Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus which can automatically make cooking further efficient.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus of the present disclosure has order acquisition means for acquiring information on ordered articles ordered by a customer, cooking information acquisition means for acquiring cooking information including cooking processes, an order of the cooking processes, and cooking time about the ordered articles, schedule acquisition means for acquiring a task schedule of each cook, allocation means for allocating, based on the task schedule, cooking processes of the ordered articles to any of the cooks, and output control means for outputting allocation information of the cooking processes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] There are technologies available to improve the efficiency of cooking operations in restaurants.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the cooking time for either each dish that can be served to a customer or the dish that has been ordered by a customer is calculated based on information about the operating status of kitchen cooking resources, the predetermined working time required to cook each dish that can be served to a customer, and the cooking schedule for the dish that has been ordered by the customer. Patent Document 2 also discloses that the deadline for starting preparation of each ordered item is calculated at the time an order is received, and the ordered items are displayed in the order in which the deadlines arrive. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-144963 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-140244 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Until now, the allocation of cooking time for ordered items to each chef has relied on the skills of experienced chefs, but there is a need for an automated system. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that a chef is assigned to prepare each ordered item. Meanwhile, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2 displays ordered items in the order of their calculated deadlines, without taking into account the cooking process of each ordered item.

[0006] An example of an objective of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing device that can automatically improve the efficiency of cooking operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an order acquisition means for acquiring information on ordered items ordered by a customer, a cooking information acquisition means for acquiring cooking information for the ordered items, including cooking steps, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times, a schedule acquisition means for acquiring task schedules for each chef, an assignment means for assigning cooking steps for the ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule, and an output control means for outputting cooking step assignment information; The allocation means sets the cooking time required for the chef to cook the food based on the skills of the assigned chef, using a machine-learned model of the relationship between the chef's skills and cooking time. .

[0008] An information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a computer acquiring information about ordered items ordered by a customer, acquiring cooking information for the ordered items including each cooking step and the order and cooking time of the cooking steps, acquiring a task schedule for each chef, assigning a cooking step for the ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule, and outputting cooking step assignment information; In the allocation process, the cooking time required for a chef to cook a meal is set based on the skills of the assigned chef, using a machine learning model of the relationship between the chef's skills and cooking time. .

[0009] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure acquires information about an ordered item ordered by a customer, acquires cooking information for the ordered item including each cooking step and the order and cooking time of the cooking steps, acquires a task schedule for each chef, assigns a cooking step for the ordered item to one of the chefs based on the task schedule, and outputs cooking step assignment information. In the allocation, the cooking time required for the chef to cook is set based on the skill of the assigned chef using a machine learning model of the relationship between the chef's skill and cooking time. Make the computer do that. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] One example of the effect of the present invention is to provide an information processing device that can automatically improve the efficiency of cooking operations. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration including an information processing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration in which the information processing device according to the first embodiment is realized by a computer device and its peripheral devices. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an example of displaying cooking information acquired by a cooking information acquisition unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of how cooking lane information is stored in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of display of information on allocation of cooking steps to each chef by the output control unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of displaying information on allocation of cooking steps to each chef by the output control unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of information processing in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration including an information processing device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing information on each chef in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of information processing in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Next, an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a block diagram including the configuration of an information processing device 100 in the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 1, the information processing system 10 includes an information processing device 100, an order receiving device 200, and an output device 300. The information processing device 100 outputs information about the allocation of cooking steps to chefs for ordered items ordered by customers to the output device 300, such as a display, provided in the kitchen where the items are prepared in the store. The information processing device 100 includes an order acquisition unit 101, a cooking information acquisition unit 102, a schedule acquisition unit 103, an allocation unit 104, and an output control unit 105.

[0014] The order receiving device 200 receives information about ordered items input from a terminal such as a handheld terminal carried by an employee of the restaurant or an ordering terminal operated by a customer to order food. The order receiving device 200 includes a transmission unit 201 that transmits information about ordered items ordered by customers to the information processing device 100. The transmission unit 201 transmits, for example, information about items ordered by customers to the information processing device 100 via a network.

[0015] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration in which the information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is realized by a computer device 500 including a processor. As shown in Fig. 2, the information processing device 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 501, memories such as read-only memory (ROM) 502 and random access memory (RAM) 503, a storage device 505 such as a hard disk for storing a program 504, a communication interface 508 for network connection, and an input / output interface 509 for inputting and outputting data. In this embodiment, the storage device 505 stores cooking information for each product offered at the store, the cooking information including each cooking step, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times.

