Drinkbots

When robots are not trying to take over the world, they can also try to make you drunk! Drinkbots combine the efficiency of technology with the whimsicality of art. They are not vending machines, they are one of a kind interactive contraptions designed to please humans at parties. 

These contraptions are available to rent for parties and special events. Please contact Obtainium Works for rates and guidelines (neverwashaul@gmail.com).

 

TIKITRON

It’s one thing to order a cocktail drink at a bar, but when the bartender is a robot, you have another level of experience! TikiTron is a drinkbot, a type of robot designed to take over the human race by getting them very drunk! TikiTron’s speciality is embedded in the name: Tiki Cocktails! These Rum-based drinks are complicated to make and easy to screw up. A little too much simple syrup and it’s too sweet; add too much lime juice and it’s too tart. What if you could build a robot that makes the perfect Mai Tai, a deadly Scorpion, or a wild Hurricane, every time? That is power (and the danger) of TikiTron! Throw in a bamboo hut, sacrificial idols, and an angry volcano god, and you have a tropical adventure that you’ll never forget! 

On The New Screen Savers, Leo Laporte and Jason Howell meet the TikiTron creators, Dr. Bombay (Samuel Coniglio), Kiki Jewell, and Katherine Becvar. Their drinkbot uses a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, 12 peristaltic pumps, Adafruit DC and Stepper Motor HATs, and requires a sacrifice with an RFID tag - plus some dancing!

A live demo of the TikiTron Drinkbot at the Second Annual Cocktail Robotics Grand Challenge, at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, July 10, 2016! 

The Tea Engine

Care for a spot of tea?  

Bringing civility and art into a world full of cold robots is a noble gesture. Unlike most drinkbots which look ugly while serving cocktails, The Tea Engine hearkens back to a more elegant era, where handcrafted machines were both beautiful and functional.

The Tea Engine is a robotically controlled tea service made from an antique coffee percolator from the mid-1920s.  Those wishing tea simply need dial the number on the rotary dial that corresponds to how they take their tea.  A microcontroller reads the number of pulses from the dial and dispenses tea to suit one’s preference.  The Tea Engine can be programmed to embellish tea with either milk and sugar, or peach and ginger liqueur depending on the nature of the event and the audience that we are serving.  In keeping with the general theme of fanciness, one's tea is served in a fine china cup.

Simple and beautiful.

The Tea Engine demo at the Second Annual Cocktail Robotics Grand Challenge, at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco on July 10, 2016! 

The COSMOBOT Drinkbot (retired)

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3, 2, 1, LIFTOFF!

Traveling to the stars has never been so stylish! The COSMOBOT drinkbot was our first drinkbot project. Created in 2009 and retired in 2016, it was the flagship symbol of the fun things people can do by mixing together robots, cocktails, and space travel!

The rocket’s design pays homage to the 1950’s era classic rocketship design from science fiction and early space travel. You can choose your drink by turning a dial on the Mission Control box: Cosmopolitan, Cape Cod, or Kamikaze. Then press the Big Red Shiny Button to launch your drink!!!

The COSMOBOT won many awards from Robogames, Barbot, and the Cocktail Robotics Grand Challenge. We were invited to the 2014 Portland Cocktail Festival to compete with human bartenders. The robot won!

The COSMOBOT was featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal, and has been the subject of many news reports and video blogs about Cocktail Robotics. It was a pioneer of a fun new field.

Meet the robobartenders of BarBot, an annual showcase of robots designed specifically to mix drinks and serve them on command. From whiskey dispensing droids to steampunk-themed servers, we sample the libations from these mechanical mixologists.