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Robotic Bartender Programmed To Recognize When You Are Ready For a Drink

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the more-tea-please dept.

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Michael Harper reports that researchers at the Bielefeld University in Germany are working to develop a robotic bartender, and their most difficult challenge so far is to identify the body language that is most commonly used by customers and interpreted as someone wanting to buy a drink. A bartending robot has to be able to distinguish between customers intending to order, chatting with friends or just passing by [abstract] — and do so in a very noisy environment. The researchers examined the behavior of customers in nightclubs to see which behaviors were most successful at indicating to the barman the customer was ready to be served. 'Effectively, the customers identify themselves as ordering and non-ordering people through their behavior,' says Dr Sebastian Loth, lead author of the study. The researchers analyzed 105 attempts to order drinks at nightclubs in Bielefeld and Herford in Germany and Edinburgh in Scotland and assessed the behavior of customers 35 seconds before they were served. They found the most successful tactic, which occurred in 95% of orders, was standing squarely towards the bar with head facing forward. Looking at money saw just seven per cent of customers being served within the 35 second time frame. The findings are used to produce an update to the robotic bartender's programming to allow it to ask customers if they would like a drink when they display the right body language. What the research team has learned is being programmed into a robotic bartender called James, or Joint Action in Multimodal Embodied Systems. The researchers have been working on James since early 2011 and hope to have the project completed in January 2014."

60 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by ThaumaTechnician · · Score: 2

    No such a difficult problem: "Barkeep, beer me!" Do they know when you've had enough? And how well do they handle a belligerent drunk?

    1. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And how well do they handle a belligerent drunk?

      Crush, kill, destroy.

    2. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Like in the third panel?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      the bartkeeper robot will accompanied by bouncer drones equipped with teaser

      "You wanna drink? Are you sure? OK here...wait, no, I don't think I'm gonna give you a drink. You have the biggest ears I've ever seen! You look like a taxicab with the doors open. OK, here's that drink...no, wait, maybe not. You want it? You sure, bigears? How about I give you just a little sip? Lalalala, I've got a drink and you want it but you can't have it!"

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    4. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by bondsbw · · Score: 2

      The thing is, robots probably won't ever replace bartenders. Human interaction is one of the main reasons people go to bars.

      What this robot will replace is fast food workers. McDonald's employees (in my area at least) already pass for robots.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    5. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 2

      But McDonalds employees will always be cheaper than robots.

    6. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Do you realize what this means?
      There can be an ALCOHOL DELIVERY INDUSTRY!
      By analyzing data from my smartphone,facebook,netflix,television habits and superfluous data collected, the bastards better have a drone at my door with a cold ale by the time I think of it or this whole internet thing is a monstrous FAIL!

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    7. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      No. Like on Lost In Space.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    8. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      Human interaction is one of the main reasons people go to bars.

      Yes, but standing behind a wall of people and trying to get the bartender's attention means I spend less time interacting. The good old fashioned hand raise, like hailing a cab, or waving money, or holding up numbers, does not work in a busy bar.

      If you have ever had to fight for a beer, you would realize the advantages of keeping the human element out of this transaction, so I could get back to the people I actually want to interact with.

      For a slow bar, or someone with depression or who otherwise wants a captive audience, human interaction is not going to be replaced. Alcohol sales would plummet, and the robot would be sold for scrap.

      In a busy place where you can't even hear each other, a human bartender is a waste of space. An iPad every 3 feet where you can select your beverage and a human could deliver it would be an improvement. A robot that can alert a bartender that someone is ready to order, and has been waiting for two minutes, would be an improvement. Anything that allows quicker acquisition of alcohol makes customers and owners happy. You revealed more about your own perception and/or experience with bartenders than insight on how the world really works with that post.

      McDonald's knows that if someone is standing in line, they want to order or otherwise ask for something. Solving that problem with a robot is a no-brainer. Pretty much the definition of a bar is a lot of people standing around who don't immediately want to order. That's a harder problem to solve, and has implications way beyond bartending. This is a win for computer vision in general, and orders of magnitude past fast food service.

    9. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Spoken like somebody who hasn't been in a McDonald's lately. I tend to avoid them like the plague, but they've added automation over the last 10 years. The drinks mostly fill on their own in response to a button and IIRC, the fries are now on a timer.,

    10. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      The drinks mostly fill on their own in response to a button and IIRC, the fries are now on a timer.,

      In some areas of Europe, McDonalds order-takers have been replaced with touch screens. As you would expect, automation tends to be higher in places with higher wages.

    11. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by ThreeKelvin · · Score: 1

      Interesting. Who's going to ask me to "go large for just $0.99 more", so I get the genuine experience that's so integral to McDonald and their competition?

