If you make your money serving drinks you may be out of a job soon. Factory, assembly line and even domestic workers have been ousted and replaced by robotic versions of themselves. And now bartenders are at risk too.

RoboBar can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and needs no lunch break. He (or she) won’t take leave, sick days, doesn’t require benefits or turn up for work late; in fact RoboBar is probably happy ‘sleeping’ in a storage closet or in the backroom.

You see, RoboBar is made of nuts and gears, metal and an LCD screen among other inner elements unseen to the eye.

It can’t listen to your troubles, you can’t flirt with it (yet) and it probably won’t offer you a drink on the house but RoboBar but you can choose what face you see (male or female) displayed on the screen situated where the robot’s head should be.

To order a drink simply swipe your authorizing card (determines that you’re 21 or older) then you just pick your drink of choice of the touch screen by tapping the appropriate buttons.

It may seem like a good idea to some, but in an industry where ambience, charisma and customer service are paramount what will the replacement of warm flesh with cold steel really be?

RoboBar tells you jokes and talks to while his two rob arms pour your drink, but imagine how staccato the conversation will be. The counsel for the New York NightLife Association, Rob Bookman, is not convinced saying that people can stay at home if that’s all they want: the hospitality business is more than just serving the perfect drink in his eyes.

Human interaction is a pivotal part of going out, whether it be to a restaurant, bar or café however the idea of such a low-maintenance (with regard to human elements) of an employer is probably appealing to more than just a few dining establishment owners.

The RoboBar also has the capacity and capability to turn out a mixed drink in about 10 seconds, meaning turnaround time is probably a good deal faster than with a human bartender. It also will be pouring drinks precisely to specifications meaning no spills, over pours or free drinks.

So the robot barman (or woman) saves its employer (see: owner/maintainer?) money and time. What’s not to love? Well, for one thing the cold heart of RoboBar might not be so appealing to customers with high expectations – it’s a natural phenomenon that humans, generally, interaction and connection with their fellow beings, and a preprogrammed robot might just not fit the (drinks) bill.

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