Mixing the perfect drink could soon be as easy as pushing a few buttons.
A Los Angeles-based startup has launched the Somabar, a $2,500 robot bartender that can create simple mixed drinks selected by the user via the device’s accompanying app.
It could one day replace minibars in hotel rooms, help busy bartenders in restaurants or be used to mix drinks for airplane passengers.
An LA-based startup has launched the Somabar (pictured), a robot bartender that can create mixed drinks selected by the user via the device’s touchscreen or an accompanying app
Some have called the Somabar the ‘Keurig of cocktail makers’ because it can create the ‘perfect craft cocktail in under five seconds.’
Users select a drink of their choice, which prompts a pair of robotic arms to prepare the appropriate ingredients from six different airtight containers of alcohol and mixers and one container of bitters.
The containers, or Soma Pods, can be easily removed and stored for chilling in a refrigerator.
Soma Pods and the container of bitters must be manually filled.
There are also controls that enable users to determine how light or strong they want their drink to be.
Drinks are selected via a smartphone app, which connects to the device via a WiFi connection.
It can make roughly 300 different kinds of drinks, ranging from Moscow Mules and Manhattans to an Old Fashioned.
The machine mixes the right amount of ingredients using a ‘combination of fluid dynamics, kinetic energy, and turbulence created by static vanes,’ the company noted.
The finished drink is then dumped into a glass via a spout located in the device.
For those who are feeling lazy, the Somabar also has an automatic self-cleaning feature that turns on at the end of every use.
Somabar stands at two feet tall, making it small enough to fit in a hotel room, lounge or airplane.
Drinks are selected via a smartphone app, which connects to the device via a WiFi connection, or on-screen controls. Users can control how light or strong they want their drink to be
The machine mixes the right amount of ingredients using a ‘combination of fluid dynamics, kinetic energy, and turbulence created by static vanes,’ the company noted
‘Whether you are with your friends or just celebrating the end of a long work week, enjoying a craft cocktail is something that is easy to do,’ Dylan Purcell-Lowe, one of the co-creators of Somabar, explained on the company’s Kickstarter page.
‘But making one is a pain, and requires time and preparation, so we invented Somabar, to make delicious craft cocktails in under five seconds.’
Somabar was first created six years ago and since then, the startup has been working to land deals with liquor companies.
The company has also struck up a relationship with Hilton Hotels & Resorts.
Somabar hopes to replace the hotel minibar, mixing drinks for guests and charging the cost to their bill.
Hilton doesn’t plan to replace its minibars with Somabars anytime soon, however.
‘We work with many start-ups on innovations that we believe can enhance the guest experience,’ a Hilton spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times.
The machine mixes the right amount of ingredients using a ‘combination of fluid dynamics, kinetic energy, and turbulence created by static vanes’
Somabar stores six airtight containers of alcohol and one pod of bitters. The containers, or Soma Pods, can be easily removed and stored for chilling in a refrigerator
‘We will continue to stay in touch with Somabar as they prove and commercialize their product.’
Purcell-Lowe and co-founder Christopher Hameetman have raised roughly $300,000 through their Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to develop the Somabar.
Since then, the beta version has racked up about $1 million in preorders, according to Bloomberg.
Somabar expects to ship the robot bartender to roughly 10,000 hotels, restaurants and bars by the end of this year.