The Unstabalizer
Description
The Unstabalizer is an interactive, social application system, to be used in bars, clubs or any other location or event which sells different types of alcohol. Unlike regular bars where the prices of drinks are static, the Unstabalizer can turn a bar into a dynamic, self-organizing system similar to a stock exchange – The price of a drink (a “stock”) is set based on demand – The more people buy a certain drink, its price will rise, causing the prices of other drinks in this alcoholic stock market to fall. The owners and organizers use the system to set the initial prices and can also set minimum prices, to avoid loss due to “market dynamics”. But it is during the bar’s activity period that the real drinking interaction occurs as prices fluctuate based on alcohol consumption – Sometimes beer will be low and Whiskey high, but then as people rush to buy beer, it’s price will rise, causing the price of Whiskey to drop.
The Unstabalizer is an exciting alcoholic interactive experience, designed to spice up any social space.
Technical
The system is built as a distributed Flash application. It consists of one central “Exchange” component, which centralizes the price dynamics, and several “Broker” components, which are placed next to the registers. The “Exchange” component’s Flash interface is used to input the initial prices and later to display the dynamic alcoholic stock market using engaging graphics and Flash animations. The “Broker” components’ Flash interface is used to accept requests based on people’s alcoholic desires. The requests are sent to the “Exchange”, which in turn recalculates all alcohol prices, refreshes the stock market screen and sends back the current price, which is then printed on a receipt. The receipts are handed at the bar in exchange for drinks and the dynamic price on the receipt is the one punched in the real register. Then money is collected and change is returned. The “Exchange” component can handle simultaneous “Broker” updates and synchronize prices accordingly.
Pre-opening preparations
1. The owner runs the Broker” screen and starts by setting the initial prices for different drinks.
2. The owner then sets a minimum price for the drinks, to avoid cases where he can lose money due to market dynamics.
3. When done, the owner sets the system into “active” mode and the screen with the current “alcohol exchange” is now animated on the big screens.
4. There are multiple “Broker” screens, acting as registers, around the bar. When the system goes into “active” mode, the “Broker” screens are ready to take orders.
5. The state of the drink’s price are broadcast on multiple screens around the bar, some are projectors , some are just simple TV sets
typical scenario
1. Joe enters the bar. He sees the beautiful Amy and wants to buy her a drink. He asks her “what can I buy you, beautiful?” Amy replies “Beer please”.
2. Joe sees the big screen with the cool graphics and prices of alcohol going up and down,
just like in a real stock exchange. He is excited. He waits for the price of beer to drop.
3. When the price drops, Joe quickly approaches the closest register asks for two beers - “Pronto pronto! While the price is still low!”.
4. The guy at the register quickly punches in two beers on the “Broker” screen. The “Broker” now asks the main server for the current price of beer, calculates the total amount and prints out a receipt, which is handed to Joe.
5. Joe is now holding the receipt and looks at the screen to see the price of beer going up and other drinks go down. ”Jolly good, I got a good price”, he says.
6. Joe takes the receipt and goes to the bar, hands the receipt and money to the bartender and gets the two beers.
7. The bartender punches in the price from the receipt on the real register and hands Joe his change. Joe feels victorious and drops the bartender a nice tip.
8. Joe returns to Amy and gives her a beer, but she refuses – “Why don’t you drink the beer, darling. I was just waiting for the price of whiskey to drop so I can go and get a REAL drink…”
