Abstract: An automation system for tracking beverage consumption and methods of its operation are provided herein. The automation system monitors the consumption of beverages with a focus on beverages, such as beer, cider and wine, that are housed in a barrel-like container such as a beer keg. The automation system consists of a sensor plate, cloud application service or local application services, communications services, real-time display, and integration with a mobile form factor. The sensor plate includes electronics, such as weight sensors, battery voltage sensors, and environmental sensors, as well as software to calculate the volume of the beverage based on data captured from the sensors and on-board algorithms. The cloud or local device will send and receive messages and their services will be utilized to parse and analyze the data captured by the sensor plate. The mobile form factor will then display to the user through a user interface the reports generated from the analyzed data.

Abstract: An autonomous robotic aide and methods of its operation are provided herein. The robotic aide can carry and lift objects around the user's environment. The robot has a lifting mechanism which lifts the objects that are placed on the robot. It can assist users with picking up objects from the ground. The use of accessories may be combined with the robot's carrying and lifting functions to further assist the user. The robot can also map the user's environment for autonomous navigation. The robot can be given voice commands and can be controlled manually by integrating with a smart device.