Controls Engineering & IoT

Get a handle of restaurant technology portfolios in this first of a two-part series from the James Beard Foundation. Learn the BASICS framework, the current role of AI and automation in restaurants, and more from Emma Blecker of “Make It Makes Sense Consulting.” Operating an independent restaurant has never been more complex given the technology…

As restaurant brands look to scale in an increasingly complex operating environment, technology is becoming less of a support function and more of a strategic foundation. Shake Shack’s newly announced Project Catalyst reflects that shift in a very direct way. The company is rolling out a broad technology initiative designed to modernize its digital, data,…

Chef Robotics, a San Francisco-based food robotics company, has expanded its artificial intelligence-driven automation platform to handle tray assembly for meatpacking. The system can assemble raw, frozen and precooked proteins – including pork loin fillets, chicken breasts, steaks, lamb chops, bratwursts and sausage links – onto trays before packaging. Tray assembly for proteins has been…

PAR and Square this week unveiled AI tools that can do things on operators’ behalf, like run marketing campaigns and draft employee schedules. They’re part of a new wave of AI aimed at supercharging productivity. Here come the AI restaurant agents. This week, two large restaurant tech suppliers, PAR Technology and Square, unveiled AI products…

In an industry where technology innovation is often associated with software platforms, AI-driven personalization and automation, a small restaurant in southern India is making a compelling case that the next frontier of restaurant technology may be as much about physical infrastructure as digital systems. PETTI Restaurant, located in the coastal port city of Tuticorin, represents…

The technology combines Quail’s high‑clarity audio systems with Audivi’s automated AI-powered voice ordering software. Quail Digital and Audivi have formed a global partnership to deliver a Voice AI hardware platform which has been hailed as the ‘future’ for quick service restaurants (QSR) and drive‑thru ordering. The new system, provided free to QSR operators using the…

The company’s units stock dishes and snacks from several well-known national chains. Evolvending has added new automated dining points at Southwest Florida and Charleston international airports, extending its network in the US travel sector. The company’s units stock dishes and snacks from several well-known national chains, including California Pizza Kitchen, White Castle, Wow Bao and…

As spring approaches, building managers need to prepare for more than rising temperatures. At present, a large portion of the U.S. is projected to experience below normal precipitation this summer. “These areas are likely to face serious water-related challenges,” says Klaus Reichardt, CEO and Founder of Waterless Co., Inc. “Agriculture, local water supplies, and even…

Shinkei Systems said the facility would be “a strategic hub for the West Coast seafood industry.” A Southern California “seafood robotics” company announced Wednesday that it has acquired a Washington state facility that will become its first processing plant. Shinkei Systems said that the 16,000-square-foot facility in Tacoma would serve as a “strategic hub” for…

WellSpan Health has launched a robotic dining system at a location in York, Pa. Known as Fresh Take Eatery, the dining system provides patients and employees at WellSpan York Hospital with around-the-clock access to on-demand foodservice. WellSpan views Fresh Take Eatery as a complement to existing dining options, saying that it can produce hundreds of…