Meantime Brewing Company has unveiled a ‘Smart Mirror’ which will be used to reflect the sun’s rays and keep beer gardens in constant sunshine this summer.
The innovative device uses cutting-edge technology combined with GPS tracking to follow the trajectory of the sun, reflecting its rays into the garden and leaving nothing in the shade.
Providing guaranteed rays for sun-seekers, the new invention is being trialled at the aptly named Sun pub, in Clapham Old Town, with a view to rolling it out to more beer gardens.
Launching on the longest day of the year to make the most of the sunshine, the Smart Mirror has been designed in collaboration with artist and inventor, Andrew Shoben. It makes moment-by-moment micro-adjustments to ensure the rays are constantly and consistently distributed across a space, leaving nothing in the shade.
The Smart Mirror is a bespoke innovation, mounted onto a motorised bracket that can rotate 270°, ensuring the mirror is able to track and reflect the sun through its full arc. The mirror’s movement is controlled by a computer programme that uses complex algorithms based on time, date, latitude and longitude to follow the sun to the exact degree as it crosses the sky. The programme can be altered to any location in the world simply by adding in new co-ordinates.
Rich Myers, marketing director at Meantime Brewing Company, said: “There are few things more enjoyable than relaxing in a sunny pub garden with a cold pint of London Lager. We’ve all been in a situation where you find yourself having to dodge shadows, chasing the rays as they move across the garden.
“We set out to solve this great British problem by creating the Smart Mirror, designed to give one of our favourite pub gardens sunshine across the whole day. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, from the beers we brew and technology we use at the brewery, right through to creating the best possible drinking environments and experiences. It’s been great to work with a true visionary like Andrew to bring our ambitious idea to life, potentially changing the British beer garden forever.”
To celebrate the installation of the Smart Mirror, The Sun will be pouring Meantime’s Sunshine State, a fruity Californian-style pale ale, packed full of West Coast American hops.
John France, General Manager of The Sun pub, commented: “Our garden comes into its own in the summer months, but as the sun moves across the sky the shadows do start to creep in. Even though it’s entertaining to watch our punters huddle together to cram into the sunny spots, we’re really excited to have the opportunity to drench our garden in sun all day long.”
The Smart Mirror will be at the sun for two days.
