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MSI Tec

July 29, 2019

Market Map: Booze Tech in 2019

From countertop devices used in the home kitchen to delivery services, the number of avenues in which companies can get booze to customers has expanded in recent years. And since it’s still the time of year when drinking on patios is a popular sport, we decided to focus our latest market map on all the tech out there currently changing the alcohol space.

In the U.S., alcohol consumption has actually stagnated, according to IWSR, but part of this is due to consumers now seeking quality over quantity when it comes to their drinking. Which might explain the rise in the number of companies offering recommendations apps that rate beers, wines, and spirits as well as at-home devices for the kitchen countertop that give the user a little more control over the quality of their drinks.

For The Spoon’s Booze Tech in 2019 market map, we divvied the market up into several categories where technology is making the biggest impact on the way people get, create, and consume beer, wine, and spirits. That’s everything from apps that update you on the best craft beers available to at-home bartending devices that let you release your inner mixologist to the many ways in which companies are making it possible to get the booze delivered right to your doorstep. We’ve narrowed the companies down to a collection of startups and major corporations alike. As with any post that outlines a market, this list isn’t exhaustive. So if you have thoughts and tips for who else you’d like to see here, feel free to drop us a line.

While we’re on the subject of maps, be sure to check out our 2019 Food Robotics market map and our Food Waste Innovation in 2019 map.

Booze Tech in 2019

December 14, 2018

The Denver Broncos Get a Beer Pouring Robot at Mile High Stadium

While the Denver Broncos may be in the midst of a losing season, they could win over fans this weekend when a new robot starts dispensing Bud Light at Mile High Stadium (h/t The Washington Post).

You’d think that such a mechanical miracle would have a fancy name like the “Robo-Bronco” or the “Elway 3000,” but no, it’s just called UR5e. Created by Universal Robots and MSI Tec, UR5e is a robotic arm that can pick up an empty cup fill it with beer and set it down to serve a customer. You can see it action in this video.

Universal Robots UR5e Pours Bud Light

What’s more impressive to me in that video is not so much the robot — between Cafe X, Flippy, MontyCafe and Ekim, there are plenty of autonomous articulating arms out there — but that the beer is dispensed from the bottom of the cup. What sort of wizardry is this? Evidently the flow is controlled by a magnet, which is a cool, but seems to an an extra layer of waste to an already wasteful single use cup.

Stadiums like Mile High are where we will most likely see even more robots coming online to serve us in 2019. Flippy spent the past summer making chicken tenders at Dodger Stadium. Miso Robotics (which makes Flippy) counts hospitality company Levy as an investor, and Levy runs a number of sport and entertainment venues.

As we’ve said before, stadiums are a good use case for robots as they are high-traffic, high-volume settings. Robots can sit and repeat the same task over and over, churning out food or beverages non-stop throughout a game.

Plus, getting robots in concession stands gets us one closer to robots on the field, playing the rock ’em, sock ’em, football.

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