Meet BRILLO, The robot bartender for when you're sick of interacting with people

Have you ever wished you could enjoy all the advantages of visiting to a bar without having to interact with the bartender personally? You're in luck, as Italian researchers at the Federico II University of Naples have created a device that can do just that.

BRILLO (Bartending Robot for Interactive Long-Lasting Operations) uses machine learning algorithms to perform all the tasks a skilled, combat-tested bartender would perform. He can recall your preferred beverages, engage in light conversation, and even crack jokes if the atmosphere at the bar calls for it.

According to CNBC Make It, Totaro Automazioni, an Italian producer of food assembly line machines, and university researchers at PRISCA Labs collaborated to develop BRILLO in 2020. Lead researcher at PRISCA Professor Silvia Rossi stated to CNBC Mix It that the team aimed to "duplicate the crucial social parts of a bartender's profession" rather than merely create a machine that can make cocktails.

The BRILLO AI system has been rigorously trained by Rossi and her team to "analyze a customer's face and speech patterns in order to learn, in real-time." As a result, BRILLO will be able to detect a customer's mood and begin an engagement accordingly.

Though it took two years to teach BRILLO complicated dialogue-based interactions, CNBC Make It cautions us not to anticipate robots taking jobs at your neighborhood dive bar any time soon or in the near future. People are understandably more reluctant to engage in conversation with a robot, according to Rossi, who was speaking to CNBC Make It.

BRILLO the robot bartender is now solely used "for research purposes," according to Rossi. We want to take care of [that] because there are some extremely difficult ethical and privacy considerations. (via: mashable)