[0016] In the first embodiment, the components of the information processing device 100 are connected to each other via, for example, a bus 510. The information processing device 100 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can also be configured using cloud computing or the like.

[0017] The CPU 501 runs an operating system to control the entire information processing device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The CPU 501 also reads programs and data into memory from a recording medium 506 attached to, for example, a drive device 507. The CPU 501 also functions as the order acquisition unit 101, cooking information acquisition unit 102, schedule acquisition unit 103, allocation unit 104, and output control unit 105 according to the first embodiment, or as part of these units, and executes the processes or commands shown in the flowchart in FIG. 7, which will be described later, based on the programs.

[0018] The recording medium 506 is, for example, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, an external hard disk, or a semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory or the like that is part of the recording medium is a non-volatile storage device that stores the program. The program may also be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) that is connected to a communication network.

[0019] As described above, the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the computer hardware shown in FIG. 2. However, the means for realizing each unit of the information processing device 100 in FIG. 1 is not limited to the configuration described above. The information processing device 100 may be realized by a single physically combined device, or by two or more physically separate devices connected by wire or wirelessly. The information processing device 100 may further include an output device 300 such as a display that displays information about the allocation of cooking steps for ordered items. The information processing device 100 and the output device may be configured as a system realized by separate devices.

[0020] The order acquisition unit 101 is a means for acquiring information on ordered items ordered by a customer. In this embodiment, an example of an ordered item is an item at a restaurant that cooks and serves the ordered food. The ordered item may be one item or multiple items.

[0021] The order acquisition unit 101 acquires information about ordered items for each customer order, for example, from the order receiving device 200 described above. When the order acquisition unit 101 acquires information about new ordered items from the order receiving device 200, it arranges the items in the order in which the orders were received. Note that the order acquisition unit 101 arranges the acquired information about ordered items, excluding information about ordered items that are currently being cooked or have been cooked. When the order acquisition unit 101 acquires information about ordered items, it outputs information such as the product name and menu ID that identify each ordered item to the cooking information acquisition unit 102.

[0022] The cooking information acquisition unit 102 is a means for acquiring cooking information for ordered items, including the cooking steps for the ordered items, the order of the cooking steps, and the cooking time. The cooking information acquisition unit 102 acquires cooking information for each ordered item from the storage device 505 based on information identifying each ordered item input from the order acquisition unit 101. In this embodiment, cooking information includes information about each cooking step for the ordered item, the order in which each cooking step is performed, the cooking time required for each cooking step, and the work location where the cooking step is performed. Furthermore, if there are any cooking steps other than the cooking steps for the ordered items input from the order acquisition unit 101 that have not yet been assigned, the cooking information acquisition unit 102 also acquires cooking information for those cooking steps. In this embodiment, an unassigned list of cooking steps that have not yet been assigned is stored in the storage device 505. After acquiring cooking information for each ordered item, the cooking information acquisition unit 102 outputs the information to the assignment unit 104.

[0023] FIG. 3 is an example of displaying cooking information acquired by the cooking information acquisition unit 102 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooking information acquisition unit 102 acquires cooking steps and their cooking times in the order in which the orders are received. The cooking information acquisition unit 102 may also acquire information about the cooking lanes used in the cooking steps. The cooking lanes are, for example, work areas such as gas stoves and kitchen counters used by chefs in the cooking steps.

[0024] In this embodiment, information about the cooking steps performed in each cooking lane is stored, for example, in storage device 505. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of how information about each cooking lane is stored in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, a cooking lane ID is linked to the cooking content performed in that cooking lane. The cooking content includes cooking content (Cooking A to D) for each cooking implement, such as wok dishes, pot dishes such as simmering or boiling, frying pans, or ovens, as well as drinks, preparation, plating, etc. In the example of FIG. 4, the number of cooking lanes in the kitchen is also stored.

[0025] The schedule acquisition unit 103 is a means for acquiring a chef's task schedule. The schedule acquisition unit 103 acquires task schedule information for cooking processes that have already been assigned. The task schedule includes the start time and end time of the assigned cooking process. The task schedule may also include information such as the cooking process and the cooking lanes used in the cooking process. The task schedule may also include break times that the chef plans to acquire. When the schedule acquisition unit 103 acquires the task schedule, it outputs the information to the assignment unit 104.

