that's an entirely (long explanation why it's a huge work)
>Manager: I don't get it, it should be simple, I've seen you do this before and it wasn't that complicated

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually its more of an engineers response, I'm just too drunk to give you schematics already ready to go and I didn't even bring up that unless you're in an extremely upscale bar the bartender is just going to pull a pre-sliced lemon out of a bucket of ice, as in around here the restaurants that are $75 a person just to get in the door are pulling a pre-sliced lemon out of a bucket of ice

Re:Another job is lost.

[jamesh]

What if you assemble the robot out of 18/21 year old surplus equiptment?

Or new equipment made from atoms "created" in an exploding sun [mb]illions of years ago?

Re:Another job is lost.

[jamesh]

Well, I for one, do NOT welcome our robotic bartender overlords.

I like a real human bartender. One that I get to know, that knows me....at bars I'm a regular at, I like to have them set my usual drink in front of me when I sit down. I like that since I'm a good tipper...I get pretty heavily poured drinks.

I don't want anyone counting my drinks either.

There will be enough people like this that your needs will be accommodated. Instead of drinking at your local "hipster & automaton" you'll be drinking at the "luddite & technophobe".

Re:Another job is lost.

[Big Hairy Ian]

At least, until we get robots that pass turing test. Then we're all fucked.

I was just hoping for robots with tits :)

Re:Another job is lost.

[parkinglot777]

Again, you're underestimating the careful care a (good) bartender has to follow when preparing for drinks. Say for instance, the recipe calls for lemon juice. A typical implementation of a robot would be to have lemon juice prepared earlier, but that has different taste profile to freshly juiced lemon. Then ok, let's have a juicer... except are you going to also roll the lemon carefully first to bring out the juice and flavour before cutting it carefully for the wedge? Or are you going to shred/press it? How are you going to do careful presentation work on the slice, like zesting it? Carefully pinch the skin to bring out the oils from the skin, but not actually put it in the drink?

And hell, that's just lemons.

I can't imagine having machines that are yet delicate enough to do this quickly, that are also small enough to fit in a bar, as well as being so versatile. Most likely, for a while yet, only humans can do the task considering how delicate the work is.

I am sorry but your explanation still does not convince me that these tasks (step-by-step in certain timely manner) can be perfectly done only by humans. If you are arguing about these tasks can't be done by the current technology and/or with the same amount of money that pay to hire bartenders, then I would accept that. Robots are good at doing tasks precisely if it is correctly set up. All you are talking are tasks. Unless you are talking about emotions and communication (the social part), I don't see that it is impossible with any amount of money in the near future.

Also, speaking of space, your imagination seems to be stuck to an old cranky robot hand in an assembly factory. It is all about design. The brain (CPU) parts can be outside of the bar area (could be behind the counter, the bar wall, etc), and connect the hand with wires toward the ceiling. The bar counter could be design to have specific items in specific locations (somewhat hard-wired style). Therefore, the small enough space you are talking about is irrelevant.

Re:Another job is lost.

[oreiasecaman]

I don't want anyone counting my drinks either.

How will you pay your bill on your way out then? :)

Re: Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

My bartender and I seem to work it out. But it's never by the drink.

They hand me a bill, I adjust the total by tipping what I think they forgot.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't think so. Although it's common to imagine a bartender as someone who just pours drinks, it's just as possible to say a programmer is someone who types stuff into a computer to do some work. It doesn't even scratch the surface of any actual professional work.

Yup.

I'd say the robot would be good enough to do pre-mix drinks, for people who don't particularly care for the drink. Sort of like a vending machine. For actual bartending work involving complex cocktail production, where the bartender needs to have extremely high perception, flexibility, stability, control in mixing the drinks in just the perfect timing, temperature, amount, AND on top of that being social and friendly with ability to reply to the drinkers who sit at the bar?

Ha! You forgot all the uncool things bartenders do that this robot can't. Cleaning the bar, cleaning glass, keeping everything stocked, that kind of stuff. Mixing drinks does not require extremely high anything. If it did, machines would be better.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Come to Boston. At least 75% of the bars I've been to have been the kind you want.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you kidding?

Q) How much does it cost for a robotic bartender?

