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Food

Meet Drinky, the Loneliness-Fighting Robotic Drinking Buddy

A South Korean inventor had a stroke of genius one lonely Christmas night.

The intersection of booze and robotics is rife with awesome possibilities.

The day may come when your neighborhood bartender is replaced by a more efficient robot bartender, who can serve you a bourbon punch invented by an IBM robot, or a California wine saved from drought by an agricultural droid.

But what if you get into a fight with your robot girlfriend, and your favourite robot bartender has the night off?

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Fear not, because South Korean inventor Eunchan Park, has come up with an automated solution to that problem by inventing a robotic drinking buddy, according to RocketNews24.

READ: Make This Delicious Bourbon Punch that Was Invented by a Robot

Park came up with this sad and brilliant idea on a fateful Christmas night where he found himself alone with a bottle of soju and longing for the company of another person. In order to combat this deep sense of loneliness, Park poured a second glass and place it on the table in front of him, something he told RocketNews24 "improved not only the atmosphere in the room, but also how he perceived the soju's flavor."

That's when the inventor had his eureka moment and decided that instead of calling a friend, he could just invent oneand Drinky was born.

READ: Scientists Say This Robot Bartender Could Be More Efficient Than the Real Thing

Structurally, Drinky whose lower body is a glass jar, has one hand that holds a soju-filled shot glass, and another that gives a thumbs-up after downing said shot. Offer Drinky a beverage and he will nod in approval, raise his glass, and pour it down his robot throat with the precision that most soju-drinking humans lack. It's not clear yet if Park intends on making more drinking buddies or selling them.

In other words, he's just your typical good-vibes, happy drunk, which is exactly what you would want if you are drinking to combat loneliness.

So, on behalf of lonely drinkers everywhere, cheers Drinky!