Remote Food Measurement System
That is why the kitchen of such restaurants looks like production lines at large factories. Each step of the cooking process must take a certain amount of time, and each product must have the exact same weight. To achieve this, restaurants need to constantly monitor all stages of the kitchen workflow — from pre-preparation to serving.
Challenge
The key to the success of a restaurant chain is an impeccable reputation. When ordering food at a chain restaurant, the customer expects to get a dish with a familiar taste and appearance.
That is why the kitchen of such restaurants looks like production lines at large factories. Each step of the cooking process must take a certain amount of time, and each product must have the exact same weight. To achieve this, restaurants need to constantly monitor all stages of the kitchen workflow — from pre-preparation to serving.
Since manual tracking is extremely time and effort-consuming, there’s an urgent need for a system that would keep an eye on the cooking process to ensure the ideal quantity and quality of the final product.
Solution
The platform consists of:
- An iPad application for restaurant operations;
- A real-time video stream system based on an industrial PC;
- A cloud-based web application for data collection and analysis.
- Automatic food type detection — once a container with food is placed under 3D cameras, the system automatically detects its content and identifies its type.
- Product weight measurement — 3D cameras can measure the weight of the identified product in real time with 95% accuracy.
- Containers tracking — monitoring food containers’ movements throughout the kitchen areas.
- Time tracking — ensuring food containers stay in the preparation zone for a required amount of time by using counters and alerts for each container that are set either automatically once a container is detected in a particular place, or manually.
- Data collection and analysis — collecting data on restaurant food waste and generating kitchen forecasts.
- Scalability — the system can cover a chain of more than 2,000 restaurants, maintaining a high level of performance and productivity.
Project Results
The Remote Food Measurement System developed by Softarex produced the following results for chain restaurant owners:
- The system has revealed that over 30% of food ends up being never served per week;
- Fully automated cooking process monitoring;
- More informed kitchen decisions based on real-time data collection and analysis;
- Optimized kitchen workflow;
- Reduced costs.
Technical challenges
- Development of software that can accurately identify, track and classify objects in the video stream in real time.
Selected Projects Overview
Our experts
We are experts in software and hardware engineering. By using and combining cutting edge technologies, we create unique solutions that transform industries.
Softarex is a one-stop-shop, providing all services needed to make your project a success.
Maxim
System Architect and Delivery Manager
In over 10 years of my professional career, I have developed, architected, and managed dozens of projects for the Manufacturing & Energy, Restaurant & Hospitality, Aviation, and IT industries. I have hands-on experience with Mobile technology, Computer vision, Machine learning, Predictive modeling, Cloud computing, and SaaS.
I managed the development of a Computer vision-based kitchen management system for a large restaurant chain. We did a great job on this project, and I consider it the highlight of my career.