Researchers Build a Bartending Robot That Can Engage In Personalized Interactions With Humans (techxplore.com) 50
Long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 quotes TechXplore:
A widely discussed application of social robots that has so far been rarely tested in real-world settings is their use as bartenders in cafes, cocktail bars and restaurants. While many roboticists have been trying to develop systems that can effectively prepare drinks and serve them, so far very few have focused on artificially reproducing the social aspect of bartending.
Researchers at University of Naples Federico II in Italy have recently developed a new interactive robotic system called BRILLO, which is specifically designed for bartending. In a recent paper published in UMAP '22 Adjunct: Adjunct Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization, they introduced a new approach that could allow their robot to have personalized interactions with regular customers.
"The bartending scenario is an extremely challenging one to tackle using robots, yet it is also very interesting from a research point of view," Prof. Silvia Rossi, one of the researchers who carried out the study and the scientific coordinator of the project, told TechXplore. "In fact, this scenario combines the complexity of efficiently manipulating objects to make drinks with the need to interact with the users. Interestingly, however, all current applications of robotics for bartending scenarios ignore the interaction part entirely...."
The innovative system created by this team of researchers allows their robot to process what a human user is telling them and their non-verbal cues, to determine what mood they are in, how attentive they are and what types of drinks they prefer. This information is stored by the robot and used to guide its future interactions with returning customers, so that they also consider their personalities and personal stories, along with their drinking preferences.
Researchers at University of Naples Federico II in Italy have recently developed a new interactive robotic system called BRILLO, which is specifically designed for bartending. In a recent paper published in UMAP '22 Adjunct: Adjunct Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization, they introduced a new approach that could allow their robot to have personalized interactions with regular customers.
"The bartending scenario is an extremely challenging one to tackle using robots, yet it is also very interesting from a research point of view," Prof. Silvia Rossi, one of the researchers who carried out the study and the scientific coordinator of the project, told TechXplore. "In fact, this scenario combines the complexity of efficiently manipulating objects to make drinks with the need to interact with the users. Interestingly, however, all current applications of robotics for bartending scenarios ignore the interaction part entirely...."
The innovative system created by this team of researchers allows their robot to process what a human user is telling them and their non-verbal cues, to determine what mood they are in, how attentive they are and what types of drinks they prefer. This information is stored by the robot and used to guide its future interactions with returning customers, so that they also consider their personalities and personal stories, along with their drinking preferences.
ok (Score:2)
but does she have cool tattoos? maybe wears a t-shirt for a band I like? You have to give me something to work with if I'm going to chat with a bartender.
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the classic response is to reach over the bar with the soda gun and give me a little blast in the lap.
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This reminds me of ex machine
My first thought was the bartender in Passengers [wikipedia.org].
Non-verbal clues (Score:2)
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Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man...
"Brillo" means "tipsy" in Italian (Score:1)
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Looks like prior art kept them from using iZac [fandom.com]
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Huh, and "Brillo" was the title of a SF story by, IIRC, Ben Bova.
It was about using robot cops - "Steel Fuzz". Those of us ancient enough to remember the story remember that "Fuzz" was a nickname for the police. Oh wait, there was that Simon Pegg film from 2007 called Hot Fuzz, so I guess the nickname isn't obscure.
The 1972 Burt Reynolds film Fuzz was pretty good, imo.
Full film, in HD, free on YouTube for some reason, cool!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
"Brillo" - Ben Bova and Harlan Ellison (Score:2)
https://www.you-books.com/book... [you-books.com]
"Personalized" but meaningless (Score:3)
Because that is all that is possible today.
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Hopefully the MBA who runs the company gets lots of influence over how it all works, that would be right up my alley.
Oh, sorry. I meant to say "I would like that very much".
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That was my first though too (Score:2)
All I could think of immediately was "You want some more?"
But then I thought about Passengers bartender robot, which would tend to be the most advanced bartending robot so far invoked.
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I'm going to go out on a rather short limb and speculate that this robot is bound to be more engaging than anyone who thought this was a good idea.
That nicely sums it up.
As it should be (Score:2)
Interestingly, however, all current applications of robotics for bartending scenarios ignore the interaction part entirely...."