A) A fuckton more than we pay our bartender currently.

Even when robots pass the turning test, most businesses won't be buying them. Surgeons? Pilots? Air-traffic Control? Pharmacists? Engineers? Well they better look out. The first jobs to be lost are going to be the most expensive jobs. That's how business works - you pick the big fat hanging fruit first to get the maximum savings. Only later will the technology cost drop low enough that you can pick all the little cheap fruits.

Re:Another job is lost.

[OhSoLaMeow]

Come to Boston. At least 75% of the bars I've been to have been the kind you want.

But does everybody know your name?

Re:Another job is lost.

[OhSoLaMeow]

I was just hoping for robots with tits :)

Welcome to Stepford!

Re:Another job is lost.

[Hentes]

We've had machines that mix softdrinks for decades, if there was demand for an automated bartender they would exist by now.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

The Reserve in downtown Houston might fit the bill.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I for one, do NOT welcome our robotic bartender overlords.

I like a real human bartender. One that I get to know, that knows me....at bars I'm a regular at, I like to have them set my usual drink in front of me when I sit down. I like that since I'm a good tipper...I get pretty heavily poured drinks.

I don't want anyone counting my drinks either.

Heavy pours and prompts heavy tipping. I'm sure the bar owner is thrilled about your pal giving away his alcohol and putting the extra cash in his pocket instead of the till.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Anonymous Coward]

And hell, that's just lemons.

I happen to think it's all very doable. Every step of that process, from rolling to slicing to zesting, can be done with the right mechanisms and closed feedback loops: cameras, pressure sensors, etc. If you're imagining a robotic bartender as C3PO with a dumb hat, think more like a compact version of modern factory food production lines. If you've ever browsed patents involving that sort of thing, you'll see all sorts of really ingenious mechanical designs.

There are lots of delicate things that robots can be designed to do, and they won't have to be limited by human limbs and digits. And I'm looking forward to actually having a proper Ramos Fizz, a drink that calls for a 12 minute shake time.

Re:Another job is lost.

[Applekid]

Back in my bar hopping days.

The bars I went back to were the ones I could have a conversation with the bartender, regardless of their sex.

You don't pick up the bartender. It's nice to chat with them when they aren't busy.

Interaction is part of the bar scene.

Hard to do that with a robot

Looks like you'll have to chat up the robot maintenance guy instead.

Re:Another job is lost.

[HornWumpus]

Hasn't been the case up to now. First robots acted as 'wheel crankers' for existing machine types (mills, lathes, plasma cutters etc). Robots then replaced low skill, highly repetitive sometimes dangerous jobs. e.g. placing a metal part into an injection molding machine between shots. Running punch presses. etc. They have recently started doing things like picking grapes.

Robots as used by surgeons today are more like remote high precision hands. No autonomy.

Re:Another job is lost.

[HornWumpus]

If I ever see that asshole from 'Bar Rescue' near any bar I frequent I'm kicking him square in the nuts. No words.

How realistic can it get?

[GodfatherofSoul]

Will it pretend to ignore you while hitting on a co-ed at the end of the bar? I really won't feel comfortable unless it tries to short me change and hope I'm too drunk to notice, then give me a dirty look when I skimp on the tip.

Re:How realistic can it get?

[MichaelSmith]

Hitting on the coffee machine, maybe.

Re:How realistic can it get?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, for an extra $20 upgrade (or $40 per month, $250 lifetime subscription), it will upgrade you to BarTenderPro (tm) and update your smartphone with the drink history, predicted blood alcohol level, and attendance record of all females currently in the establishment. Of course this app is free for women.

Re:How realistic can it get?

[Black Parrot]

Will it pretend to ignore you while hitting on a co-ed at the end of the bar?

pretend?

Re:How realistic can it get?

[Anonymous Coward]

+1: WANT.

Drinks for the ladies

[Osgeld]

so how does it know that that drink you just ordered did not get handed to your new friend?

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[Anonymous Coward]

RFID.

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I assume that v2 will include facial recognition cameras, a body-tracking kinect-style sensor, and full integration with facebook so that the entire internet can know who you are hitting on before the drink has even finished changing hands...

