Coffee Robot

April 21, 2011

For many people, it takes a hot cup of coffee to get going in the mornings. But now you may not have to get out of bed at all to get that coffee fix. A University of Florida engineering student’s invented Joe-On-The-Go, a robot that’s part alarm clock and part waiter. The robot goes straight to your bedside and wakes you up with a fresh cup of coffee.

Dave Dzenitis/UF engineering student: “The way that the robot is able to find where you are or find your bedside, is by way of IR beacon. It’s sort of a little homing device.”

With the use of that infrared beacon and “eyeball” sensors, the robot can navigate to get where it needs to go. Joe-On-The-Go’s still a prototype, but its designer hopes the robot can eventually do more than getting you out of bed.

Dave Dzenitis/UF engineering student: “It doesn’t have to be specifically used for a wake up device. In fact, wherever you put the homing beacon is where the robot will bring you a cup of coffee.”

So hypothetically, Joe-On-The-Go could bring you a cup of joe anywhere, anytime.