It took 150 parts, 18 metres of wiring and a semester of tinkering, but an engineering student has invented a robot buddy for bartenders.

The Autonomous Beer-Opening Robot or ABOR was invented by Jean-Philippe Clerc, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Florida as part of a class in robot design and construction.

Clerc calculated it takes 12 pounds per inch of torque to open a beer bottle. He then set out to create a robot that could get the job done without knocking over the bottle.

The Autonomous Beer-Opening RobotCourtesy: Ray Carson, University of Florida

Here's how it works. The bartender places a bottle of beer in front of a customer. The prototype robot moves along the bar and:

1. detects the beer bottle
2. opens the screw cap
3. backs up and looks for the next beer

It takes the robot about 30 seconds from start to finish. A bartender can perform the task much more quickly, but Clerc said the robot could come in handy if the bartender is tied up mixing drinks.

Clerc said it took 134 tries with cheap beer before the robot could open the bottle on its first attempt.

"I'm not really a big fan of beers," Clerc told CBC Radio's As It Happens. "You know, I'm French, so I'm more into wine."

A wine-opening robot could be his next project.

Other robots created for the course include ones that play tag and a Homer Simpson mimic that flips through TV channels and belts out some of his most obnoxious lines.

University of Florida electrical and computer engineering Prof. Tony Arroyo said its natural for many graduating students to focus on the lighter side of robotics, since it could be their last chance for fun before they start working.

"Ultimately, you get as much education if you design a leisure robot as if you design a serious robot," said Arroyo.