The National Restaurant Association Show has become a premiere place for spotting and testing new industry technology debuts.
Companies unveiling products at the Restaurant Show kicking off this weekend in Chicago include Toast and Square debuting point-of-sale updates to streamline server duties; Uber Eats discussing its new OpenTable partnership; and Middleby Powerhouse Dynamics demonstrating a smart frying system.
Beyond the National Restaurant Association Show, tech vendors are making additional announcements, including Deliverect’s back-of-house Vision AI innovation and Autolane’s new feature designed for autonomous vehicles in drive-thru lanes.
Tech Tracker rounds up what’s happening in the technology sector of the restaurant industry, including news from restaurants, vendors, digital platforms, and third-party delivery companies. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know and why:
Restaurant Show tech preview guide
Some highlighted technology innovations that will be making their debut at the National Restaurant Association Show include:
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Toast IQ: Point-of-sales system Toast is launching an AI-powered platform designed to streamline front-of-house labor with marketing efforts, with tools like Menu Upsell features that prompt employees with menu upgrade recommendations; Digital Chits, that provide guest details based on dining history; and Shifts at a Glance that send instant communication updates between management and staff to Toast’s server handheld devices. That way, staff can stay updated on details like updated specials or items that are out of stock.
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Square Handheld: Square’s point-of-sales system is debuting a new handheld device with features like a barcode scanner for gift card-scanning, a camera for updating inventories, and payment functionality and integration.
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Uber Eats: Uber is announcing a partnership with OpenTable to bring dine-in reservations functionality to the Uber Eats app starting this fall in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Ireland, and Australia. Customers will be able to discover and claim dine-in restaurant deals, make reservations through OpenTable, (and also receive an Uber ride discount after doing so), through the new Dine Out feature. This new partnership helps Uber Eats maintain a rivalry with DoorDash, which just acquired SevenRooms and added reservations and waitlist functionality to its portfolio.
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Powerhouse Dynamics: The Middleby Corp. will be demonstrating a new solution called OilSmart by OpenKitchen, which won a Kitchen Innovations award and is part of Middleby’s Internet of Things platform. This innovation turns a kitchen’s fryer into a smart device that can analyze fryer performance levels, identify oil cost per hour, compare efficiencies across restaurant locations, and more.
Deliverect debuts Vision AI product
While Voice AI has been a favored artificial intelligence feature in the restaurant industry, vision AI in the back of house is becoming popular as well. Deliverect built a vision AI model called Resolve, created in partnership with Google Gemini to address fraudulent delivery refund claims.
Resolve records the order packing footage and then uses the AI technology to analyze the footage and verify if all of the correct items were put into the delivery or takeout bag. The program then, if necessary, creates an evidence package that can dispute incorrect order claims, which can comprise up to 40% of total incorrect order claims.
“So, let’s say you’re a big chicken chain, and a customer says they ordered a big bucket of chicken with sauces, how do we know what happens after the order is placed?” Zhong Xu, CEO of Deliverect said. “We have a bespoke model that tracks every package and every item that goes in the back of house, so if you claim the chicken was not there when it actually was, we have a video footage to back it up. … It’s a super advanced way of disputing incorrect order claims that blame the restaurant.”
DoorDash launches new back-of-house features
Following the purchase of SevenRooms and Deliveroo, DoorDash is expanding both its portfolio and suite of restaurant-facing tools. The company just released a suite of new products including live order management, a DoorDash tablet upgrade that adds scrollable tickets and real-time adjustment, real-time operator chat with customers, and scheduling and stock tools for inventory management.
“These new features represent another step forward in providing merchants with real-time control, seamless communication, and enhanced efficiency,” Avani Nanavati, director of merchant experience at DoorDash, said in a statement. “By simplifying order management, streamlining operations, and fostering direct connections with customers, we’re helping merchants deliver exceptional service and grow their businesses.”
Autolane unveils solution to manage driverless cars in drive-thru lanes
As driverless cars like Waymo and Tesla become more common on the roads, they are also being spotted a lot more frequently in the drive-thru lane, which could cause confusion and chaos for an unprepared restaurant.
Autolane autonomous vehicle infrastructure company has launched a new feature called OpenCurb, which is designed to help delivery and takeout pickups and transfers at restaurant drive-thrus and shopping centers happen more seamlessly.
OpenCurb schedules vehicles to pull up to designated curb spaces, guide parking, and automate employee access to trunk space to place shopping and takeout bags.
The technology is currently being tested in Texas and California.
“From drive-thrus to destination malls, the curb is fast becoming the front door of every customer journey,” said Ben Seidl, CEO and cofounder of Autolane. “OpenCurb turns today’s chaotic curbs into orchestrated hand-off zones built for an autonomous future.”
Autonomous burger restaurant opens with Abb robots in charge
Abb Robotics and YuMi co-bot companies have joined forces to open the BurgerBots restaurant in Los Gatos, Calif. The autonomous restaurant features a robotic assembly line, where the machines are able to place a freshly cooked burger patty on a bun and then add topping choices that have been conveyed by individual QR codes, with the final assembly of the burger taking about 27 seconds.
“While Abb’s robots have been employed in food handling and packaging, their deployment in a customer-facing, quick-service restaurant environment is unique to BurgerBots,” Marc Segura of Abb Robotics, told Nation’s Restaurant News. “BurgerBots is the first to implement a self-contained robotic cell for burger assembly in a restaurant setting.”
BurgerBots founder Elizabeth Truong is looking to sell these robotic assembly line cells to other restaurants.