Many of us have endured that feeling of simmering rage as a bartender calls ‘who’s next?’, you go to raise your hand only to be pipped to the post by an opportunistic queue jumper fresh from the smoking area, now sipping on what was rightfully yours to drink. Every fibre of your being wants to say something, to call out this heinous crime and claim what is yours – but you don’t and now, through a new development from a British data science company, you might not have to.
A London bar, 5cc Harrild & Sons has introduced ‘A.I Bar’ to its establishment, using smart facial recognition technology to help bartenders serve patrons in a way that is fairer and quicker.
DataSparQ has developed its ‘A.I. Bar’, a product designed to incorporate facial recognition technology to organise a ‘virtual queue’ for patrons, eliminating queue jumping and adding automated age verification to speed up ID checks by informing potential under 25’s to have their ID ready for inspection or to inform repeat drinkers that they have already had their ID checked.
Facial recognition technology has been a hot topic with privacy rights advocates, however DataSparQ claims that before and after data showed an overall reduction in serving times, estimating an additional 78 million pints could be poured each year if every drinking establishment in the UK adopted the technology.
The ‘A.I. Bar’ is comprised as a ‘Software as a service product’, allowing users to operate the software by using a webcam, display screen and internet connection.
The ‘A.I. Bar’ Software-as-a-Service product will cost landlords from just £199 a month and works by simply using a standard webcam, display screen and Internet connection.
John Wyllie, managing director of DataSparQ said: “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.”