Controls Engineering & IoT

Retailers are struggling to staff hospitality businesses, but robotic innovations offer high-efficiency, low-maintenance options. Retailers are turning to robotic solutions in countries where longer life expectancies and falling birth rates are reducing the hospitality talent pool, according to a new report. GlobalData’s new Future of Consumer report says: “The number of people available to work…

AI adoption is ahead of and going beyond what leadership approved. Every generation of food and beverage leaders reaches a moment where they had to decide what to trust. Your grandfather trusted his gut because the business was small enough and he could see everything for himself. Your father trusted the reports his systems produced…

The past 10 years in the fast-food industry have been a study in automation. McDonald’s rolled out in-store kiosks in 2016 for customers to order at instead of waiting in line for an employee at the counter. Wendy’s debuted a human-free AI drive-thru system – “FreshAi” – in 2023. But the tide appears to be…

IoT food safety monitoring uses connected sensors to track temperature, humidity, and equipment status across kitchens, storage, and transport in real time. Devices send readings to cloud dashboards that alert operators before food leaves safe ranges, replacing manual temperature logs and supporting HACCP compliance with continuous, automated records. Wireless IoT food safety monitoring sensor mounted…

As the world embraces AI solutions to optimize business, operators need to remember that many diners prioritize authentic, tangible experiences over digitally-powered efficiency, writes James Tice. Ask yourself why anyone actually goes out to eat, because it’s almost never about the food itself. You go to a restaurant to be served for an hour or…

California Pizza Kitchen, White Castle among the latest to make nontraditional retail moves. Whether you’re craving potato chips, pizza or sliders, autonomous food options continue to advance. Both California Pizza Kitchen and White Castle shared news of their latest automated retail formats. Here’s a glimpse: California Pizza Kitchen Eyes 1,000 Machines The pizza chain is…

Artificial intelligence can handle the growing volume of testing data, spot food safety issues before they become critical and even suggest interventions. We’ve often written about how artificial intelligence is penetrating the product development process and plant operations. While less reported, the technology is having a quietly growing influence in food safety laboratories – although…

Video highlights the use of mobile technology, connectivity and real-time data in the tissue converting company’s plant-floor operations Samsung has featured South Florida Tissue Paper Co.’s manufacturing facility in Miami Gardens, Florida, in a commercial highlighting the use of mobile technology in plant-floor operations. The video shows employees working around tissue converting equipment while using…

Built in partnership with Xenet AI, the software enhances the ability to monitor performance in real time McDonald’s is set to trail a new hospitality tech supplier’s platform designed to aid in predictive maintenance and operational intelligence analysis, aiming to reduce beverage machine failures across its estate. Telemetry said its technology enables operators to prevent…

72% of manufacturers are boosting tech budgets, but skills gaps cause 78% of their obstacles. Fluke’s Vineet Thuvara on closing the readiness gap in food manufacturing. Manufacturers are spending like the future is already here. A recent Fluke Corporation survey found 72% of organizations plan to sink 16% to 30% of their maintenance budgets into…