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[Anonymous Coward]

there it is ladies and gentlemen, the stupidest thought of the day

RFID doesnt work that way, it creates a bubble, if your in that bubble it sees you, if you and your lady are in the same bubble it has no fucking clue who is holding the tag, just that one is in the bubble.

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[Anonymous Coward]

Heuristically:

if (umbrellaCount 1)
{
    maleDrinks++;
}
else
{
    femaleDrinks++;
}

Re: Drinks for the ladies

[Anonymous Coward]

This must be one of those new fangled robotic bartenders I hear about because it clearly has no fucking sense of humor.

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[fatalwall]

Holding? Why would they put it in the cup when they can put it in the drink and track you for a period of time after the bar as weel. Extra add on to the app for an additional fee. Know who went home with who last night.

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[mjwx]

so how does it know that that drink you just ordered did not get handed to your new friend?

It pre spikes it for you.

Re:Drinks for the ladies

[Anonymous Coward]

Why use RFID? Infrared reflector on the glasses and spotlights over the bar. Computer Vision takes care of the rest.

HAL, I know I dropped the glass of whiskey earlier

[Anonymous Coward]

... but I feel much better now.

It does work... saw it at Google I/O After Hours

[billylo]

One of these systems were in action at Google I/O After Hours Party last night. Pretty neat.

Can it do a age check?

[Joe_Dragon]

Can it do a age check?

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Greyfox]

It can probably check your birthday on your facebook page. That information is probably also encoded on the magstripe or 3D bar-code on your driver's license.

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Joe_Dragon]

but can it spot a fake ID / useing some ID who does not look like you?

Re:Can it do a age check?

[viperidaenz]

How is it going to check the picture on your license with your face? I doubt its going to have CSI style facial recognition.

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Anonymous Coward]

This check will be done by ROBO-Bouncers outside.

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you even been to a bar? Very few bars have the bartender card you. They just look at your wrist and if you have a green bracelette they sell you drinks, if its orange with black X's on it you get free cokes.

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Anonymous Coward]

Have YOU ever been to a bar? Because this isn't how bars for adults work. Maybe bars for college shitheels, I guess.

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I ever go out again (unlikely) I am going to see if that works for free cokes.

Re:Can it do a age check?

[Bodero]

Just have a bouncer at the door and disallow underage patrons.

Can I ...

[PPH]

... get that with blackjack and hookers?

Re:Can I ...

[lister king of smeg]

yea but unfortunately all of the hookerdoids look like jude law

all good except that last part

[Anonymous Coward]

"monitors your alcohol consumption". Some things I'd rather not know.

Sounds Arab

[tepples]

I think "Makr Shakr" might not be the right name for an alcoholic beverage-related product. It sounds vaguely Arabic, and the Arab world still has Prohibition.

Re:Sounds Arab

[Osgeld]

that's pretty ignorant

Re:Sounds Arab

[chromaexcursion]

sad, I agree.
ignorant on multiple levels.
seemingly random malicious hate is pervasive.
people make hateful comments without considering their impact.
others do it deliberately, but it's pretty much impossible to tell which is which.
are you innocently posting something inappropriate, or are you a racist with an agenda?

Re:Sounds Arab

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree. "Makr Bom" would be more appropriate for that target market .... what?

Re:Sounds Arab

[mjwx]

I think "Makr Shakr" might not be the right name for an alcoholic beverage-related product. It sounds vaguely Arabic, and the Arab world still has Prohibition.

That's OK, we're planning to sell them the militarised version of this robot, the Mastr Blastr.

Re:Sounds Arab

[noh8rz10]

no, tepples is cool, he's been around a while and has good thoughts. a tone-deaf joke perhaps, but not ill-intentioned.

Hey!

[Black Parrot]

I thought the last story said we had 30 years before this happens.

Re:Hey!

[VortexCortex]

For someone living in the past, it has been 30 years.
Welcome to Relativity.

Re:Hey!

[king neckbeard]

I believe it was claiming 30 years until we almost all don't have jobs. Some people will lose their jobs to robots sooner than others.

Oh screw this....

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally I like getting comped several drinks a night because I know the bar staff.

Re:Oh screw this....

[chromaexcursion]

epic win.
I have some friends who are chefs. Have gotten comps from the kitchen.

