Let’s toast for the Internet of Things

When M2M experts say that everything will be connected in the future, they mean it. This includes drinks; maybe not the liquid itself (for the time being) but their recipes or glasses are already becoming objects which interact with others or with social media to enrichen the drinking experience.

There are several ways to connect drinks, such as the glass that updates your Facebook status by Budweiser. The Buddy Cup has a sensor that detects when you are toasting with another user. It is connected with your Facebook login and it automatically makes a virtual friendship with the other Buddy Cup user. Budweiser claims that this happens as it does in real life: you make new friends whilst you are partying and toasting.

Heineken is also experimenting to connect its beer. In some festivals, the recipe is connected to the DJ’s cabin and, depending on whether people are drinking or not, the music and lights’ performance vary. Furthermore, the Dutch company has also tested bottles that recognize its owner through his or her fingerprints.

Nevertheless, the bottle or the glass is not the only way to connect the drinking experience. Cutty Sark, for instance, has developed a bracelet which also connects with your Facebook profile and updates it when you drink whiskey in one of its parties. It is connected with NFC technology and users can approach it to a sensor when they ask for another drink.

Beyond the social use of machine-to-machine technologies to connect drinks, there is also a retailing application. Through IOT, bars can track the consumption of their clients to charge them the accurate bill without the need of a waiter who takes notes of it.

The possibility of connecting your drinks will become more a more frequent, but there is always the possibility of keeping this information private.