IBM recently announced that they have secured a patent for their coffee drone that flies around public areas to deliver cups of the coffee to thirsty individuals. The drone even has the ability to predict who may need a cup! According to the patent filed by IBM with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the drone can be used in an office, at events, or cafes, where a pr-ordered cup of coffee is delivered straight to the customer by drone. The drone will use a variety of voice and facial recognition software, Bluetooth from smartphones, and an electronic ID tag to ensure every cup gets to the right person.

Additionally, the drone will have the ability to assess people’s recent sleep habits via Fitbit or similar device, biometrics, pupil dilation, wake up time, facial expressions, and more to determine who needs coffee and at what time. The patent also envisions the drone being useful for bars and restaurants, where they can determine whether a person is too drunk by monitoring for slurred speech, and lack of balance. If the drone notes signs of drunkenness, it won’t bring any more alcoholic drinks to the person even if they flag it down. The drone would also be able to determine if an individual is old enough to be served certain drinks.

As great as the idea sounds, IBM’s coffee drone has faced many critics. For instance, Ryan Calo, a drone expert says that the coffee drone idea is a little farfetched. However, the team at IBM remains unfazed. According to their spokeswoman, Amanda Carl, the company always tries to encourage developers to pursue their interests however crazy they may sound and regardless of whether the ideas become commercial products or not.  Since the coffee is being transported through the air, there are plenty of risks involved, considering a hot beverage is flying over people. This and other issues are what IBM plans to iron out before finally building this amazing drone that might transform the food and beverage industry forever.

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