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Star Pourer
The High-Tech RoboBar Out-Paces and Performs While Pleasing Patrons
 A robotic bartender that mixes perfect drinks every time,
doesn’t take tips and costs only about 30 cents an hour to operate —
sounds a little far-fetched and too good to be true, right?
Well, it’s certainly real, as demonstrated at last year’s Nightclub
& Bar show at the Motoman booth. There, RoboBar, the tuxedo-clad,
robotic star pourer dispensed mixed drinks, beer, wine and juices into
souvenir cups for trade show attendees. The true story here, however,
lies in the technology.
Nice to Meet You
With the RoboBar entertainment model, customers first use a magnetic
card to authorize service, then use a touchscreen menu to select an
attractive male or female face and “personality” for RoboBar and order
their beverage of choice. Male/female voice modules allow the robot to
speak to customers. These verbal exchanges range from the polite,
“Welcome to RoboBar, can I mix you a drink?” to teasing banter such as,
“Don’t just stand there looking at me, order something!” to the
flirtatious, “If I wasn’t bolted to the floor, I’d go home with
you tonight.” A new, high-production model of RoboBar by Motoman
(motoman.com) that can produce a perfectly mixed drink every 10 seconds
also has been created.
So, how does RoboBar perform in a nightclub or bar environment? Even
the fastest human bartender would be hard-pressed to match the pace
this tech-heavy system executes, even on his or her best day. While
RoboBar may not be the old neighborhood server, it never takes breaks,
sick days or vacations. It also doesn’t drink on the job or dip into
the till — and it’s not bothered by second-hand smoke. Little
maintenance is required, as well.
Virtually Unlimited Recipes
In the new high-production model, the RoboBar unit uses the gripper at
the end of one of its arms to pick up a glass from a rack containing a
variety of glass sizes (for example, wine, short cocktail, tall
cocktail and beer glasses).
It adds ice, if desired, and holds onto the glass while the other robot
arm, equipped with a dispensing head module, dispenses the appropriate
combination of ingredients into the glass on the fly. Up to eight
dispensing heads can each deliver 16 different ingredients (liquors,
mixers, juices, etc.) for a total of 128 different ingredients — and
virtually unlimited drink recipe combinations. RoboBar also can
dispense wine or beer from taps. Ready to sober up? RoboBar has
optional modules available for serving coffee and cappuccino.
Well-suited for 24/7 airport bars or clubs where high-volume service is
a necessity, RoboBar is adept at reliable, consistent beverage
production.
Putting on a Display
While the original RoboBar entertainment model is ideal for
self-service bars, the new RoboBar high-production model is targeted at
high-volume service bar venues that use human servers to deliver drinks
to customers. Instead of placing individual drinks onto a turntable
that rotates them outside the robot’s enclosure for pickup by the
customer, the high-production RoboBar places multiple drinks onto a
tray on a shuttle. The display identifies the location of each drink on
the tray.
“Robots are fascinating to watch, and the entertainment factor alone
makes RoboBar a customer magnet ... it also out-pours and out-performs,
while improving profits and pleasing customers ... a big advantage in
the ‘bar wars,’” says Ron Potter, Motoman’s senior director of emerging
robot markets. NCB |
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