Sci-fi TV and films usually seem to foreshadow technology innovations by many years. It is 2013, and even though there has been a slew of innovative products, we’re far from flying cars like those in Back To The Future or The Jetsons. What we do have now, is a robotic bartender. A group of young black men from Atlanta have created a device called the “Monsieur” that allows users to have their drinks automatically mixed. As reported by mashable.com:
“It might sound unusual for a robot bartender to whip up cocktails in the kitchen as you come home from work, but a new concept called the Monsieur could make this the new norm.
“Here’s how it works: you load the alcohol of your choice (and mixers such as orange juice and cranberry juice) into the back of the system. It will then create a customized menu based on whatever you put in. Choices for mixed drinks then appear on the touchscreen. After selecting the one you want, you can select if you want the drink strong, medium or light.”
The Monsieur Team is led by Co-Founders Barry Givens, Eric Williams and CTO Mario Taylor, who are all grads of Atlanta’s Georgia Tech. They also have the wildly successful Dr. Paul Judge, on their board and as an investor. According to their website:
“The Monsieur comes with 12 themed packages with 25 preset cocktails each. You can select from a tiki bar theme, a sports bar theme, an Irish pub, or a non-alcoholic theme. On average, the machine can make 150 cocktails before it needs refilling.”
The Monsieur team is also working on a home version of the robotic bartender as well. According to gizmag.com:
“The company is developing an in-home version of its business model Monsieur bartender using crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Weighing 50 lb (22.6 kg), Monsieur is a black box measuring 22 x 18 x 21 in (55.8 x 45.7 x 53.3 cm) with a touchscreen and a dispensing slot with a suitably festive blue neon glow. Inside the basic model is room for eight 30-oz (0.8-l) containers along peristaltic pumps, and processors that handle orders and monitor container levels. Clean up takes about two minutes”
It’s always great to see young Black professionals doing big things in the technology industry, and hopefully the Monsieur will become a mass market product.
Check out the Monsieur website here to learn more about the product. And check out co-founder Barry Givens’ video clip discussing the product below.
