Robotic fridge launches beers

1/6/2009 1:48 PM EST

Designed and built by roboticist and engineer John Cornwell, the Beer-Launching Refrigerator is the ultimate remote-controlled "beverage delivery" system for the couch potato. As the following short (1:38) video demonstrates, the mini-fridge automatically loads a beer from a 10-can magazine into a catapult and then accurately launches the beverage to its intended target:

According to Cornwell, the unit cost about $500 in parts and took about 150 hours of work to design and build. It uses an ATMEGA8535 as the main microprocessor, three intelligent H-bridges to control the motors, a Darlington array to control the solenoid and a MAX232 for RS232 debug I/O.

For more, see Cornwell's beer-launching fridge project page and his appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in the following video (1:19):

Comments, questions or suggestions? Email me at rich.pell@verizon.net.