    12. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 1

      I'll be impressed when the robot can:

      Ask a horse, "Why the long face?"
      Recognize a request for a Double Entendre, then Give it to her!
      Talk to the duck instead of the pig.
      Ask a man, "Why the short face?"
      Tell the Gorilla he can stay but the Goat in the Pope hat that he has to go.
      Give a neutron free beer.

      --
      THL phish sticks
    13. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by davester666 · · Score: 1

      As a bonus, false positives are OK, because the belligerent sober people are douchebags as well.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    14. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by WoLpH · · Score: 1

      EXTERMINATE!

    15. Re:Ok, so they know when you want another drink... by xQx · · Score: 1

      Any half decent POS system does that.

      These days it's usually the POS system that's prompting the sales rep to offer you a targeted upgrade. No reason why it can't prompt the customer directly.

  2. Hazardous environment by hammeraxe · · Score: 2

    It is understandable that they want to automate the work of bar staff. After all they work in a very noisy, dirty and smelly environment, unsuitable for human workers.

    1. Re:Hazardous environment by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

      Just cut to the chase and vend quarts of whisky from a machine in the alley. Parrrr-taaaay!

    2. Re:Hazardous environment by slick7 · · Score: 1

      Just think, robotic drug pushers that don't understand the word no.

      --
      The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
  3. What's more important... by bmo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...is to have a bartender that knows when to shut me off.

    That is unless you like to hear me sing (badly) Rolling Stones tunes.

    --
    BMO

    1. Re:What's more important... by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      Strange, I think this must be a US thing. Across the pond they keep feeding you drink as long as you keep paying.

    2. Re:What's more important... by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      In the US, if a person gets drunk in a bar, and racks up his car, the bar will get sued. That's why they cut off folks who have obviously had too much.

      In the UK? A pint and a fight, a great British night!"

      Myself?

      Bartender: Are you ready for another drink, Kid?

      Me: I was born ready for another drink.

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    3. Re:What's more important... by nospam007 · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Strange, I think this must be a US thing. Across the pond they keep feeding you drink as long as you keep paying."

      In the US you might have to show ID, express willingness, in Europe the bar-bot just has to check: 'is it breathing?' Then it knows it's not a hat-stand and offers beverages.

    4. Re:What's more important... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Across the pond you can either walk home, or the buses run all night. Driving yourself to a bar is much less common, partly because gasoline is several times the price And the village pubs are just that, in every village.

      I've helped a barkeep in a small village in England get the last customer out the door, and walked him home, so the barkeep didn't have to.

    5. Re:What's more important... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Around here if you keep giving them drinks after they're clearly intoxicated you can wind up losing your license. Even if you do put them into a cab and nothing bad happens.

  4. Someone is getting paid for this? by eric31415927 · · Score: 1

    If I were to order a drink from a robot, I'd follow its rules. This might be as simple as raising my glass in the air twice - whatever the new protocol is programmed to be.
    When I order from a person, I want eye contact with the bartender. This won't work with a robotic bartender because it would be new and everybody would be staring at it.
    Now put my name down as one of the coauthors and get on with some real science.

    1. Re:Someone is getting paid for this? by stargrazer · · Score: 1

      Here is a solution. Have a robot with really nice tits and/or a revealing crotchtorial bulge. A big ugly bulls-eye would be at the top. The eye contact hits that registered at the bull-eye would score service. The other "hits" might cause a jiggle or perhaps an escort service phone number (advertising revenue) on the display screen near where the belly button should be. To weed out the casual non-sexual on-lookers out there, perhaps the screen could flash a display which looks to be an error message with some FORTRAN code or something.

  5. This robot doesn't exist. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    For the research comes from a non-existent university.

    'Tis for the best, lest it drive me to drink. It would!

  6. Re: Ok, so they know when you want another drink.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    A female leaning over the bar to give a clear shot of her cleavage is also a sure sign.

  7. Looking at the wrong thing by petes_PoV · · Score: 1

    If you want to know if someone is ready for another drink, just check whether their glass is empty. Forget body language, just go for the obvious.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    1. Re:Looking at the wrong thing by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      I'm a glass half full kind of guy you insensitive bastard!

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    2. Re:Looking at the wrong thing by hedwards · · Score: 1

      What about if that's the last one they wanted? Doing something like this would result in one beer being wasted per patron. Also, it would result in people who had been drinking sprite to be served beer.

      Also, it doesn't provide for the possibility that you might want a different kind of beer or to switch to the soft stuff so you can sober up before leaving.

    3. Re:Looking at the wrong thing by petes_PoV · · Score: 1

      What about if that's the last one they wanted?

      Then when robo-barkeep asks if they'd like another, the drinker would reply "No thank you" and the robot would give them the bill. If in america, it would then hang around until it gets a tip.

