Authors:
Kimberly Wood, Brad Johnson, David Steiner
Abstract:
This disclosure proposes an image verification solution to ensure that all items of a customer's order have been packed for delivery when ordering from a quick service restaurant.
Background:
When ordering food online or in the restaurant drive through, it is very disappointing to pickup the food to discover later that something is missing from the order. This disclosure is an image verification solution to ensure that all items of a customer's order have been packed for delivery.
Description:
Image recognition technology is available. A restaurant could have symbols to represent items on the menu. These symbols could be on food packaging. For example: A burger restaurant's sandwich wrapper could be printed with different sandwich symbols - a chicken (regular toppings) , a flaming chicken (spicy chicken, a cow in a suit (with everything), a nude cow (naked burger), a bacon slice (added bacon), cheese slice (added cheese), etc.... The sandwich preparer can indicate which sandwich is inside by circling the correct symbol or choosing the correct symbol(s) by circling or checkmark, etc. There would be a symbol on the small fry wrapper and the large fry wrappers, same for the drink cups - tea, soda, diet soda, etc, added sauces. The order packer would bring up the order to pack and then have to scan the symbols of items going into the bag ensuring all items on the menu are accounted for. The symbols could be on the app for easy reference in finding the items needing to fulfill. Match the app symbol to the food packaging symbols. The symbols are much more human understandable than UPC codes or even written words (maybe workers reading and language skills are foreign). The application could continue to present missing order items until all are accounted for. This symbol scanning solution would account for items being put into the bag for the customer's order, but could not ensure that food items are actually prepared to customer's requirements. (ex : preparer forgot to add ketchup).
TGCS Reference 3345
