Robots Predict If You’re Going To Like that Beer

It’s a brave new world out there and now robots are predicting consumer response to beer based on its foamy head.

Here’s the deal…

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have been teaching machines to serve the perfect glass of beer (how do these people get jobs like this?), and they’ve been honing in on the importance of the pour in generating a beer head that attracts consumers.

Beer geeks have long argued that in addition to what a beer’s head lends to its aromatics, its taste and its mouthfeel…the visual impression it makes might be its most important attribute.

In a paper published last week in the journal Food Control, researchers reported that ”visual assessment of beers is one of the most important quality traits, since it creates the first impression of consumers in determining the willingness to taste the product and perceived quality.”

To test their theory, researchers employed their latest RoboBEER prototype (think the Terminator with a beer in its hand) to deliver the perfect robotically poured beer.

The next step, as described by Science magazine, was to forecast customer satisfaction by showing the participants videos of the robotically poured beer heads and using a neural network and eye-tracking technology to gauge consumer response by analyzing their “pupil dilation, heart rate, and emotional expression.”

And according to Geek, “the system was able to predict whether someone liked a beer’s foam height with more than 81 percent accuracy!”

So the art of the pour moves into ‘Terminator’ turf and the bartending community has a right to be concerned…

And we’re fast entering a brave new world where robotics and artificial intelligence that gauges bubble size, beer color, gas release, and foam height and stability will determine your favorite beer, long before you do…