It is one of the marks of a classy restaurant that the waiter turns up and discreetly refills your glass the moment you empty it. Now a Japanese electronics company has found a way to guarantee that kind of service – and you do not have to catch anyone’s eye.

The intelligent glass is fitted with a radio-frequency coil in its base and emits a signal to a receiver set in the table when it’s empty, New Scientist magazine reported Thursday.



The iGlassware system works by coating each glass with a clear, conducting material, enabling it to measure exactly how much liquid has been sipped or guzzled.

When empty, the glass sends an electronic cry for more beer from the table to waiters equipped with hand-held computers on frequencies similar to those used by mobile phones.