RealSense Enables Real-Time Inventory Management for Food Service Automation.
The challenge
In the fast-paced food service industry, managing inventory can be a constant challenge. Overpreparing often leads to food waste, while underpreparing can result in dissatisfied customers and lost revenue.
The solution
PreciTaste, a pioneer in AI-powered software automation, created Station Assistant to streamline kitchen operations and eliminate guesswork. This unique technology platform relies on ® RealSense™ stereo depth technology to detect, classify, and track food inventory levels.
The results
Station Assistant helps restaurants reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, improve labor productivity, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Introduction to Smart Kitchen Automation
Efficient inventory management is one of the biggest challenges aside from supply in the foodservice industry. Food waste is considered to constitute about 30-40% of the U.S. food supply, from which foodservice operations generate an estimated 12.8 million tons of food waste annually. Traditional inventory techniques are based on manual counting, which cannot be free from inaccuracies and inefficiency due to labor involvement. PreciTaste addresses those challenges with its AI-powered automation using RealSense technology in optimizing food preparation and reducing overall waste.
Unveiling Food Service with the Power of AI
NOA leverages self-driving vehicle software co-developed with Honda Research Institute. By fusing turn-by-turn GPS instructions with visual data, it offers precise, context-aware navigation, enabling users to traverse complex environments like city streets, crowded pathways, and public transport hubs.
Accurate Measurement Reduces Waste
Precision in inventory tracking helps minimize food waste. RealSense cameras capture 3D dimensional data for measuring ingredients of variable sizes, shapes, and textures. Global shutters synchronize depth and RGB sensors for accurate food item detection, volume detection, and estimating the time of refills required. This stream of real-time data will guide kitchen workers, eliminating excess preparation and ensuring that ingredients will be ready when needed.
Rapid Development with the SDK 2.0
The engineers at PreciTaste applied the RealSense SDK 2.0 to make the development and deployment of the system more efficient. It contains APIs for object tracking, 3D reconstruction, and spatial analysis that allow for quick sensor calibration and accurate modeling of food items. By fusing RGB and depth data, the system eliminates the need for complex separate solutions, saving time and reducing development costs.
Selecting RealSense: A Vision for Smarter Kitchens
PreciTaste required a high-performance depth camera that could be seamlessly integrated with automation solutions. It had to combine RGB and depth sensing, precisely identifying the food items and estimating their volume. Since most installations in the kitchen would be mounted from above, it had to support long-range capabilities and clarity through glass displays. The RealSense Depth Camera D455 did just that and was cost-effective to boot, reducing hardware costs by $500 to $1,000 per restaurant.
“Vice President of Operations, PreciTaste
RealSense depth cameras allow us to provide a reliable and consistent vision AI solution for customers with makelines and buffets. It’s the best offering we’ve found for our needs.”
—Hauke Feddersen, Vice President of Operations, PreciTaste