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Intelligent Coasters Keep Beer Mugs Full

Posted by Zonk on Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:22 PM
from the best-science-ever dept.
Technology Science
Dotnaught writes "CNN.com is reporting that two German students have invented a beer mat, or coaster, that uses sensor chips to determine when the beer glass it supports is empty and then radios the bartender for a refill. One of the students interviewed for the story suggested that lifting mugs from sensing mats could double as a voting system during karaoke competitions." From the article: "Unlike the usual cardboard beer mats, the invention is made out of plastic, which means it does not absorb water. Butz said that to get around the problem, ordinary cardboard mats could be placed on top of the plastic version to absorb liquid and display advertising. 'Cardboard beer mats could still sit on top of the plastic mat and there could still be advertising, and you would just exchange the cardboard mat when you wanted to change the advertising.'"
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  • Correct me if I'm wrong, but... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rasafras (637995) <tamas.pha@jhu@edu> on Friday September 30 2005, @11:25PM (#13691585) Homepage
    ...aren't these (or similar) invented by somebody every year? Yet they seem to still be few and far between... What I'm trying to say is, why should this one be any different?

  • Phew (Score:5, Funny)

    by SpiffyMarc (590301) on Friday September 30 2005, @11:25PM (#13691590)
    Thank god we can display advertising on the cardboard.
    • Isn't it bloody sad how in a short summary like the one on Slashdot advertising becomes a major facet of any new technology?

      What the hell kind of overhyped commercialized society have we become?

  • A beer gadget! (Score:5, Funny)

    by lheal (86013) <lheal1999 AT yahoo DOT com> on Friday September 30 2005, @11:27PM (#13691594) Homepage Journal
    My life is complete. Now I don't even have to speak to bartenders! I can just use my mouth for its One True Purpose, the ingestion of sufficient quantities of "liquid bread".

    Germany is where?
  • What the fuck ever happened to "Yo barkeep, lemme have a refill!"...of course, that assumes that you dont get kicked the fuck out with that remark...or leaving bad tips :)

  • Popular topic (Score:5, Informative)

    by Rew190 (138940) on Friday September 30 2005, @11:29PM (#13691609)
    Before a whole bunch of us scream "dupe," yes, we've seen this before, but this time it's the mugs that are phoning the bar. Let's see 'em!

    Another Beer Please [slashdot.org]

    Beer Stein Goes Hi Tech [slashdot.org]

  • I know this is hard to believe, but... (Score:5, Funny)

    by phlegmofdiscontent (459470) on Friday September 30 2005, @11:32PM (#13691618)
    Sometimes, I don't WANT another beer (usually when I can't afford another beer).
  • ...but can it tell when you've had enough for the night?
  • These are almost exactly the same as the in-glass system I read about in a Mitsubishi R&D pdf a while back. linky [merl.com], google html conversion [66.102.7.104] it uses the table for power and data transmission, and detects liquid level through electric resistance measurements. neat stuff
  • if it was "free as in beer" :)

  • New from O'Reilly - Advanced Beer-mat Hacks (Score:3, Interesting)

    by LithiumX (717017) on Friday September 30 2005, @11:37PM (#13691640)
    So can these things be modified to handle pitchers? I rarely ever get individual beers, as I count my beers by the liter.

    Also, this brings us one step closer to humanities highest achievement to be...

    ...the robot barkeep, R2 style.

  • Simpler Solution? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The Amazing Fish Boy (863897) on Friday September 30 2005, @11:42PM (#13691658) Homepage Journal
    Why not just have buttons to push if a beer is needed. The button could be on the coaster, or just on the bar, or at the tables, or whatever. That would probably be cheaper. That also solves the problem of having finished one beer, but not wanting another. Not to mention people walking out of the bar with the coaster, etc.
  • How about a nanotech version of the "selfwinding watch" mechanisms, that charge the sensor/radios when the steins are lifted?
  • Wouldn't these inventive types get a bigger charge out of doing something important? Like a mug that makes beer out of thin air?

  • 6 reasons why this is not going to work (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Crouty (912387) on Friday September 30 2005, @11:53PM (#13691708)
    1. People like beer in different sizes. Coaster would have to be calibrated.
    2. People do the weirdest things with coasters from which few leave the coaster intact.
    3. Coaster without cardbord gets wet. Cardboard soaks beer and would have to be replaced. Cardboard that just lies on top of intelligent coaster does not stick to it. Cardboard glued to the intelligent coaster cannot be replaced easily.
    4. Tons of coasters get lost in a pub. Would be expensive.
    5. People tend to like waitresses to take care of your refills.
    6. Pubs will not be able to save on personnel because of intelligent coasters. Someone still has to look after the customers.
  • intelligent

    and

    beer

    Please, let's not ruin one of my life's greatest joys by bringing intelligence to bear

  • Praise god for this Intelligent Design! A great step in the evolution of beer mugs!

