*Ingredients currently under consideration for replacement
Using these 16 ingredients, a total of 188 different drinks can be made, with the included ability to add ounce increments of each ingredient to customize (or create) a drink. The drink database is easy to update and nearly infinitely expandable.
Customers sign up for a user account, for which they are assigned a unique, 5-digit, hexadecimal PIN. The account is debit-based, with each drink charging the customer at cost for the drink they are purchasing, automatically deducting from their account balance.
All told, the project took about 3 months and $235 to complete. It is worth mentioning, however, that the LCD (the most expensive single component) was donated (approx. value: $100+), and various other components were otherwise acquired for free. The Bar Monkey was graciously funded by West Dorm HMC, even though we were overbudget by $85. Continual maintenance and occasional improvements are still always a concern.
Some Pictures:
Beta Testing
Here's the cabinet when it was just a few shelves holding empty 2-liter bottles. One pump is hooked up to the computer for the purpose of taking time-constant data.
Soldering I
Having collected the time-constant data, Steve and Brad dutifully solder half-inch jumpers to each of the 4 leads on each of the 16 relays. Neither of us knows, to this day, why we did this outside.
Soldering II
Closeup of the meticulous but tedious jumper-soldering process.
Bartop Under Construction
The unfinished bartop, with various tools, containers, and other helpful things strewn across it in the midst of hard work.
The Monkey's Central Nervous System
The finished relay board, connected to the computer via parallel ports. The computer is running the Bar Monkey program, which displays the drink code prompt on the LCD.
LCD and Keypad Closeup
The above-mentioned drink prompt, but closer.
Behind the Scenes of the Relay Board
It looks really nice and neat on top, but the relay board was quite possibly the most difficult part of the entire project. What you see here are 16 relays, 16 diodes, 16 resistors, 16 transistors, and approximately 70 small segments of wire (not counting the 64 jumpers).
Inside the Finished Product I (shown above)
Pretty self-explanatory. The pumps and their respective reservoirs in place, the computer and relay board safely tucked on a shelf, the LCD behind a half-inch of acrylic, and all the tubes pulled through the PVC dispenser neck.
Inside the Finished Product II
Same as above, but from a different angle.
Electronics Closeup
The LCD, with extension cable to the keypad and serial cable to the computer, is at the top right. The bottom of the computer is unimpressive, though dominant in the frame, and the relay board is seen off to the side.
Outside the Finished Product
Here we see the Bar Monkey as customers see it, complete with Dustin's excellent stencil design and the nozzle, which is removable for cleaning.
The Finished Bartop
The top of the Bar Monkey, covered in rugged black plastic with a viewing window for the LCD.
Finished LCD and Keypad Closeup
It still looks pretty much the way it did when it was unfinished, only now it isn't just laying on the floor.
Drink Confirmation
The true beginning of the customer's experience with the Bar Monkey.
Technical Specs:
* Runs a program written in C by Dustin Cooper, in Linux.
* Bartop is approximately four feet above the ground.
* Holds approximately 1.75 liters of each ingredient.
* Uses 16 windshield washer pumps run by a 12V adaptor. Pumps are connected in parallel and run sequentially by the program.
* Dispenses an 8 oz. mixed drink in less than 10 seconds.
* Currently has 30 registered user accounts, with expected rapid growth as people cease being broke.
CounterCentral hit counters
Since 10:00 PM EST on Jan 7, 2003
Spiders are irradiated in space, they bite humans who gain spider abilities and become superheroes... Wait, I heard something like that some ware before...
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but MS is trying to market a player packaged with a codec, while MPEG is offering a codec only, right?
If so, isn't MPEG4 better for smaller devices which need special / small software?
It's about time. My state has had a no-call list for about a year, and about half of the phone numbers in the state have signed up.
I just got a new number, so I'm getting tellemarketing calls 2 or 3 times a day until the list gets updated, but when I had a number on the list there was never an unwanted call.
"But Pioneer 10, now more than twice the distance from the sun as Pluto, continues to serve a valuable scientific function as it approaches the edge of the solar system."
I don't understand this. Is the solar system larger than the orbit of Pluto? If so, what defines it?
Slashdot Mirror
The Bar Monkey
Designed and Implemented by Steven Avery, Dustin Cooper, and Brad Greer
of Harvey Mudd College
The Bar Monkey, simply put, is a vending machine that serves mixed drinks. It houses 16 reservoirs which currently contain the following ingredients:
* Vodka
* Rum
* Tequila
* Whiskey
* Gin
* Amaretto
* Triple Sec
* Kahlua (or coffee liqueur)
* Midori (or melon liqueur)
* Orange Juice
* Pineapple Juice
* Cranberry Juice
* Sour Mix
* Cola*
* Tonic*
* Grenadine*
*Ingredients currently under consideration for replacement
Using these 16 ingredients, a total of 188 different drinks can be made, with the included ability to add ounce increments of each ingredient to customize (or create) a drink. The drink database is easy to update and nearly infinitely expandable.
