On October 15, 2018, a Hema robot restaurant with robots serving as food delivery servers appeared at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center, bringing customers a new dining option.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
Just tap on the screen to complete a series of processes such as table selection, ordering, and checkout. One by one cute robots deliver food to the table, and the back kitchen is empty, only the huge robotic arms continue to stir fry… The scene that only existed in science fiction movies in the past has now changed with the emergence of smart restaurants. for reality. What exactly is a smart restaurant? Why does it attract business giants to make arrangements? What about the future development?
Smart restaurants are trending
Haidilao, which has become a listed company, is not content with the status quo, and always wants to attract customers by changing tricks. In October 2018, Haidilao opened a “smart restaurant”.
Entering the restaurant, the huge screen in the waiting area is eye-catching. Scan the QR code on the screen to participate in the mini-games independently developed by Haidilao, and see the numbering situation in real time. From the cherry blossoms flying in the sky, to the snow-capped mountains, to the vast starry sky, the all-round surround projection can transform different scenes, giving customers a sense of freshness.
The intelligent dish warehouse is a constant temperature warehouse from 0° to 4°C. The “side dish robotic arm” grabs the corresponding dishes from the warehouse according to the order content. How to accurately identify dishes? It relies on the RFID (radio frequency identification) chip at the bottom of the plate, which records the information of the dishes, which can help the restaurant to find and deal with expired dishes in time.
In addition, the store is equipped with a number of intelligent food delivery robots, intelligent dishwashers and other high-tech equipment.
In addition to Haidilao smart restaurants, JD.com, Alibaba, and even the real estate company Country Garden have all deployed smart restaurants. Machines are gradually replacing service personnel in the catering industry.
Big data helps restaurants
Attentive service has always been the trump card of Haidilao. Replacing a cold robot will make it lose its color instead?
As we all know, robots can not only improve work efficiency, reduce mistakes, but also free up manpower. Industry insiders said that the freed manpower can be used for jobs that cannot be replaced by machines, such as communicating with customers.
Intelligence is only the means, experience is the end. Analysis based on big data is the key to restaurant intelligence. The integrated data analysis platform collects user information from chain stores for data analysis, and provides corresponding operation planning suggestions for different stores.
Xiao Huang, a Beijing citizen, said: “I have been to a smart restaurant before, and there was only one robot in the store, and the walking speed was very slow, which could not achieve the purpose of improving the speed of serving food at all.” Industry insiders pointed out that at present, cooking robots and smart restaurants are still in the process of Primary Stage. Intelligent social catering services include information collection and processing, service, processing and subsequent presentation, rather than simple “robot cooking” and “robot food delivery”.
In the Internet era, improving user experience is the trump card for companies to better win users. Whether it is using machines to replace manpower or using big data to judge user psychology, these are the ways for the catering industry to improve user experience.
Reduce costs and increase efficiency and promote development
China’s catering industry, from the reform and opening up to the present, has undergone a transformation from the pursuit of food and clothing to the pursuit of spiritual satisfaction. The turnover of the catering industry has achieved double-digit rapid growth for more than 20 consecutive years. The industry has bright prospects and huge market space.
This time, many companies have deployed smart restaurants. Feng Enyuan, vice president of the China Cuisine Association, said that technological progress, increased labor costs, shortage of high-skilled talents, and growing social demand for public catering services have accelerated the development of catering robots.
Tang Siyu, head of JD X Future Restaurant, said that the catering industry continues to face rising labor costs, operational efficiency challenges, and consumers’ changing experience needs. The application of robots and intelligent technologies can effectively reduce costs, improve efficiency, and bring consumers a better future. Come fresh.
According to the “China Robot Industry Development Report 2018″ released by the Chinese Institute of Electronics, among the 32 active Chinese public service robot companies, only two companies in the second echelon, Pangolin and Zhongde Dick, focus on food delivery robots. Companies with cooking robots are on the list.
Tang Siyu said that cooking robot technology continues to evolve, but its application is still in its early stages. Whether it is technical application positioning, technical stability, or human cooperation in actual operations, more attempts are needed. However, reducing operating costs and increasing efficiency is the general direction of the development of catering technology, and the gradual expansion of the scope of technology applications will be the general trend. (Reporter Xu Peiyu)
The Links: 3HNE 01586-1 3HNA009885-001