[0026] The allocation unit 104 is a means for assigning cooking steps for ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule. The allocation unit 104 searches the task schedules of all chefs for the most recent available time, and assigns the cooking steps to a chef who has enough time to perform the cooking steps for the ordered items. The allocation unit 104 may also set the start and end times for the assigned cooking steps. In this case, the allocation unit 104 may vary the assigned cooking time based on the chef's skill, or may automatically set the cooking time using a model that has learned the relationship between chef skill and cooking time using AI (artificial intelligence) technology.

[0027] The allocation unit 104 may calculate the availability rate of each cook and allocate cooking processes based on the availability rate. For example, the allocation unit 104 may prioritize allocating cooking processes to the cook with the lowest availability rate. The availability rate is calculated by dividing the time during which a cook has already been assigned a task that includes a cooking process by the working hours of the day (availability rate = time assigned to task / working hours of the day). For each cooking process, the allocation unit 104 outputs the assigned cook and the start and end times of the cooking process to the output control unit 105. If there is no free time for the cook within a specified time period and there is a cooking process that has not been allocated to any cook, the allocation unit 104 adds the cooking process to an unallocated list and outputs information about the cooking process to the output control unit 105.

[0028] The output control unit 105 is a means for outputting information about the allocation of cooking processes to each chef. For example, the output control unit 105 sorts the cooking processes in the order in which they are started for the ordered items and outputs information about the cooking processes and the chefs assigned to them. The output control unit 105 may also display the start and end times of each cook as cooking process information. The output control unit 105 outputs the cooking process allocation information to an output device 300, such as a display, installed in the store's kitchen. The output control unit 105 may print the cooking process allocation information on a cooking instruction slip output by a printer installed in the store's kitchen. A cooking instruction slip is a slip used to instruct the kitchen to cook the ordered items. If the output control unit 105 receives information about a cooking process that has not been assigned from the allocation unit 104, the output control unit 105 may display the information about the unassigned cooking process.

[0029] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the display of information on the allocation of cooking processes to each chef by the output control unit 105. As shown in Fig. 5, the output control unit 105 displays information on the chef assigned to each cooking process and the start and end times of the cooking process. In addition, in the example of Fig. 5, information such as the slip number, menu ID, and table number where the order was placed is also displayed for each cooking process.

[0030] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the display of information about the allocation of cooking processes to each chef by the output control unit 105. In the example of FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents information about the chef, and the time periods during which the cooking processes assigned to each chef are performed are displayed along the time axis. As shown in FIG. 6, the output control unit 105 may display the progress status of each cooking process, such as cooking in progress or cooking completion. The output control unit 105 may also display the receipt number, product name, and cooking process information for each cooking process. The output control unit 105 may also display the off-duty or break times of each chef along the time axis. As shown in FIG. 6, the availability rate of each chef may also be displayed as information about the chef. Note that in the example of FIG. 6, information about the cooking process "Preparation" for the menu item "Eight Treasures" on "Receipt xxxx" is displayed as cooking information for unassigned cooking processes. However, examples of the display of information about the allocation of cooking processes to each chef by the output control unit 105 are not limited to the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0031] 7 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the information processing device 100 in the first embodiment. Note that the processing according to this flowchart may be executed based on program control by the processor described above.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 7, first, the order acquisition unit 101 acquires information about the ordered items ordered by the customer (Step S101). Next, the cooking information acquisition unit 102 acquires cooking information for the ordered items, including cooking steps, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times (Step S102). Next, the schedule acquisition unit 103 acquires the task schedule for each chef (Step S103). Next, the allocation unit 104 assigns the cooking steps of the ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule (Step S104). If it is possible to assign cooking steps for all ordered items (S105; YES), the allocation unit 104 outputs the cooking step assignment information to the output control unit 105, and the output control unit 105 outputs the cooking step assignment information (Step S106). If it is not possible to allocate cooking steps for all ordered items (S105; NO), the allocation unit 104 stores the unallocated cooking steps in an unallocated list (step S107), and the output control unit 105 outputs cooking step allocation information and information on the unallocated cooking steps (step S108). The information processing device 100 repeats the processing according to this flowchart, for example, every time it receives information on new ordered items from the order receiving device 200. This ends the information processing operation of the information processing device 100.

