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.

[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.

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.

Drinks for the ladies

[Osgeld]

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

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.

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.

[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?

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.