Wine Robot Update
More news is now available about NEC’s Winebot, previously reported on in July. The green and white robot uses an infrared spectrometer to analyze a wine’s composition and to identify a wine. Creepily, it responds in a childlike voice, telling the brand and commenting on the taste and pairings.
The robot has its limitations, though. It can only identify a few dozen wines at a time, and it has trouble recognizing a wine once a bottle has been opened. Furthermore, it can be inaccurate. For example, a reporter was identified as prosciutto and a cameraman was identified as bacon, but both were obviously human meat. Plus, the robot is expensive. Right now, it would cost about the same as a new car, but NEC hopes to bring the price down to about $1000 each.
