Asahi robot brings you beer

It’s Friday night, and you have just finished what seemed the worlds longest week at work. All you can think of now is that frosty beer waiting for you at your favourite, or closest, watering hole. You get to the bar only to discover the world and their wife are already there waving their notes at an overworked, underpaid barman. When you eventually get to the bar, and it’s your turn to get served, the barman walks straight past you, and serves someone who has only been waiting two minutes. Aghhh!

If only we could get rid of that surly barman? No I’m not talking murder, I’m talking the Asahi robotic barman. According to the people at Asahi, your average Joe will wait fifteen minutes to get served, and point out that their robot can serve Joe in two. Fantastic news for your kidneys.

Mr. Asahi, for that is his name, is a life-size robot capable of serving bottles, pints, and half pints. His arms have six axis and are capable of performing sixty repeatable actions per minute. Those arms were built in Japan, and his hands were built in Aylesbury in the UK, and allow Mr. Asahi to grip various size bottles and glasses.

No barman would be complete without a head, and Mr. Asahi doesn’t disappoint. Facial expressions are managed by LED lights, even going from green to red as he strains to take off that stiff bottle top. He is also capable of answering the odd question, and has over five hundred vocal effects. Better than some of the usual grunts you get from your flustered human.

All joking apart, I like to think that Mr. Asahi is on to something here. I would liken him to the self service counter in Tesco. You will never get rid of the human element in shops and bars, and neither should you want to. You can however help your fleshy friends out, and give yourself a bit of a talking point to boot.

Take a look at him at work here.