The Anthem of the Seas is one of the most advanced ships afloat (a ‘smart’ ship) and has highlighted how much technology is now required to give passengers the ultimate cruise experience. We have the RipCord by iFLY skydiving simulator as well as the Flowrider surf simulator and the NorthStar observation capsule. But inside is the best yet, a robot ‘bartender’ or, more accurately, two of them. The Bionic Bar is a feature attraction on Anthem of the Seas that fuses the drama of cocktail mixing with the elegance of ballet. Provided by Makr Shakr, the world’s first robotic bar-tending system allows passengers to create their own personal cocktail recipes using a smartphone app.
The Bionic Bar on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas
Mixology has gone futuristic!
Designed by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor, Carlo Ratti (Carlo Ratti Associati), the bionic bar system fuses the latest robotic technology from German company KUKA with the grace of movement from Italian Choreographer Marco Pelle from New York Theatre Ballet to provide a truly engaging futuristic experience. Carlo Ratti said “Makr Shakr is a great example of how robotic technologies are changing the interaction between people and products”.
To use Makr Shakr, users access a simple app on a tablet, which allows them to create a cocktail to their own personal recipe using alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Ordering a cocktail from the MakrShakr Bionic Bar using a simple tablet app
The cocktails are then mixed by two robotic arms, whose movements mimic the actions of an expert mixologist, from the shaking of a martini to the thin slicing of a lime garnish to the muddling of a mojito. Guests will be able to create and name their own recipes, access their order history and reorder their favourite cocktails, while rating and commenting on other people’s cocktails via social networks. We can’t see this replacing the human touch but it is fun and sometimes there is the added entertainment of watching a crew member going into the working of the robot to sort out a mishap!
For the Bionic Bar Makr Shakr collaborated with Automation Company CIA, German robot Manufacturer Kuka, IT consultants SEAC and installation company Nuova Rekord.
