British tech startup DataSparQ creates AI bar to serve drinks faster: 3 things you need to know

From besting the world’s greatest esports players to discovering new drugs to help people, AI or Artificial Intelligence is being used almost everywhere. It’s not surprising that AI would also be used in the betterment of the most mundane tasks, which is what the British Artificial Intelligence (AI) firm DataSparQ has done with its A.I. Bar. The bar uses AI to place drinkers in a dynamically intelligent queue and cut down on the time taken to serve a pint. Here’s three things you need to know about it.

How AI Bar works 

One of the great things about A.I. Bar is that it doesn’t require completely overhauling a bar. The SaaS service costs £199 per month and can be setup with a webcam, display screen and an internet connection. The machine learning algorithm used in A.I Bar automatically recognises a person that’s standing at the bar and assigns them a number. It also shows a live feed of everyone at the bar on a display, along with a number above each customer’s head, which represents their place in the queue.

In addition, the bartending staff gets an iPad that shows who is next in line to receive a pint and whether an ID check is required. Using face recognition, the system analyses whether a person looks under 25 years of age and it flags an ID check. This means that the bartenders, and everyone else, knows who will be served after whom and whether they need to keep their ID handy. 

Why is it needed?

DataSparQ is a firm that applies data science to derive solutions for solving business challenges. The company developed the system to not only stop people from jumping queues at bars and pubs but also to help businesses thrive. As per DataSparQ, A.I. Bar can help reduce serving times in pubs, which would enable serving about 1,600 additional pints in a year. 

Hurdles to overcome 

The new tech is also hoped to help reverse pub closures. As per a study by The Campaign for Real Ale, an average of 14 pubs are shutting their doors forever every week, in the UK. John Wyllie, Managing Director, DataSparQ said: “Queuing is a part of British life that we all have to endure – but we wanted to do something to improve the experience…We are in talks with drinks companies and pub chain owners to roll out the technology nationwide in the next 12 months. The system can be installed anywhere and is scalable – so we are expecting it to start in bars and progress into music festivals and beyond.”

Image credits: DataSparQ 

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