      --
      politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    4. Re:Looking at the wrong thing by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Or you just have the robot wait until signaled to bring a beer. Saving the time wasted on the interaction by bringing the check or the beer and only asking if you signal for something else.

    5. Re:Looking at the wrong thing by xQx · · Score: 1

      If you want to know if someone is ready for another drink, just check whether their glass is empty. Forget body language, just go for the obvious.

      Couldn't agree more!! I saw the headline and thought "Well isn't it bloody obvious, there's less than 1cm of amber fluid left in their glass, or they don't have a glass".

      Mustn't have been an Australian study.

    6. Re:Looking at the wrong thing by mjwx · · Score: 1

      If you want to know if someone is ready for another drink, just check whether their glass is empty. Forget body language, just go for the obvious.

      Or it could ask?

      Would you like another drink?
      (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail, (I)gnore, (L)eave Bottle

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  8. THIS is the stuff that MATTERS by Provocateur · · Score: 1

    There is hope for /. after all... ...and for all mankind. Programming Skynet for Happy Hour, imagine that.

    I want these guys on the Mars team. Don't tell them about the one way part, not yet. They'll all be smiling when they land, or pregnant.

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  9. I can code that by Teppy · · Score: 1

    int NeedsDrink(void) { return(1); }

  10. Put even more people out of work by CokeBear · · Score: 1

    Great, now even more of us will be unemployed. Won't even be able to get a job tending bar, when a robot can replace us.

    You think the economy is bad now, wait until unemployment is 60%. /Yes, I know I can always train for a better job and work harder, but that doesn't change the numbers. In the future there won't be jobs for most people. What will society look like at that point, with a massive unemployed underclass?

    --
    Reality has a liberal bias
    1. Re:Put even more people out of work by mstefanro · · Score: 1

      There will probably be fewer repetitive jobs that a monkey can do and more jobs that require intelligence and knowledge.
      This might be unfair to those who were born really ungifted. If only we had an education system able
      to figure out what is an individual good at and what he enjoys doing.

    2. Re:Put even more people out of work by h4ck7h3p14n37 · · Score: 1

      Don't most people expect to converse with their bartender? How's that going to work?

      Hello patron, my name is bartender Sbaitso.
      I am here to help you.
      Say whatever is in your mind freely,
      Our conversation will be kept in strict confidence.
      Memory contents will be wiped off after you leave,
      So, tell me about your problems.

    3. Re:Put even more people out of work by TheSeatOfMyPants · · Score: 1

      Bartending generally *does* require intelligence and knowledge, plus strong social skills and a dash of creativity. In quiet oldschool bars, they need to be able to remember what the "regulars" have, hold a full conversation in which they discuss a wide variety of topics, give advice or generally make the individual feel better (or at least not as alone)... In clubs and nicer bars, they need to know and competently mix not only an extremely wide variety of drinks, know enough about the different flavors to creatively figure out how to make a new drink a customer describes, come up with their own creations, plus remember the regulars' favorites & think up what other drinks the individual might also like if asked. In *all* bars, they must be able to recognize and skillfully handle situations when a patron is underage, belligerent, drunk enough that serving more alcohol would be a bad idea, or otherwise too intoxicated to drive.

      IOW, just because the individual isn't working with technology or at a desk doesn't mean their job lacks intellectual rigor.

      As far as employment goes, "intelligent" jobs have been slowly vanishing along with the other types as technology or outsourcing take their place; it's *much* harder for even a highly gifted, motivated person to secure a job, as job scarcity means that being able to "network" up the wazoo is now a central factor instead.

      It's not terribly intelligent for anyone to shrug off the socioeconomic situation of other parts of society, because each group's employment status directly impacts everyone else's. That's because the more people have a decent-enough paying job to cover necessities plus a few extras, the more money is spent on entertainment/electronics/restaurants/etc., driving a need for more skilled/gifted employees to meet the demand. In turn, the more people are struggling to find employment, the less they spend money on those unnecessary things, decreasing the demand for the skilled/gifted employees along with everyone else. (Income also directly affects the crime levels and property values/taxes in an area, controlling how much tax money is available and has to be spent on things like law enforcement rather than repaving roads or other maintenance/improvements.)

      --
      Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
    4. Re:Put even more people out of work by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      "What will society look like at that point, with a massive unemployed underclass?"

      Like it does now. Most people doing non-essential work.

      Almost everybody used to be involved with growing food. Then mechanization made it so a single farmer could grow food for hundreds or thousands of people. So those hundreds or thousands of people were out of work. What did they do? Became financial analysts, retail workers, service providers of all kinds.

      Increased productivity means more wealth. So long as you make sure some of that gets distributed to everybody, everybody is better off. You can use the extra productivity to have more free time or do work that previously society couldn't afford.

