The sound of bar staff yelling 'who's next?' on a busy Saturday night is set to become a thing of the past, thanks to the launch of the world's first biometrics enabled powered bar.The 'A.I. Bar', which has been developed by British data science product company DataSparQ, helps make ordering in busy boozers easier, faster and fairer by using the latest facial recognition technology to put punters in an “intelligently virtual” queue.Before and after data revealed there was an overall reduction in serving times as well, equivalent to more than 1,600 pints poured over a year to the average UK pub, thanks to the ordering process being more efficient.That's the time equivalent of a potential 78million additional pints poured a year, if the UK's 48 thousand pubs used the A.I Bar technology.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.It speeds up ID checks, if a customer looks under 25, the system will prompt them to have their I.D. ready or let bar staff know if they've already been checked.The new tech is hoping to reverse the current epidemic of pub closures – a recent study conducted by The Campaign for Real Ale revealed that an average of 14 pubs are calling last orders for the final time every week in the UK.The A.I. Bar enables bars and pubs to work smarter not harder by providing vital data including orders per hour to help them understand their demand and throughput margins, optimising their staffing requirements to make then more efficient and ultimately more profitable.John Wyllie, Managing Director, DataSparQ said: “Queuing is a part of British life that we all have to endure – but we wanted to do something to improve the experience.”It's the uncertainty of waiting times alongside queue jumpers that's adversely affecting consumer behaviours in bars and pubs. The A.I. Bar ensures it's a hassle free, first come, first served system that makes ordering drinks more convenient for both drinkers and bar staff alike.”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.”Unfortunately, queuing is an inevitable part of drinking in bars and pubs. DataSparQ research has revealed that Brits spend more than two months during a lifetime queuing for their favourite drinks.A survey of 2000 drinkers commissioned by DataSparQ has revealed that the biggest gripe for British boozers is people pushing in at queues, with eight out of ten drinkers saying it's their number one turn-off in bars and pubs.Poor queuing etiquette was closely followed by long queue
Face recognition bar launches in London
