Two German students have created a device that will stop beer lovers having to get out of their seats for a refill.
The “smart” beer mat, created by Matthias Hahnen and Robert Doerr from Saarland University in Saarbruecken, southwest Germany, can sense when a glass is nearly empty, sending an alert to a central computer behind the bar so waiters know there are thirsty customers.
[Andreas] Butz, who now works as professor of computer science at the University of Munich, specializes in human computer interaction. He and Michael Schmitz, of Saarland University, presented the idea at the International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing in Tokyo earlier this month.
Butz believed it had potential to become a commercial reality.
“It’s a funny idea but the nice thing about it is these students have followed it through right to the end.”
Won’t this only encourage binge drinking or something to that effect? A bottomless glass is probably the last thing some people need. It would be harder to resist the urge to deny yourself another mug if you don’t even have to ask. Not a good idea in my opinion.
It would still be easier to just order a pitcher or three. The server would only then need to refill the pretzels and check the pitchers every so often.