  11. Re: Ok, so they know when you want another drink.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's posts like these that make me wish we had a "-2 Not even a good troll" mod.

  12. This usually works by hyades1 · · Score: 1

    Panting loudly, weeping a little, and croaking, "Beer...for the love of god, give me beer!" usually works.

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  13. not from "JAMES" I won't by cellocgw · · Score: 1

    I mean, really, couldn't they come up with a "Artificial Intelligence Machine for Enhanced Evenings" -- AIMEE?

    If it's gotta be a robot server, it dang well better be a fembot.
    (now shutting down my inner sophomore...)

    --
    https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  14. Will you be auto changed for the ones it's thinks by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Will you be auto changed for the ones it's thinks you want even if you don't want any more beer?

  15. Re:if (1) { serve_alcohol() } by Sla$hPot · · Score: 1

    You forgot the for loop, or while.
    Ex:
    while (1) { serve_alcohol() }

    Slam,slam,slam,slam,slam,slam,slam,slam......
    That's better

  16. you have race condition by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    while bar.open {
        foreach customerArray | customer | do
        if ((customer.emptyGlass == true) && (customer.isConscious == true)){
            tender.serveDrisk( customer );
        } else {
            tender.hurryFinishThatDrinkIllBringAnother( customer)
        }
    }

  17. Re: Ok, so they know when you want another drink.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's posts like these that make me wish we had a "-2 Not even a good troll" mod.

    The post you are attempting to claim was a troll was based on reality, and
    anyone with any life experience knows this is true.

    You're just a cunt ( literally or figuratively ) with a penchant for political correctness.

  18. Re: Ok, so they know when you want another drink.. by jd2112 · · Score: 1

    If they were robots they would be more likely to get my order right.

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
  19. Re:if (1) { serve_alcohol() } by Longjmp · · Score: 2

    void bartender() {
    exception up;
    int i = 1;
    try {
    while ( i++ ) {
    serve_alcohol();
    if ( i == MAX_INT) throw up;
    ...
    }

    /* Note: there is no catch statement within the bartender function, no one would want to catch that> */

    --
    There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.
  20. The Robot and the Law by westlake · · Score: 1
    The time and place don't really matter - stories like this make the news every day.

    The restaurant served alcohol to "visibly intoxicated persons" on at least three occasions, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said Friday in a statement. On two of those occasions, two female Tiffany's patrons were killed in separate drunk driving crashes and in the third, an intoxicated male motorcyclist was injured in a crash.

    Bruno D'Uva Sr. and Bruno D'Uva Jr., both of whom own 30 percent of Tiffany's license, and Lisa Barna, who owns 40 percent, must sell their interests in the license by July 24, 2015 and pay a fine of $200,000.

    After Over-Serving Patrons, Tiffany's Owners to Give Up Liquor License

    Another way to lose your liquor license is by failing to card or to question the underage drinker.

    The geek of course is obsessed with tech.

    The bar owner is looking for a bartender who can gently push sales of the top-shelf liquor. He needs to be sociable --- he needs to be a touch theatrical.

    The robot bartender as a running gag is at least as old as kinescopes of The Jackie Gleason Show of 1952. I wouldn't be in the least surprised if he made his first appearance in the silent films of 1915.

  21. So it follows me all day by MonsterMasher · · Score: 1

    Well, then right after morning coffee I can expect to be pestered by this bartending robot.

    Beep.. "Time for your drink, and cannabis is recommended.., sir" ...beep.

    Doesn't sound healthy to me.

  22. Amok by findoutmoretoday · · Score: 1

    Putting an industrial robot, normally located in a security cage, to serve drunks.

  23. the hard way by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Why not just put a button on each table that says "Bring Drinks". It would cost 1/10th as much.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  24. Re: Ok, so they know when you want another drink.. by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

    It's posts like these that make me wish we had a "-2 Not even a good troll" mod.

    The post you are attempting to claim was a troll was based on reality, and
    anyone with any life experience knows this is true.

    You're just a cunt ( literally or figuratively ) with a penchant for political correctness.

    Really, so the bartenders can completely ignore customers and expect to stay employed? You probably go to some seriously douchy clubs. I go to places that have customer service. (And girls only need to show cleavage to get free drinks.)

    --
    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  25. Hmmm. by Lost+Penguin · · Score: 1

    "Welcome to the Hotel California"

    --
    I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
  26. Re:how about you just install a button on the tabl by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

    How about they hire competent bartenders that attend to their customers? I am all for technology for technology's sake, but when it comes to this I do not see how it is anything more than a stunt.

    --
    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  27. Name. by Dabido · · Score: 1

    They should name it, THE BENDER!!!!

    --
    Sure enough, the cow costume was hanging up next to the superhero outfit and sailors uniform. (S,Spud)