  • Bargirls (Score:4, Insightful)

    by HermanAB (661181) on Saturday October 01 2005, @12:09AM (#13691762)
    Hmm, being a regular male chauvinist pig, I think I much prefer a breasty bar girl in a short skirt coming to ask me whether I want another...
  • So, when you are lying on the floor, holding on, so as not to fall off the planet and you can't return the mug to the coaster, since your arm is too short and you can't find the table anyway, since it isn't down there, then the barkeep will keep bringing you more beer? There is something fundamentally flawed with this design.

  • Sounds like something out of SciFi. (Score:5, Funny)

    by zwilliams07 (840650) on Saturday October 01 2005, @12:23AM (#13691800)
    Giving the coasters total control of beer? They could keep mankind enslaved.

    I, for one, welcome our new Intelligent Coaster Overlords.
  • i'm gonna make my own coaster! with blackjack, and hookers~!

    on second thought forget the coaster, and the blackjack.

  • Embedded coasters? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by patdabiker (710704) on Saturday October 01 2005, @12:52AM (#13691894) Homepage
    How about you embed these in tables/bars? Then you don't have to worry about it getting stolen, and you make the process more transparent to the client. And you can keep the standard coasters. Just make it intuitive that the place you put your cardboard coasters is on top of the embedded plastic one.

  • "One of the students interviewed for the story suggested that lifting mugs from sensing mats could double as a voting system during karaoke competitions."

    That's a great idea! Let's use the same method for presidential elections too. It'd probably even be more secure than those silly voting machines and at the very least, much more entertaining.

    Now that I think about it, having the candidates sing karaoke as part of their platform might be a good idea too :)

  • Never before has there been a story with such harmony between "News for Nerds" and "Stuff that Matters." Well, except all those other smart beer mug posts.

  • Czech System: Simpler, Free, Better (Score:5, Interesting)

    by putko (753330) on Saturday October 01 2005, @01:29AM (#13691966) Homepage Journal
    The Czechs at U Zlateho Tigra have a simpler system.

    They serve one beer. (an excellent one).
    They serve one kind of mug (half-liter).
    It is presumed that if you have an empty in front of you, you want another.

    A guy goes around the room looking for empties. He carries as many beers as he can hold. He takes your empty, puts down the new beer and marks your coaster to "add" the new beer to the tally. Then he goes back to the bar, loads up with more beers and heads out.

    If you don't want the beer, you must say "no!"

    When finished, you pay. He counts up and you are done.

    That's it: free but for the paper (or coaster) used for the tab. Works great. No need to even talk to the guy.

    Ruthelessly efficient.

    • Sorry about the reply to my comment, I accidentally enclosed some of my comment in tags. Guess it will teach me to use the preview button more.

      So back to what I was saying.

      Gimmicks like competition doesn't bring a karaoke crowd. I've seen too many shows over the years just go into failure because the KJ didn't know what they were doing, and tried relying on gimmicks like cash prizes and just bullshit.

      In Japanese karaoke shows, you clap for everyone no matter how bad. You don't heckle, boo or pass judgeme
    • Quite frankly, I think here in the U.S. - the main reason karaoke survives has nothing to do with whatever cash prizes or competitions are going on. Everyone I know who is into it is either a part-time musician who wants to practice their singing skills in public someplace, or more commonly, is an amateur who thinks he or she is a "pretty good singer" and wants to show off (after loosening up a bit with a couple beers).

      EG. I used to know a couple girls, one of their boyfriends, and another guy the boyfrie
    • Useful? Hell, the inventor should be shot. What insensitive clod would design something to replace a sexy, breasty, scantily clad bar girl???
      • Eventually, this technology will be implantable. If not incorporated into the beer itself. Nanosensors and data aggregators will form a network in and about you, measuring everything from mood to liver enzyme capability, capable of automatically signalling the bartender based not only on the emptiness of the glass, but the emptiness of your glass, belly, wallet, hopes, and/or bladder.

      • Re:Finally (Score:4, Funny)

        by SpottedKuh (855161) on Saturday October 01 2005, @12:43AM (#13691857)
        What insensitive clod would design something to replace a sexy, breasty, scantily clad bar girl???

        Allow me to quote from the article:
        Butz, who now works as professor of computer science at the University of Munich, specializes in human computer interaction.
        They're computer scientists. They're intimidated by sexy, breasty, scantily clad bar girls. However, they're German (and university denizens at that), hence they like beer.

        I believe they've found the perfect solution to their problem!
      • What insensitive clod would design something to replace a sexy, breasty, scantily clad bar girl???

        You don't understand how the invention works - it's not intended to replace the bar girl, it's intended to SUMMON the bar girl. The faster you drink your beer, the more often the bar girl comes to see you.
    • Here's a bit of trivia that some of you might know. It's common for a bartender to refill your mug without you asking when they see your mug completely empty, especially in Germany. If you leave a little beer on the bottom, the bartender won't give you a refill.

      In the US it's common for them to refill your mug without asking if it's less than a quarter full and you aren't laying on the floor and you haven't assaulted another patron. At least in Jacksonville Beach. I love this town.
    • When I first read the headline, I was thinking of intelligent roller-coasters that somehow managed to keep your beer mugs from spilling while you rode along.... "Now that's technology for you", I thought to myself.

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