Re:Oh screw this....

[Grimbleton]

I like the my-family-member-owns-this-bar experience. They make you think you're going to actually get to pay one of these days, but PSYCHE! Dropping another free meal on you.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't drink alcohol. Drinking alcohol is forbidden by God. Repent and save yourselves from Hellfire!

Clearly incorrect, as I can provide one example that trumps this statement: Jesus.

Jesus not only had a hand in wine manufacture, but was also recorded drinking it. Even in Islam Jesus is referred to as a prophet who is to return, so clearly the drinking of wine [an alcoholic beverage] is not forbidden by god. Now, what was forbidden was the drinking of alcohol to excess, and I think most of us would know why.

Theoretically the robotic bartender would be seen as a good thing from a biblical standpoint, as it can be used to monitor ones own consumption more accurately.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[Anonymous Coward]

Islamic literature does not not have any record of Jesus drinking wine.

Comprehension

[DeathElk]

As long as it understands "Keep 'em coming".

Re:Comprehension

[mjwx]

As long as it understands "Keep 'em coming".

Leave Bottle?
(Abort | Retry | Fail | Ignore)

Re:Comprehension

[VortexCortex]

Orgasmatron?

Re:Comprehension

[Anonymous Coward]

You.want.some.more?

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[DeathElk]

Umm, god doesn't exist, so your statement is null.

no thanks

[AxemRed]

Ok, this might be useful at the airport or something. But I actually like to talk to the bartenders at my favorite bars.

That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[__aaltlg1547]

# profanity --maximum

Jesus Christ on a stick! an iPhone app? Who the fuck wants to order drinks with a motherfucking iPhone app? What's wrong with using my god damned voice to order my fucking drinks? Who wants to know how many other drinks and in the fucking queue? Do you really think I want to know what horse piss the other doucebags are putting in their drinks?

What makes you imagine I want some machine tracking my drinking habits, much less to be made aware of it?
# profanity off

Why would I want to go to a BAR to avoid SOCIAL INTERACTION with OTHER PEOPLE?

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Anonymous Coward]

I want to see how long I should wait until I can get completely drunk, and I'd really like to know I'm sufficiently drunk, because I am depressed and I don't really want to talk to another human, but I do want to be around them to see them in their misery. Still, to hell with the iPhone app, I simply don't like apples.

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[eWarz]

> Why would I want to go to a BAR to avoid SOCIAL INTERACTION with OTHER PEOPLE? Umm...to drink? I do it all the time!

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Anonymous Coward]

You make no sense.
Grab a six pack and do in comfort of own house. Plain and simple...

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[noh8rz10]

What's wrong with using my god damned voice to order my fucking drinks?

siri, please get me a rum and coke. OK! I have found 12 places named Rumco, 3 of which are fairly close to you. would you like me to get directions for you?

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Anonymous Coward]

You make no sense.
Grab a six pack and do in comfort of own house. Plain and simple...

Can't... it's full of older beer cans since my last party at home... about 20 years ago.
What? ... Now it's you that's not making any sense: I can't clean it, I'm busy drinking all the time.

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Anonymous Coward]

For me drinking is a reason to get OUT of the house.

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[stymy]

Why? You pay so much more than if you just drink at home.

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Anonymous Coward]

The point is to allow you to spend time interacting with people instead of trying to catch the bartender's attention ;)

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Anonymous Coward]

Even a good happy hour special generally clocks in above buying at the store and taking it home.

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[Applekid]

Why? You pay so much more than if you just drink at home.

The extra paid is a finders fee to meeting other similarly buzzed people, and perhaps some of them would want to have sex with you before your night is over.

Re:That's quite a dystopia you've got there.

[__aaltlg1547]

Why? You pay so much more than if you just drink at home.

The extra paid is a finders fee to meeting other similarly buzzed people, and perhaps some of them would want to have sex with you before your night is over.

So why not talk to them? This is my main point. You are at the bar for the social interaction.

But the robotic bartender is all wrong for this purpose. Instead, it should be telling you how drunk the OTHER people in the bar are, so you can hit on the chick that's three sheets to the wind and will be easy to talk the underwear off of. A bartender might give you hints about that, but then he might have a conscience. The robotic bartender won't. It can be programmed to sell creeps Coca Cola and that info instead of liquor all night.

