Israeli Robot Bartender Will Mix You a Drink and Tell a Joke

The Israeli-developed interactive robot called Cecilia.ai is seven feet tall. Easily installed, she can be moved between hotels, universities, taken on cruise ships and into VIP lounges. Serving 120 cocktails an hour, she works tirelessly 24/7 without breaks.

Cecilia is the first interactive bartender. Don't hesitate asking her what to drink - she will always offer a recommendation.

Developed three years ago as a fun addition for events and conferences by Elad Kobi and Nir Cohen Paraira, today Cecilia speaks 40 languages and can take orders via voice or touch screen menu. She uses cameras and voice recognition to interact with customers and a robotic arm to pour the drinks.

We had really good feedback and we understood that we have something here. People really like it and they also asked ‘How can we get it to our office, because it’s very cool. So when we got that feedback, we understood that we have something much bigger than events and conferences on our hands,

says Nir Cohen Paraira, COO and Marketing Director at Cecilia.

The first robot has been officially launched in the US last November. In February, Cecilia.ai agreed to a partnership with the Bacardi Center of Excellence at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. Student mixologists will learn how to build a cocktail menu, invent recipes and mixes, and implement them in Cecilia.ai until it makes the perfect cocktail.

Cecilia can also be found in office spaces.  In Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, she talks about Microsoft products, the office itself, and Microsoft’s vision of technology.

At the same time, Cecilia's founders realize it is not going to replace human bartenders in the near future. Rather, she can be a good supplement

The idea is that it can really help businesses with other bartenders to bring a wider menu. Cecilia can also generate new revenue streams anywhere you can put a bar – like a lounge, where you won’t necessarily want to put a new worker, or in a stadium in addition to other bartenders.