A Responsible Robot Bartender, who knows you better than you know yourself.
SOBEaR is a robot friend for any party-goer who could use some help knowing their limits. The user presses a button in SOBEaR’s left foot, then blows into the alcohol sensor above the bear’s bowtie.
An alcohol reading is displayed on a scale of 1 – 6 using LED embedded in his chest. Then SOBEaR pours a drink with an alcohol to mixer ratio that he deems appropriate for your current BAC level. Completely sober? Green means go: you will receive a pure shot of booze. Over the legal driving BAC? SOBEaR will pour you only mixer to help you slow your roll.
You can read more about the development on my grad school blog.
ROLE
Concept, Hardware, Firmware, Documentation
TECH
ATMega168 MCU, Arduino Firmware, Server Motors, Metal-oxide Gas (Alcohol) Sensor
PRESS
Gizmodo
Engadget
Popular Science
The Future of Things
YEAR
2009