Hands down, best Disney Channel original movie was "Smart House." Who doesn’t want a computerized home manned by a cyborg named Pat, which apparently stands for Personal Applied Technology? We all loved Pat until she goes crazy and must be defeated. But the point still stands; A robot would be pretty neat to have around. Too bad this was a “house of the future.”
Plot twist, the movie was made in 1999. Now is the future.
Cue ‘Drinky,' the latest and greatest Pat. Drinky is not a fully equipped, slightly neurotic, computerized cyborg maid, he is your new best friend. Drinky can do something that Pat could not. Drinky can drink with you. Drinky even raises his glass to cheers before taking a swig. Move over Pat.
Three years ago, Euchan Park found himself drinking by his lonesome. This traumatic event inspired the South Korean inventor to create something that would never leave him feeling this way again. The event truly impacted the man. He describes that at the time he had no girlfriend, and drinking alone was terrible.
Park realized he had hit an all-time low after he poured an additional glass of alcohol and ‘cheered’ himself. He quickly understood that even the motions of clanking another glass made him feel less alone. Thus, the idea for Drinky began to brew. Drinky not only brings a different drinking experience to the table, he also brings companionship. One will never drink alone, nor be alone again.
Programmed to imitate the motions of a real being, Drinky signals for refills when his glass is empty and gets flushed after taking a shot. The best part about Drinky is everything he drinks is recyclable. The liquid goes into a jar at the base of his body. One can then open the jar, recover the fluids and choose to drink it themselves or return it to Drinky.
To give you the full gist, please enjoy this short video of Drinky in action (also, please note the Christmas music-- I thought it was a nice touch):
Our boozy bot has no plans to hit the markets, but Park does intend to make a ‘how-to’ so anyone can create their own Drinky companion. A museum in Seoul called the Art Center Nabi is also supporting Drinky. The center recently had a month-long ‘Robot Party,’ showcasing various bots with a spotlight on the emotional interaction between machine and human. Drinky was on display at the party and he was a crowd pleaser. More than 50 robots were exhibited, but Drinky was a definite favorite. All of the bots were invented under the same idea, to fill emptiness and comfort loneliness of humans in need. The center hoped to draw attention to this new concept that today bots can do more than just clean. Robots can serve as a form of mediation, robots can fill a void that might need to be filled.
So, cheers to you Drinky. Thanks for being a good companion, as well as the one friend who won’t get a hangover.
You can also use Drinky in case of emergencies only, a little human interaction is necessary.
This is intended for audiences 21 and older and does not support underage drinking.
