Robots are pouring drinks at Las Vegas Strip bar
The technology allows the robots to make limitless combinations of cocktails
Robots have come to Las Vegas and they can now make thirsty customers a cold, stiff drink.
The Tipsy Robot cocktail bar is the first of its kind establishment on land, making it the only fully automatic bar in the U.S. Similar robots have already been serving drinks at sea on some Royal Caribbean cruise ships, called the Bionic Bar.
Rino Armeni and his company, Robotic Innovations came up with the idea of the machine-controlled bar. Two bionic arms choose from around 60 different types of liquor in 120 bottles suspended from the ceiling to create numerous combinations of drinks.
CAN ROBOTS CREATE JOBS FOR HUMANS?
“I’ve been in Vegas since 1989 and one of the things I’ve noticed because I’ve been in food and beverage all my life is that normally we are always behind the trends of New York," said Armeni. "So when I saw this prototype three years ago, I thought this would work really well in Las Vegas.”
The average wait time is less than 70 seconds for your drink to be made with the robots making 50 to 60 drinks an hour. The automatons even shake and stir the drink before pouring into the glass, which is then pushed through a slot at the end of the bar.
Customers place their orders on tablets in front of the bar. The cocktail then shows up on a large board near the bar and the drink can trace it using a barcode and the name you gave your order. Once the robots make the beverage, customers go up and retrieve it in a plastic glass.
LA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FIGHTING DISEASE WITH TINY ROBOTS, BIG DATA
The Tipsy Robot employs attendants called “galactic ambassadors” that assist patrons and show them how to order. “One thing I want your audience to understand that we are not taking jobs away from bartenders. What you see behind me is an attraction, is entertainment, no different from the fountains at the Bellagio,” said Armeni.
Armeni hopes to expand in the future. “My partner and I feel that Las Vegas should only have one. We want to be exclusive, we want to be innovative, and we want to be unique," he explained. “We have already received lots of requests believe it or not, guess what, China, Japan, South Korea, from India, from Germany.”
Joyce McLane bought a drink for the first time from one of the robots. “I do think we would see something like this eventually," she said. "It’s cool, it’s something we need to embrace”
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.