Consdiering the number of videos out there of "bartenders" taking ten minutes to pour a shot of vodka, there's a reason interaction wasn't included. I order drink, you make drink, I pay you (or have it added to my tab). No song and dance needed.
But will it run for congress (Score:2)
and then stream endless BS while doing nothing useful?
Obligatory: (Score:4, Funny)
You want * some more?
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not getting any tips! (Score:2)
not getting any tips!
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You don't like the taste of the drink? Too bad, no way to adjust it.
In a situation like
Why not link to the video? (Score:4, Informative)
Here's the impressive video of this bartending robot actually interacting with a customer [youtu.be].
Chauvinist pig mode on (Score:4, Insightful)
Can it just shut up, hand me my cocktail and have big tits?
I.e. be a perfect bartender?
Harry Solomon as a a bartender... (Score:1)
Harvests data as soon as commercialized (Score:3)
A human bartender takes at least some personal risk of losing reputation / getting hurt when divulging secrets from his conversations with guests.
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This information is stored by the robot ... (Score:3)
Arthur from Passengers arrives early (Score:2)
Does it have a ball drive on a track to get around?
Will it blab the big secret at a bad moment? Not that I blame Arthur, he extrapolated from known data, but one point too far.
All I want to know is... (Score:1)
How many real bartenders did it train off of and what percentage of the real bartenders worked in a strip club?
No, just NO (Score:2)
No one asked for this and the only people who will like it are drunks who-
Oh wait, I get it. Never mind.
It's still a hideous idea, but whatever.
(insert obligatory "What a time to be alive" comment here)
What to expect (Score:2)
Me: Search for, and buy, {product} online
3 months later...
Me: Go to robot bar
Robot Bartender: "Here is your drink, would you like to purchase {product} from this fine retailer?"
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Your signature is particularly insightful here... (especially if the bartender is a robot)
Can I tell it about LeeLoo? (Score:2)
I know she's made to be strong, but she's also so fragile, so human. Know what I mean?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
NPC Conversation (Score:2)
"I used to be a factory assembly robot until I took an arrow to the knee."
Have you seen this thing? (Score:2)
It's not exactly horrifying, but it is a bit disturbing. Reminds me of Lego Galidor.
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Would not even approach it. Reasonably recognizable English would be so much more welcome in the video feature of the article instead. That sums it up.
I'm not social and I don't drink alcohol (Score:2)
but when I used to drink, I most certainly wouldn't want to talk to a robot
The target audience is drunk people (Score:2)
I can see this working in a variety of situations. One is where there is minimal human interaction from the beginning, or there may be a human server to begin with, but after a couple of drinks the robot takes over. If you consider the amount of manipulation used in Los Vegas to keep people gambling, the possibilities to make customers drink more is staggering.
A real issue could be legal liability. Most states require t
Nice innovation... (Score:2)
No normal person actually wants this. (Score:2)
Having a "robot bartender" that can engage in "social interactions" with you and "listen to your personal stories"? There's a name for that sort of thing: It's called a chatbot. They've been around since the early 1980s. Slashdot just published a story about Meta's new chatbot a couple of days ago.
Chatbots are toys. They may be interesting or amusing to play with for a few minutes, especially if you're interested in computer programming. A fancy chatbot/robot bartender might attract a few customers tha
The bartender? (Score:2)
Aren't people supposed to go to bars with freinds?* To listen to a good band? Or to pick up hot chicks? One must have a pretty shitty social life if they need to chat up the bartender. Who may be motivated to nod sympathetically if only to not piss off a paying but otherwise annoying customer.
*Sitting in a bar some years ago with a buddy. I remarked that, in a decade or so, we could begin to resemble the pair of run-down, disheveled alcoholics that were sitting across from us. My buddy responded, "You idio
social robots (Score:2)
There will soon be a crying need for social robots to help ease the mental anguish of clinically depressed emotion robots.
It could serve Hymie the robot! (Get Smart) (Score:1)
If I wanted to talk to a machine.... (Score:2)
I'd call Charter about packet lo&$ and random
latency issues.
Useful (Score:2)