Overview

Hold My BeerEst. 2025 (3 months)

ElectronicsUX DesignSensorsPythonMicrocontrollerFirebase

I somehow convinced my lecturers to let me make a drinking game that integrates sensors and actuators to improve social interaction.

NH MW

The Brief

Pubs Closed since 2020: 7,000
Less time spent in nightlife scene: 20%
Gen Z more likely to engage if it creates ‘shareable’ content: 79%

We were given a brief to design a mechatronic system integrating sensors, actuators, mechanical elements and embedded computing to create an engaging physical interaction. Drinking culture in the UK has long been a cornerstone of socialising, but with the decline of pub and nightlife culture following the COVID-19 pandemic, the spontaneous, playful social moments that defined a generation are disappearing.

With fewer spaces for spontaneous, unplanned fun, a generation raised on shared digital experiences was left without a stage. Our solution aimed to build one - turning the act of drinking into a competitive, memorable night that keeps people coming back for more.

Pubs Closed since 2020: 7,000
Less time spent in nightlife scene: 20%
Gen Z more likely to engage if it creates ‘shareable’ content: 79%

The Process

Inspiration

How on earth did we land here?

A viral clip of Tiger Woods undergoing roadside sobriety tests sparked an idea - what if impairment assessment could become a competitive game? Emerging trends like Lab54 and Jackbox confirmed there was an opportunity.

Ideation

Sketching the experience

We mapped the full user journey before starting any physical implementation - from NFC token mechanism to beer dispensing. The arcade machine format emerged as the strongest direction, blending nostalgia with competitive social interaction and giving us space to work with.

Electronics

Wiring it all together

Raspberry Pi 5 controlled by Python at the centre, talking to an MQ3 ethanol sensor, HX711 load cell, MFRC522 NFC reader, solenoids, a repurposed HP digicam hacked via a chip, and dual MAX7219 7-segment displays - all built and calibrated to work as one cohesive system on a custom test bench.

Hardware

Built from literal scraps

The full arcade cabinet was constructed from reclaimed or scrap wood. A counterweight beer dispenser was engineered around its centre of mass - only one actuator needed. The coin slot routes NFC tokens through a servo controlled gate. Keeping resourcefulness at the heart of the project.

Implementation

App, backend & the full stack

Built a SwiftUI leaderboard app with a Firebase backend - storing user coin IDs, player profiles, scores and mugshots. The firmware on device drives displays in real time and handles the full game flow. Integrated Storage for photo uploads from the hacked digicam, with a live leaderboard throughout the night.

What really made me happy was when we went to test it at the union and it genuinely got people up and interacting with one another

Testing at the Union

The Result

What we made

Hold My Beer is an arcade-style drinking game machine that turns socialising into a competitive, shareable experience, combining a breathalyser, reaction test, beer pong, mugshot camera, beer dispenser and live leaderboard app.

A night on the machine runs itself: drop an NFC token in the coin slot and it knows who you are. Blow the breathalyser, beat the reaction test, sink your shots at beer pong, and pose for the mugshot camera - the counterweight dispenser pours your reward while your score lands on the live leaderboard for the room to argue over.

Assessors marked it A+ for inventiveness, physical interaction, sensory presentation and presentation, calling out the counterweight beer dispenser as “a particularly strong mechanical feature” and the load cell as “impressively sensitive enough to measure the weight of a ping-pong ball” — “there’s a lot going on and it’s all really cohesive and effective.”