Robot bartender takes up job in German bar - E&T magazine

A robot bartender has recently taken up duty in a futuristic bar in the eastern German town of Ilmenau. A brainchild of a mechatronics engineer Ben Schaefer and his humanoid robots company H&S-Robots, the robot named Carl can prepare ingredients for mixing cocktails, serve drinks and engage with customers in simple conversations. Ben Schaefer has created the 2,5m tall Carl using parts from an old welding robot from KUKA, a company manufacturing industrial robots. The Robots Bar &Lounge, advertised as the place where man meets technology, future and visions, has opened recently in the rather small eastern German town of Ilmenau and can accommodate up to 40 customers. With the population of only little over 20,000, Ilmenau is a home of a Technical University, putting the new robot lounge into a position to become the next popular hang-out in the town for local students. Apart from Carl, who would be busy serving drinks, the customers can admire the technology dominated interior decorated with planets, stars and various spacecraft. H&S-Robots develops its projects in a close cooperation with several German universities who usually provide sensors and software to breathe some life into the machines. The company focuses on various applications including remotely operated exploration robots equipped with cameras and various sensors for collection of data in environments that are otherwise difficult to access. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFUyCsQLPCU8H2yS2ycjCG5JpJpug&url=http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2013/jul/robot-bartender.cfm

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