Bartending, a profession as old as time, reportedly dating back as far as 2000 BCE in ancient Mesopotamia, has been undergoing a transformation as of late. Robots are increasingly taking on the tasks of mixing, shaking and serving libations to patrons, be it on a cruise in the Caribbean or in a modern bar on the Vegas Strip.

The hospitality industry is not immune to the so-called “rise of the robot.” Rather, robots might be the perfect antidote for an industry plagued by high turnover, increasing labor costs and staff shortages, some experts suggest.

[Related reading: Do customers want robots in restaurants?]

Capable of working for long, uninterrupted periods, slinging drinks 24/7 quickly and efficiently, robot bartenders are promising to transform the hospitality industry. Meet some of the robots capable of slinging drinks and, in some cases, lending an ear, at a bar — or kitchen countertop — near you.

ADAM

Source: Richtech Robotics

ADAM is a robot bartender and barista from Richtech Robotics that made its debut at CES 2024 back in January. The interactive bot can reportedly swivel with 360° freedom, picking up and manipulating objects along the way with its claw-like hands. Capable of serving both coffee and cocktails, ADAM can prepare these drinks in just one minute, its developers reported.

Mixmaster Moodie

The cocktail-making robot Mixmaster Moodie from Doosan Robotics uses a combination of facial recognition technology and Open AI’s ChatGPT to serve drinks to customers. Yet, what sets this drink- making robot apart from other drink-slinging iterations is that, as its name implies, it will assign customers drinks based on their moods.

To determine the drink most befitting a customer, they are asked to stand in front of an accompanying screen that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect their facial expressions and the technology will subsequently customize their drink based on their mood.

FrazyBot

Source: Frazy

More machine than robot, this at-home robotic barista and bartender from Frazy, which also debuted at CES 2024 in January, reportedly makes bar-quality cocktails — as well as coffee, tea and boba — using ingredient-sensing robotic technology (InSERT).

Cecilia

Cecilia, from the robotic bartending company Cecilia.ai, is a vending machine-like display robot that is powered by conversational AI and voice recognition technology. Cecilia reportedly reads off menu items, makes drink recommendations and prepares cocktails. In addition to mixing an estimated 120 drinks per hour, Cecilia is able to joke with customers, much like a real-life bartender.

Brillo

A team of researchers from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy has created a bartending bot capable of small talk. Dubbed Brillo, the bartending robot not only autonomously prepares drinks, it also engages in personalized conversations with customers and remembers returning customers' favorite drinks.

Source: University of Naples Federico II

Enabling this level of personalization is a combination of what the researchers suggest is a so-called “system of record (e.g., by analyzing and storing past interactions in terms of past purchases but also the topics of interaction and the type of interaction) and a system of engagement (e.g., by improving the experience via a run-time evaluation of the current engagement level).”

Rotender

A robotic bartender that resembles a jukebox has been developed by the company Rotender. The robot, which takes its name from the company, is an autonomous bartending system that mixes drinks in under 30 seconds and so much more.

Beyond drink-making, the system, which spins and lights up when in action, also verifies the age of the consumer vial facial recognition and accepts payments for the drinks, much like a vending machine.

Barney

Source: F & P Robotics

Swiss robotics firm F & P Robotics has developed an autonomous robotic bartender called Barney. According to its developers, Barney is designed for slinging drinks in hotels, bars and shopping centers, among other locations.

Further, Barney mixes 16 different kinds of spirits, as well as eight different types of soda, once customers place their orders using their mobile phones. Additionally, Barney is designed to clean its own robotic arm and is capable of telling a joke or two.

Check back with GlobalSpec for more on the emergence of robot bartenders: a technology that is no doubt expected to transform the hospitality space.