If you are in Glasgow next week, be sure to visit the Garage, one of its largest clubs, and order a beer from the new assistant bartender. The Barhand vending machine will give you a bottle of beer with its electronic robotic hand. In "Young Scot set for share in millions from robot barman," the Sunday Herald reports that Michael Bowes, a 23-year old entrepreneur, is installing the first robotic bartender, built by Japanese company Fuji. Bowes has exclusive rights to sell the robot and expects to generate sales of about $200 million within five years. Of course, some people are concerned that the Barhand could deliver beers to people already drunk, but Bowes insists that by reducing queues, people will only buy one drink at a time instead of picking several ones from a real bartender. Read more.
Here are the essential facts about the launch of the Barhand.
Orders have already been taken from bars and clubs across England and elsewhere in Europe. But the first unit will be installed in one of Glasgow’s largest clubs, The Garage.
It is being shipped over from Asia for a launch party on Wednesday. The product will then be launched in London at industry trade show bar.05 at Earls Court the following week.
The Barhand, a concept three and a half years in the making, is expected to generate sales of £ 100 million to £ 200m within the next five years. Michael Bowes, managing director of Bowes Enterprises, said he has also been approached by a large non-alcoholic drinks company about vending products that don’t fit into traditional units.
Here is a link to the current schedule for the Garage. And I'm sorry to tell you that the Zak Wylde's Black Label Society gig has been cancelled on June 1, 2005.
Anyway, the Barhand has really been designed with U. K. pub rules.
When people ask me how I develop recipes, I have to respond: “travelling, eating, watching, experimenting, and constantly asking myself: ‘Do I want to eat this dish again?’” Will I yearn for it some evening when I’m hungry? Will I remember it in six months’ time? In a year? Five years from now?
—Paula Wolfert, U. S. cookbook writer. Paula Wolfert’s World of Food, Introduction, Harper and Row (1988)
The Barhand has been specially designed for licensed premises, with a timeclock that shuts the machine off after the "last orders" bell. The electronic arm inside the vending machine is meant to prevent bottles from crashing to the bottom of the dispensing slot and being damaged.
Of course, some people are worried by the fact that the Barhand could sell a beer to someone already drunk.
Patrick Browne, spokesman for the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said Bowes Enterprises would have to address a number of crucial issues. He said: "One of the offences in licensing laws is allowing people to sell alcohol to someone who is drunk. How do you stop someone who is drunk from going and using the vending machine again?"
For more information, you should read the April 2005 issue of enterprisinglasgow (PDF format, 16 pages, 2.35 MB). The image above comes from "A Helping Barhand" on page 2 (Credit: enterprisinglasgow).
In this column, Bowes replies to the critics mentioned above and says that the Barhand will help people to reduce their drink consumption.
"What the vending machine enables people to do is purchase drinks in an easy and controlled manner but it also has other advantages in that it can help to prevent binge drinking by decreasing a person’s rate of consumption."
"In developing my product I conducted research amongst drinkers and one of the questions I asked was -- would you purchase multiple drinks if the bar was busy? A staggering 75% of the 500 people canvassed said yes. In essence people are buying multiple rounds of drinks, not because they want them, but because they want to avoid queuing.
The right eloquence needs no bell to call the people together, and no constable to keep them.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
As I haven't found a single picture of the Barhand on the Web, I have no idea if it looks like a traditional vending machine or if it has a futuristic robotic design. So, if you go to the Garage on June 1st, please take some pictures and send them to me.
And of course, don't drink too much.
Sources: Julia Fields, Sunday Herald, UK, May 29, 2005; and various websites
Related stories can be found in the following categories.
Food
Innovation
Robotics.