Re:You FAIL 1t

[VortexCortex]

Yeesh. Sorry I broke it guys. I was just joking when I asked for: 3"; DROP TABLE DRINKS olives.

Sounds like a dystopian nightmare

[electron sponge]

I prefer my drinks made by human beings, who I can thankfully tip for pouring my two fingers of bourbon to three fingers, and also show my appreciation with a smile and conversation. Anything other than a human is just a vending machine. Remember that the next time you're out, and tip generously. They don't make much money.

Re:Sounds like a dystopian nightmare

[Anonymous Coward]

"Tip generously"

Shut the fuck up. I tip what I feel like tipping, AKA $0 every time.

Re:Sounds like a dystopian nightmare

[Anonymous Coward]

"They don't make much money."

Yes they do. If there was no money in bartending then there wouldn't be any bar tenders.

If you want to tip, then tip the really poor people who struggle by on rock-bottom minimum wage and go mostly unappreciated: cleaners/janitors, maids, wait staff at small cafes and restuarants.

A bar tender is doing just fine - $1 a beer? WTF!

I'm with the PP, $0 tips all the way.

Re:Sounds like a dystopian nightmare

[king neckbeard]

What a bar tender makes depends greatly on the establishment in question. However, as a general rule, they don't make a lot without tips. If they are tipped well, they can make a lot of money on a busy night. Also, you might not realize this, but the bar makes money off of the alcohol, not the bartender.

Re:Sounds like a dystopian nightmare

[r2kordmaa]

Dystopian future indeed where bar stops taking my money after i get too drunk to handle a drink ordering app on my phone. That would effectively cut my drinking out night in half.

Liability

[uvajed_ekil]

Sounds like a liability. "That car accident wasn't my fault. That particular robotic bartender always manages my alcohol intake perfectly, so it is the one at fault for screwing up and letting me drink a little too much, too fast. It was programmed to cut me off one drink sooner but a bug let it give me one more drink, and made me t-bone a taxi full of nuns on vacation."

I'll take the bartender I know, who pours me a beer the moment I walk in the door and makes sure I have a ride on the rare occasion when I allow myself to get carried away. He's a better bullshitter than any robot I've met, too.

Re:Liability

[Anonymous Coward]

Kill a nun? Good job. Kill a taxi full of nuns on vacation? You should get a medal (pity about the driver, but collateral damage). Drive a bus full of nuns on vacation into a volcano, ensuring they all die, and not only will they get to hell faster (via the convenient fires below), but you'll be rescued by GOD ALMIGHTY and whisked up to heaven where you will live forever basking in HIS glory.

Even better, see if you can't convince the entire Catholic Church hierarchy to be on the bus with you (shouldn't be too hard, just make sure the nuns are young and pretty).

And for an encore, exterminate all the priests, imams, rabbis, gurus and other religious "leaders".

Re:Liability

[tlhIngan]

Sounds like a liability. "That car accident wasn't my fault. That particular robotic bartender always manages my alcohol intake perfectly, so it is the one at fault for screwing up and letting me drink a little too much, too fast. It was programmed to cut me off one drink sooner but a bug let it give me one more drink, and made me t-bone a taxi full of nuns on vacation."

  I'll take the bartender I know, who pours me a beer the moment I walk in the door and makes sure I have a ride on the rare occasion when I allow myself to get carried away. He's a better bullshitter than any robot I've met, too.

In a lot of places, that is actually true - the establishment can be found responsible for a DUI incident as well and forced to provide compensation. And yes, the establishment includes commercial public bars as well as hosts of a private party.

The general reasoning goes that the best person to judge would be the person providing the drinks. It could be the bartender (since all the drinks come fro them), the waitstaff (who carry it to you and can tell if you've perhaps had a bit too much), the hosts (it's their party, they should be encouraging responsible drinking), etc. Because alcohol impairs judgement, so expecting the user to be in control while impaired is generally not feasible.

So yeah, a robotic bartended will be held to similar standards - first, it knows who had what drinks and thus should have some basic intelligence at saying some guy should not have put back 10 shots in the past hour , and second, the establishment should be monitoring their guests even if the robot is unable to properly determine the inebriation of the patron because the patron is not in a position to properly judge.