[0033] In the information processing device 100 of the present embodiment described above, the allocation unit 104 allocates cooking steps for ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule of each chef. This allows, for example, a cooking step to be allocated to the chef who is most available at the latest, automatically improving the efficiency of cooking operations. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the output control unit 105 outputs allocation information for cooking steps to each chef. This allows the chef to perform cooking tasks according to the allocation information, reducing the workload of considering the cooking order. Therefore, even inexperienced chefs can perform cooking in the optimal order.

[0034] [Variations] In the first embodiment, cooking processes were assigned in the order of the ordered items. In contrast, in a modified example, the assignment unit 104 may assign cooking processes in the order of the ordered items with the highest priority. In this case, the order acquisition unit 101 may rearrange the ordered items in the order of the highest priority. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the first embodiment. Of the menus shown in FIG. 8, "hamburger steak" with menu ID "000000002" has the highest priority. In this case, the order of the cooking processes "000000001" and "000000002" in FIG. 5 is swapped. The configuration of this modified example makes it possible to assign cooking processes taking priority into consideration.

[0035] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 9 is a block diagram including the configuration of an information processing device 110 in the second embodiment. In the information processing system 11 in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the information processing device 110 is connected to an order receiving device 210 and an output device 310 via a network.

[0036] In the following, to the extent that the description of this embodiment is not unclear, the description of the same content as the above description will be omitted. As with the computer device shown in Figure 2, the functions of each component in each embodiment of the present disclosure can be realized not only by hardware but also by a computer device or software based on program control.

[0037] 9, the information processing device 110 in this embodiment includes an order acquisition unit 111, a cooking information acquisition unit 112, a schedule acquisition unit 113, an allocation unit 114, a confirmation unit 115, and an output control unit 116. That is, the configuration differs from that of the information processing device 100 in the first embodiment in that it includes the confirmation unit 115.

[0038] In this embodiment, the storage device 505 stores information about the planned use of each cooking lane, as well as task schedules including break times, cooking skills such as available cooking lane IDs, and information about each cook, such as whether or not the cook is on duty. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing information about each cook in this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 10, the break time, available cooking lane IDs, and whether or not the cook is on duty are displayed as "true" or "false" for each cook.

[0039] The confirmation unit 115 is a means for determining whether an assigned cooking process is executable. The confirmation unit 115 determines whether an assigned cooking process is executable based on, for example, at least one of the cooking location, the chef's skills, and the chef's task schedule. Specifically, the confirmation unit 115 determines whether a cooking lane to be used for each cooking process is available based on the usage schedule information for each cooking lane stored in the storage device 505. The confirmation unit 115 also determines whether the assigned chef can execute the cooking process based on the chef's cooking skills stored in the storage device 505. The confirmation unit 115 determines whether the assigned chef can execute the cooking process based on information stored in the storage device 505 about the chef's break time or whether the chef is on duty. For example, in the example of FIG. 10 , if a cooking process is assigned to chef A during the time slot of 13:00-14:00, which is chef A's break time, the confirmation unit 115 determines that the cooking process is not executable.

[0040] If the confirmation unit 115 determines that the assigned cooking process is executable, it outputs the allocation information to the output control unit 116. If the confirmation unit 115 determines that the assigned cooking process is not executable, it outputs information about the cooking process to the allocation unit 114. Next, the allocation unit 114 cancels the allocation of the input cooking process and stores it in an unallocated list, and also outputs information about the canceled cooking process to the output control unit 116.

[0041] 11 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the information processing device 100 in the second embodiment. The processing according to this flowchart may be executed based on program control by the processor described above. The processing (steps S111 to S114) up to the point where the allocation unit 114 allocates the cooking process of the ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule is the same as the processing (steps S101 to S104) in the first embodiment.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 11, first, the order acquisition unit 111 acquires information about the ordered items ordered by the customer (Step S111). Next, the cooking information acquisition unit 112 acquires cooking information for the ordered items, including cooking steps, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times (Step S112). Next, the schedule acquisition unit 113 acquires the task schedule for each chef (Step S113). Next, the allocation unit 114 assigns the cooking steps for the ordered items to one of the chefs based on the task schedule (Step S114). Next, if the confirmation unit 115 determines that the assigned cooking steps are executable (S115; YES), the flow proceeds to S116. On the other hand, if the confirmation unit 115 determines that the assigned cooking steps are not executable (S115; NO), the allocation unit 114 cancels the assignment of the cooking steps determined to be not executable and stores them in an unassigned list (Step S117), and the flow proceeds to S120.

