Hackit: Cocktail Robotics


Here is a special edition Hackit in honor of Roboexotica. Ever since making the decision to attend Roboexotica we’ve been speculating on the type of machines we’d like to see at such an event. Here are a handful of ideas:

Iceware via rapid prototyping: As we type this post, [Bre] is in the background attempting to build a RepRap style rapid prototyping machine that will construct shot glasses on demand. We were thinking it would be neat to cut beverage glasses out of blocks of ice using a milling machine, but why stick with normal milling equipment? It’s ice right; you could be doing something stupid like using a butane torch for your working tool. We then began to wonder “Has anyone built an ice based rapid prototyping machine?” You could just deposit water on a frozen surface to create your glassware. A group at the University of Missouri has been investigating “rapid freeze prototyping“. Since they’re using water, they only have to create the frozen shell of the part and then fill in the empty cavity with water to create a solid.

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Roboexotica 2007


Tonight marks the kickoff of Roboexotica in Vienna. It’s the world’s leading festival for cocktail robotics. The event aims to explore the role of cocktail robotics as an index for the increasing integration of technological innovations into human lives. It also explores the explosion of radical hedonism in man-machine interaction.

…or it’s just an excuse for a bunch of smart people to get together, build robots, and drink.

The word ‘robotics’ seems to always imply ‘efficiency’, but that’s definitely a no-no at Roboexotica. Fine tuned manufacturer grade cocktail production is not the goal; personality, charm, character, all of these qualities are important in machinery destined for Roboexotica. You can already see some photos from the event setup on Flickr and we’ll be bringing you more posts on the individual machines as we get more information/drinks.