So not only is your bartender doing you a favor by checking your ride, they're covering their ass as well because the family of the kid you ran over accidentally can sue the bar you went to for damages.

Don't give up hope yet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Until they make a robot you can see commiserates with you when you tell him about how you're only there because your wife's mother's in town, or her aunt Flo is visiting and she wants you to go down on her... and convince you he truly understands, and that he's been there himself... the bar tender's job is safe. Also, until a robot can determine you're drunk, and ensure it's not serving booze to an under-age drinker... etc., this is just a toy.

Re:Don't give up hope yet.

[Applekid]

Until they make a robot you can see commiserates with you when you tell him about how you're only there because your wife's mother's in town, or her aunt Flo is visiting and she wants you to go down on her... and convince you he truly understands, and that he's been there himself... the bar tender's job is safe. Also, until a robot can determine you're drunk, and ensure it's not serving booze to an under-age drinker... etc., this is just a toy.

In the era of ubiquitous data mining, all those situations are knowable, and a display or speaker will be able to specially craft the exact phrase you want to hear, but aren't consciously aware of what you want to hear.

lets hope the hackers don't get into this

[Chrisq]

"lets you influence drinking trends in real-time by incorporating your suggested tweaks on popular recipes."

Roofie for the cute blonde girl

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[hawkinspeter]

If drinking alcohol is so abhorred by god, then why didn't he just make us immune to it? If we didn't feel the effects, then we wouldn't drink it. Man, that god bloke is seriously stupid - he even wired our retinas back-to-front and gave us badly designed backs for standing upright.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[petman]

In my 36 years of life, I have never drunk even one drop of alcohol. Don't blame God for your own lack of willpower.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[hawkinspeter]

I don't see anything wrong with drinking alcohol (in moderation) and see no reason to abstain, especially when human society has used brewing for thousands of years to make water safe to drink.

I don't blame god for anything as he's clearly some kind of fairy story to scare kids - similar to the boogeyman.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[petman]

So you admit that to drink or not to drink is a matter of choice. Thus your reasoning in your sentence, "If we didn't feel the effects, then we wouldn't drink it" is false.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[king neckbeard]

Actually, you probably have. If you've ever used mouthwash, drank soda, ate bread, or been breathed on by someone who is drunk, you probably have imbibed at least a drop's worth of alcohol. These days, even pumping gas would get you over that threshold.

Re:Drinking alcohol is sinful

[hawkinspeter]

Everything we do is a matter of choice. I think the idea of some kind of trickster god is abhorrent - he makes creatures that enjoy the effects of alcohol and then tells them (in some versions) that they're not allowed to drink it.

It's like the garden of Eden: eat whatever you want, but not THAT tree over there. That tree - the one I'm pointing at. It's got the most delicious fruit that will immediately give you knowledge, but I forbid it. No, not the one on the left - this one here. It sure looks tasty, but NO!

And he was saying that to a woman! He was either extremely stupid or really spiteful.

Also, if alcohol had no effect on humans, would it still be banned in some religions? Is it inherently evil, or is this a case of god creating a specific effect just to fuck with us?

Can I?

[Phoeniyx]

tip it a few hexadecimals in knowledge to jump ahead in the queue?

not bad but inefficient.

[nimbius]

Sure, its fun to watch. just remember when the first coffee was brewed 30 years ago by a machine we all stood in wonderment at what appeared to be a robot future. Turns out the final product sitting in the breakroom of most offices grinds out a dull black water, comes in a box form factor, and occasionally shits cups all over the floor. its generally avoided by all but a fanatic few who pump 60 cents into it each morning and have never had a cup of starbucks. "Flair" and attractiveness are what make a bartender in many situations, same as a barista. Speaking as a former bartender, I have a few problems with this layout:

its inefficient: we move drinks, we look good doing it, we do NOT spill the product across the cup from the shaker as the machines did, for a number of reasons. 1. your inventory on the floor costs you money and customers. 2. all those sugary mixed drinks become a hellish glue to clean up eventually. 3. Fruit flies multiply inexorably with spillage and get you shut down by the health department/any competing bar that lodges a complaint very quickly. 4. customers dont want wet sticky plastic cups.
its a static load: mixes are pre-portioned, all drinks must be shaken, garnish is not provided. this is basically an electronically assembled pre-mix cocktail that will invariably piss off 2-3 customers an hour with its inability to do 'doubles' or 'sidecars' or any other kitshy stuff customers just want out of habit. a few regulars might take double lime, no lime, or float a splash of cranberry juice. ive had to do beer-mosas on sunday when normally mimosas suffice. beermosa is not in the black book where i presume the machines recipes are sourced.
account for fault conditions: what if we cant make a drink anymore? you're still selling so you need to improvise. offer other options to customers, listen to what they like, be creative and come up with something they will enjoy. "We dont do that" or "Empty" is the fastest way to lose a bar.

that having been said: where do i want this machine? I want it on saturday night at the front of the bar with a preset load of cocktails that people commonly order that, normally, i pour out of a mix. tequila sunrise, margarita, any mixed sugary shot, etc...I also might want it to make drinks that are very dangerous (check out the blue blazer sometime, it requires pouring flaming bourbon between two steel mugs to mix it.), and handle volatile liquors that some bars cannot procure insurance for (151 requires additional fire insurance for example.) im not sure i want it slinging beer. not that it cant, just that beer has a strange rate of return where ive found often customers want to "switch" because they dont like a certain new craft brew theyre trying.

Names ending in -akr

[tepples]

I had no hate in mind. It just made me think of Abu Bakr.

I see a lot of waste

[Anonymous Coward]

I realize this is probably optimized for speed over efficiency, but it does not look like their system is programmed very well. The video shows A LOT of booze being spilled outside the glass during mixing and pouring on each drink made. A real bartender would get fired for this kind of waste.

No way...

[Anonymous Coward]

My bartender has pretty tits ... Does this thing have pretty tits ? If not I'm not using ...

Re:You FAIL 1t

[Anonymous Coward]

That's my favorite brand of olives, too!

MOOLTIPASS

[StingyJack]

All these comments and not one single reference to The FIfth Element's bartender in the ship port. ... YOU WANT SOME MORE?

So, what part of the robot...

[Anonymous Coward]

...do I have to blow into to get my next drink???

Re:So, what part of the robot...

[Anonymous Coward]

Better take that up with Eddy the shipboard computer. He's checking on the Nutri-Matic machine just now.

Douglas Adams HHGTTG reference for any young-uns out there.

Not a replacement for a bartender...

[rocket rancher]

...just an augmentation. And it neatly avoids the uncanny valley by not even remotely resembling our upright, bipedal, bi-laterally symmetric physiognomy. My friend owns three bars here in the old pueblo -- a college-centric meat market within stumbling distance of the UofA campus, a Cheers-type bar&grill in one of the most affluent residential districts in the city, and a trendy techno bar on 4th Avenue, which is Tucson's own Haight-Ashbury. The reception this system would get would largely depend on how it is wrapped for the patrons at each of these uniquely distinctive venues. I could see it being tucked away out of sight at the bar&grill, delivering the drinks to a mini-skirted waitress for the last mile delivery to the patron. Patrons at the bar&grill go there for (good!) food and drink, but also to schmooze with wealthy UofA alumni who have returned to their college town to dabble in local university and city politics. They will take passing notice of the pretty girl delivering their cocktails, but would not be interested in the slightest about the details of the guy (or robot) mixing their drinks. Ditto the meat market: patrons at the meat market are there to score, and my friend deliberately hires attractive female servers exclusively from the local topless clubs' labor pool to set the right kind of ambiance. It probably wouldn't have to be out of sight there, just out of harm's way. But it would probably pay-off in spades at the techno bar. Every techno trend on the planet eventually makes its way through a college town, and this system would be de rigueur, along with the live dub-step acts and wall-sized projection screens full of anime and machinima.

I think this system could have a beneficial ROI in these three diverse venues, so it could probably be beneficial in many others, as long as the proprietor incorporates it in a way that doesn't annoy his regular patrons or scare off potential ones.

Re:It does work... saw it at Google I/O After Hour

[Anonymous Coward]

With Billy Idol rocking the stage live.