While we think the idea of robots managing your wine cellar is quite out of this world, New York-based Calvary Robotics is quite serious about it. The company’s Winecab is a wine management system that’s designed to ease and embellish your wine-and-dine experience in equal measure, thanks to some serious tech (including a metal arm).
The largest model of the Winecab has enough space for 600 bottles that can be loaded at about a rate of three a minute. Its eight-axis robotic gantry and high-speed robotic arm can pick out a bottle from your collection in less than 15 seconds, sparing you the hassle of trying to remember your wine storage system.
While utilitarian, it doesn’t lose sight of aesthetic sensibilities. You’ve got soft, luxuriant lighting illuminating your precious collection, surrounded by an elegant display case that comes with a variety of wooden finishings, enamel trims and personalisable engravings. While there are three stock options available, Winecab allows for custom cabinet designs to effortlessly integrate the system into your home.
The Winecab doesn’t just look pretty – though it does that exceedingly well. A combination of a high-fidelity camera and an extensive database of over 600,000 labels allows the system to track most, if not all, of the bottles you’re storing in it, as well as providing you with useful info about that specific label. Great for wine storage, but even better as a party trick when your dining companion brings over a bottle of red.
More than that, the Winecab comes equipped with its own digital sommelier that adapts wine pairing suggestions based on your responses to some questions, as well as ratings and comments. After all, it’s called a wine management system.
The system is equipped with a high performance, ultra-quiet cooling system that’s also light on vibrations. Naturally, the Winecab’s internal temperature and humidity can be monitored on the go through an app on your smartphone.
Calvary Robotics has also kept security in mind. Anyone sneaking in for a bottle of the good stuff while you’re away would be thwarted by the system’s facial recognition and fingerprint tech – which grants only authorised people access to the vino. Single bottles, or entire collections can be locked out as you deem fit, and a bevy of motion sensors complete the security package.
Anyone sneaking in for a bottle of the good stuff while you’re away would be thwarted by the system’s facial recognition and fingerprint tech – which grants only authorised people access to the vino
Says Mark Chaney, CEO and founder of Calvary Robotics: “What we’re doing is leaps and bounds beyond what’s on the market. We have introduced a collaborative robotic arm into homes and restaurants in a safe and organic way.”
What the Winecab can’t do is tell you the story about how and why this bottle of wine made it into your cellar – that’s up to you. What it can do, however, is more or less everything else.