Customers sign up for a user account, for which they are assigned a unique, 5-digit, hexadecimal PIN. The account is debit-based, with each drink charging the customer at cost for the drink they are purchasing, automatically deducting from their account balance.
All told, the project took about 3 months and $235 to complete. It is worth mentioning, however, that the LCD (the most expensive single component) was donated (approx. value: $100+), and various other components were otherwise acquired for free. The Bar Monkey was graciously funded by West Dorm HMC, even though we were overbudget by $85. Continual maintenance and occasional improvements are still always a concern.
Some Pictures:
Beta Testing
Here's the cabinet when it was just a few shelves holding empty 2-liter bottles. One pump is hooked up to the computer for the purpose of taking time-constant data.
Soldering I
Having collected the time-constant data, Steve and Brad dutifully solder half-inch jumpers to each of the 4 leads on each of the 16 relays. Neither of us knows, to this day, why we did this outside.
Soldering II
Closeup of the meticulous but tedious jumper-soldering process.
Bartop Under Construction
The unfinished bartop, with various tools, containers, and other helpful things strewn across it in the midst of hard work.
The Monkey's Central Nervous System
The finished relay board, connected to the computer via parallel ports. The computer is running the Bar Monkey program, which displays the drink code prompt on the LCD.
LCD and Keypad Closeup
The above-mentioned drink prompt, but closer.
Behind the Scenes of the Relay Board
It looks really nice and neat on top, but the relay board was quite possibly the most difficult part of the entire project. What you see here are 16 relays, 16 diodes, 16 resistors, 16 transistors, and approximately 70 small segments of wire (not counting the 64 jumpers).
Inside the Finished Product I (shown above)
Pretty self-explanatory. The pumps and their respective reservoirs in place, the computer and relay board safely tucked on a shelf, the LCD behind a half-inch of acrylic, and all the tubes pulled through the PVC dispenser neck.
Inside the Finished Product II
Same as above, but from a different angle.
Electronics Closeup
The LCD, with extension cable to the keypad and serial cable to the computer, is at the top right. The bottom of the computer is unimpressive, though dominant in the frame, and the relay board is seen off to the side.
Outside the Finished Product
Here we see the Bar Monkey as customers see it, complete with Dustin's excellent stencil design and the nozzle, which is removable for cleaning.
The Finished Bartop
The top of the Bar Monkey, covered in rugged black plastic with a viewing window for the LCD.
Finished LCD and Keypad Closeup
It still looks pretty much the way it did when it was unfinished, only now it isn't just laying on the floor.
Drink Confirmation
The true beginning of the customer's experience with the Bar Monkey.
Technical Specs:
* Runs a program written in C by Dustin Cooper, in Linux.
* Bartop is approximately four feet above the ground.
* Holds approximately 1.75 liters of each ingredient.
* Uses 16 windshield washer pumps run by a 12V adaptor. Pumps are connected in parallel and run sequentially by the program.
* Dispenses an 8 oz. mixed drink in less than 10 seconds.
* Currently has 30 registered user accounts, with expected rapid growth as people cease being broke.
CounterCentral hit counters
Since 10:00 PM EST on Jan 7, 2003
Spiders are irradiated in space, they bite humans who gain spider abilities and become superheroes...
Wait, I heard something like that some ware before...
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but MS is trying to market a player packaged with a codec, while MPEG is offering a codec only, right?
If so, isn't MPEG4 better for smaller devices which need special / small software?
You don't understand what an mp3 is.
mp3 IS NOT MPEG3. It is MPEG1, layer 3.
MPEG4 is not an mp3 replacement.
See this for details.
It's a troll...
Just read some of the discussion above.
(yes this is a joke)
Wouldn't want to confuse real people haters with digital people haters now would we?
and just use UTC everywhere.
It's 12:01 at the exact same time everywhere in my timezone at least
here
the point of duplicating Soviet space achievements of the '70's and '80's escapes me.
I think it's a 'retro' phase china is going through
How do you know what the up/down speeds are? I don't see a breakdown in the article...
from the article:
The official said HGC could provide a service of up to 10Mbps, leveraging on its fibre-optic network.
so you can get about 6.5 times the bandwidth of a T-1 if you can afford it.
A possible result of unemployment is having time on your hands to record your thoughts...
One example
It's about time. My state has had a no-call list for about a year, and about half of the phone numbers in the state have signed up.
I just got a new number, so I'm getting tellemarketing calls 2 or 3 times a day until the list gets updated, but when I had a number on the list there was never an unwanted call.
"But Pioneer 10, now more than twice the distance from the sun as Pluto, continues to serve a valuable scientific function as it approaches the edge of the solar system."
I don't understand this.
Is the solar system larger than the orbit of Pluto? If so, what defines it?
Must be an attempt to advert a war with Canada.
Canadian Bacon
Just as slashdot does not understand "time"
No way.
Chances are I could walk into you company, put a box on a desk, plug it into the wall and come back next week to collect it without anyone noticing.
Your cables are just as naked as your wireless is.
You want real security? Think biometrics. Think Faraday Cage.