[0043] Next, if the allocation unit 114 is able to allocate cooking processes for all ordered items (S116; YES), it outputs the cooking process allocation information to the output control unit 116, and the output control unit 116 outputs the cooking process allocation information (step S118). On the other hand, if the allocation unit 114 is not able to allocate cooking processes for all ordered items (S116; NO), it stores the unallocated cooking processes that have not been allocated in an unallocated list (step S119). Next, the output control unit 116 outputs the cooking process allocation information and information on the unallocated cooking processes (step S120). The information processing device 110 repeats the processing according to this flowchart, for example, every time it receives information on new ordered items from the order receiving device 210. This completes the information processing operation of the information processing device 110.

[0044] In the information processing device 110 of the second embodiment described above, the confirmation unit 115 determines whether the assigned cooking steps are executable, and the allocation unit 114 cancels the allocation of cooking steps that are determined to be inexecutable. This allows only executable cooking steps to be assigned to a chef, increasing the likelihood that the ordered products will be provided as scheduled.

[0045] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

[0046] For example, although multiple operations are described in a sequential order in the form of a flowchart, the order of description does not limit the order in which the multiple operations are performed. Therefore, when implementing each embodiment, the order of the multiple operations can be changed within the scope that does not affect the content. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 10, 11 Information Processing Systems 100, 110 Information processing device 101, 111 Order Acquisition Department 102, 112 Cooking information acquisition section 103, 113 Schedule Acquisition Department 104, 114 Allocation Section 105, 116 Output control section 115 Verification Department 200, 210 Order reception device 300, 310 Output device

Claims

1. an order acquisition means for acquiring information on ordered items ordered by a customer; a cooking information acquisition means for acquiring pre-stored cooking information for the ordered items, the cooking information including cooking steps, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times; A schedule acquisition means for acquiring task schedules of each chef; an allocation means for allocating each of the cooking steps of the ordered items to one of the cooks who can secure the cooking time for performing the cooking steps of the ordered items within a predetermined time based on the task schedule; an output control means for outputting the cooking process allocation information; The allocation means changes each of the cooking times based on the skills of the assigned chefs using a machine learning model of the relationship between the chef's skills and cooking times; The output control means further sorts the cooking times in the order in which the cooking steps are to be started and outputs the changed cooking times.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the allocation unit further sets start and end times for each of the assigned cooking steps to be performed by each chef.

3. The order acquisition means further acquires information regarding the priority of the ordered items, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the allocation unit allocates the cooking steps of the ordered items based on the task schedule and the priority.

4. The cooking method further includes a confirmation means for determining whether the assigned cooking process is executable, 4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the allocation unit cancels the allocation of a cooking process that is determined to be infeasible.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the confirmation means determines whether the assigned cooking process is executable based on at least one of a cooking location, a chef's skill, and a chef's task schedule.

6. The computer Obtain information about the products ordered by the customer, Acquire pre-stored cooking information for the ordered items, including each cooking step, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times; Obtain the task schedule of each chef, Based on the task schedule, assign each of the cooking steps of the ordered items to any one of the cooks who can secure the cooking time for performing the cooking steps of the ordered items within a predetermined time; Outputting the cooking process allocation information; In the allocation, each of the cooking times is changed based on the skill of the assigned chef using a machine learning model of the relationship between the skill of the chef and the cooking time; In the information processing method, the cooking times after the change are output by sorting the cooking times in the order in which the cooking steps are started.

7. Obtain information about the products ordered by the customer, Acquire pre-stored cooking information for the ordered items, including each cooking step, the order of the cooking steps, and cooking times; Obtain the task schedule of each chef, Based on the task schedule, assign each of the cooking steps of the ordered items to any one of the cooks who can secure the cooking time for performing the cooking steps of the ordered items within a predetermined time; outputting the cooking process allocation information; A program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: In the allocation, based on the skills of the assigned chef, each of the cooking times is changed using a machine-learned model of the relationship between the skills of the chef and cooking time; and in the output, the cooking times are further sorted in the order in which the cooking steps are started, and the changed cooking times are output.

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