Meet Drinky, the world’s first robot drinking buddy

20th January 2016

Enaie Azambuja

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So you feel like having a few drinks with your best buddies. You call around to see who’s free, but everyone’s busy. Again. Drinking alone’s no fun, so you grab Drinky from the closet and stick it on the table. It doesn’t chat, but boy can it drink. Drinky, the creation of South Korean inventor Eunchan Park, is the perfect robotic solution for solo drinkers who want to share their favorite tipple with a companion but don’t have one available.

The diminutive drinking bot clinks glasses, pounds shots like there’s no tomorrow, and can motion for a refill, too. Heck, its cheeks even glow red after knocking back each drink.

Park decided to build Drinky after a lonely Christmas a few years back. The robot’s movements are impressively natural, and it won’t vomit on the floor after having one too many. Actually, there is no “one too many” with Drinky, so drinking games will only ever end one way and could involve a pricey cleaning bill.

In fact, Drinky may be the best drinking companion you’ll ever have, as all of his consumed liqor passes into a jar beneath the bot, meaning you can keep pouring it the same drink, or end the evening by taking the lot and downing it yourself.

There’s no word on whether Park plans to take Drinky to Kickstarter, but we imagine its penchant for partying and entertaining style would win it plenty of backers.

Park recently uploaded a video of Drinky to YouTube and accompanied it with a few words about how the bot came to be. Here’s the story in Park’s own words: “This robot’s name is Drinky. He drinks really well! On Christmas in 2012, I drank Soju (Korean alcohol) alone because I had no girlfriend at that time. Drinking alone was definitely terrible!! so I couldn’t drink anymore".

"Lastly, I put an extra glass in front of me and poured Soju into it. And then, I cheered by myself with the glass of Soju, as though there was someone in front of me. Surprisingly, after that, the taste became totally to be changed! So, I could finally find the secret of taste of alcohol totally depends on existence of a partner. This is why I made this robot.”