Robots Made Your Drink?
New AI Technology Has Allowed for Robots to Become Bartenders
By Mitchell Kayal, Assistant Editor
On November 7, Lynn University hosted its second annual TEDx event, bringing several accomplished speakers to campus to share the secrets behind their success.
Brian Connors, Senior Director of the Bacardi Center for Excellence, was one of five guest speakers. He shared knowledge about his background in food and beverage innovation and advised on how to be unique in any field.
“Be curious, and take the risk,” said Connors before revealing his latest contribution to the food and beverage service, Cecilia, the AI Bartender.
Cecilia the AI bartender not only serves drinks from a catalog of thousands of recipes, but she also responds and engages in conversation just like a human bartender would. The seven-foot tall, arcade cabinet-like machine also has the capability to gather and analyze marketing data and can produce approximately 120 cocktails per hour.
“Put something out there that no one else has even thought of,” said Connors, speaking on behalf of the AI bartender.
One of the newest innovations in a rapidly developing field, Cecilia the AI bartender is just one example of what AI programs are capable of. While it is still unclear how commonplace AI service robots might become, Cecilia is proof that such a concept is far from being a pipe dream.
“I got a lot of push back, people thought I was crazy,” said Connors when talking about the beginning stages of an AI bartender.
While undoubtedly a strange concept for many, the efficiency and potential cost savings offered by a machine-like Cecilia may very well mean that AI bartenders will soon become the norm.
