Beer brewing robot steals the show at CES opening : A beer-making robot capable of brewing, fermenting and serving home-made beer has been unveiled among a wide range of new cutting-edge technology products during the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Dubbed the PicoBrew, the system is brainchild of home-brewing enthusiast Bill Mitchell and his brother Jim. A product of five years of development and fine-tuning, the system includes kegs and tanks as well as a tap to serve the finished product and offers more control over small-scale beer production than previously possible.
The two brothers relied on their combined knowledge of food chemistry and software design to develop the robot. The firm also offers recipes of various beers from around the world, which users can follow to try and create their favourite flavours.
PicoBrew is one of the 500 companies presenting at the annual show, which has a reputation for setting trends in consumer technology for the following year.
In addition to well-known brands, the show attracts many start-ups, which sees it as a launch pad for expansion and an opportunity to raise funding. The number of start-ups presenting at this year’s CES is higher than ever before. Since 2012, start-ups appearing at the show raised more than $1bn (£683m) in funding.
Among the established players presenting at the convention is German audio equipment maker Sennheiser, which unveiled its cutting-edge Orpheus headphone system.
Combining over-ear headphones with its own amplifier – something usually reserved for stereo systems ‘the headphones come encased in a block of solid marble, complete with dials made from brass and finished in chrome. It is expected to sell for £35,000.
Tech giant Samsung unveiled its new smart fridge featuring a 21-inch display on the door that can be linked to a phone and used as a TV screen and reminders board. There is also a camera inside that captures images of food which can be used to plan shopping trips.
The Consumer Electronics Show runs until Saturday.
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