MIX A DRINK WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE

Makr Shakr, world’s first crowd-controlled robotic bar, to debut at Google I/O on May 15

To see a video of Makr Shakr in action, visit www.makrshakr.com

Cambridge (MA), May 13 — Researchers at the MIT Senseable City Lab in Cambridge, in
collaboration with The Coca-Cola Company and BACARDÍ Rums, have designed a robotic
bartending system called Makr Shakr. This new mixology system allows users to create in real- time personalized cocktail recipes through a smart phone application and transform them into crowd-sourced drink combinations. Makr Shakr will be unveiled at the Google I/O annual developer conference in San Francisco on Wednesday evening, May 15.

“Makr Shakr is a great example of how digital technologies are changing the interaction between people and products — a topic that our laboratory has been exploring in great depth,” said Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT Senseable City Lab and the design practice Carlo Ratti Associati in Turin, Italy. “The system explores the new dynamics of social creation and consumption — ‘design, make and enjoy’ — allowing users to design their own cocktail creations, while digitally controlled
machines transform these designs into reality.”

To use Makr Shakr, users will first download an app onto their handheld devices, allowing them to create both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink combinations. The cocktail creation will then be assembled by three robotic arms, whose movements — shown on a large display positioned behind the bar — mimic the actions of a bartender, from the shaking of a martini to the thin slicing of a lemon garnish.

“The number of drink combinations is almost limitless,” says Yaniv Turgeman, project leader from MIT Senseable City Lab. “The magic moment will be watching the formation of a bottom-up bar culture, as we close the loop between ‘co-curating’ and ‘co-producing,’ in real time.”

Instead of trying to replace a bartender with a robot, Makr Shakr aims to be a social experiment that looks at how people might embrace the new possibilities offered by digital manufacturing. In Makr Shakr, social connections are woven throughout the co-creation and mixing of ingredients, which are then fed back to the user through the app. With this new technology, consumers can learn from each other, sharing connections, recipes and photos on social networks.

“Digital connectivity is not replacing physical interactions, but rather reinforcing them,” adds Ratti.

To create an engaging bar experience, the robots’ movements were modeled on the gestures of Roberto Bolle, étoile dancer at the La Scala opera house in Milan and Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theater, along with Italian director and choreographer Marco Pelle. Bolle’s movements were filmed and used as input for the programming of the robots.

Makr Shakr leverages the new touchscreen-operated Coca-Cola Freestyle® beverage dispenser, which offers more than 100 drink choices at the push of a button. “Coca-Cola Freestyle represents innovation at its best, combining revolutionary technology and inspired design to deliver unprecedented choice to consumers,” said Jennifer Mann, VP and General Manager, Coca-Cola Freestyle, The Coca-Cola Company. “This collaboration with the MIT Senseable City Lab is
another way we continue to find new ways to bring co-creation and social sharing to the next level.”

BACARDÍ Rum has been inspiring the creation of classic cocktails for more than 150 years and was a natural fit for this experiment in digital mixology. “Bacardi has embraced a pioneering sensibility since our early days with innovations that revolutionized the production of rum,” said Toby Whitmoyer, Bacardi USA, VP Brand Managing Director, Rum. “We are excited to once again partner with Coca-Cola on a project that has the potential to revolutionize the cocktail industry, just as we did in 1900 with the creation of the original Cuba Libre. This project is an opportunity to bring spirits into the digital age.”

Makr Shakr can mix both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, monitoring, among others, alcohol consumption and blood alcohol levels – something beyond what a traditional bartender can do. As a result, the system promotes responsible alcohol consumption by allowing people to self-monitortheir drinking.