Recently, an intelligent noodle vending machine appears in Shanghai, China. Although this smart machine is still in the testing phase, a widespread concern has already focused on it.
Compared with the common beverage vending machine, the noodle vending machine has the similar shape but larger size. During the lunchtime, it attracts a lot of white-collar workers to buy the noodles.
At present, the novel vending machine provides two kinds of noodles: beef noodles and pork ribs noodles. Before applying the automatic selling machine, their original prices are 15.8 yuan and 19.9 yuan (about 2 euros), respectively. But now, both of the noodles prices decrease to 9.9 yuan.And the pork ribs noodles with a higher original price sell better now. Nevertheless, the purchasing process becomes faster than eating noodles in an ordinary restaurant, which is easy to learn by following the instruction of machine. Firstly you select the type of noodles. Then you buy it using the electronic payments, including WeChat, Alipay, and promo code. After the successful payment, the noodles will be produced.
According to the technical staff, these standardized noodles are not like the instant noodles, which are reserved in the refrigerating part of vending machines. Therefore, the noodles can retain fresh throughout the day. After the customers’ orders, just 1 minute is needed for cooking a bowl of noodles. What’s more, the noodles from vending machines are more nutritious than the ordinary instant noodles. For example, there are more than 4 kinds of foods in the popular pork ribs noodles, including the pork, bamboo shoots, ham, fungus and other ingredients.
The noodles vending machine can only save 40 bowls of noodles for one-time, but it will sell more than 100 bowls noodles for one day. Most of the customers are white-collar workers in nearby offices. They say that the quick purchase and the favorable price of noodles vending machine are the main reasons for attracting them.
Recently, the development of smart restaurant is the pursuit of many technology companies. In fact, the smart restaurant from Alibaba will open soon.
For dining in this restaurant, the steps are also simple as following:
1. Enter the restaurant
For the first entrance, the customers should scan their faces by using Alipay App to allow the authorization and confirm the identity. As long as the identity is confirmed, the system will record the customers and there are no barriers for the next entrance.
2. Ordering
Instead of a menu, a large-size touch screen is used for ordering. When the customers sit down, the system will automatically recognize their identities. Once the customers touch the desktop, the ordering will start. The price and detailed information of dishes will show on the screen, including the style, materials, accessories, taste and so on. Moreover, the ordering can also support multiple simultaneous operations. We don’t need to grab the menu anymore!
3. Intelligent analysis
The ordering system can not only save the customers’ menu but also recommend the dishes based on the customers’ taste. Moreover, if the customers feel bored of waiting for foods, they can play games and surf the internet on the desktop.
4. Payment
After dinner, the customers can leave directly because the Alipay will pay automatically.
The cool feeling and convenience of the smart restaurant will attract the customers in the future, especially for the personalized young people. Additionally, the accumulation of consumer data allows the restaurants to achieve the digital management and better service, as the sellers on Taobao. Finally, the most important thing is that the technology of automatic ordering and payment in the smart restaurant will not only save the waiting time of customers but also significantly reduce the operating costs of the restaurant.
