AI Ingredient Inquiry System for Dietary Restriction Matching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to efficiently and accurately identify ingredients in food and drinks that individuals with allergies, medical restrictions, or religious dietary requirements need to avoid, particularly for those who cannot communicate effectively with restaurant staff, such as foreign visitors.
Innovation Solution
An ingredient inquiry system that uses image analysis AI to identify food and drink ingredients and matches them against personal restriction data, allowing users to photograph dishes and receive a list of ingredients to avoid through a connected electronic device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual inquiry methods are used to check ingredients, then communication with store clerks is required, but foreign visitors speaking different languages cannot smoothly confirm ingredient information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an ingredient inquiry system that acts as an intermediary between users and food/drink items. The system uses image recognition technology to automatically identify ingredients in photographed food items and compares them against user-specific restriction databases (allergies, religious dietary requirements, medical restrictions). This intermediary system eliminates the need for direct communication with store clerks while ensuring accurate ingredient information is provided to users with various dietary needs.
2Reliability
If standardized ingredient information is provided on menus, then information consistency is improved, but personalization for individual dietary restrictions is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ingredient information system into multiple personalized databases, each tailored to specific dietary restriction types (allergies, religious requirements, medical restrictions). The system maintains separate, organized databases for different restriction categories and user profiles, allowing it to provide standardized reliable information while simultaneously adapting to individual personalized needs through database selection and customization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If comprehensive ingredient information is collected for all individuals, then personalized restriction coverage is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-collecting and organizing user dietary restriction information during registration, and pre-organizing ingredient databases by restriction type. The system prepares personalized databases in advance for different user profiles before actual use. This preliminary organization reduces the complexity of real-time processing while maintaining comprehensive coverage of various dietary restrictions.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment, an ingredient inquiry system includes a personal-information storing unit, an image input unit, an ingredient discriminating unit, an ingredient specifying unit, and a display. The personal-information storing unit stores, about each of a plurality of individuals, personal information for causing restriction about intake of ingredients used in food and drink. The image input unit inputs an image obtained by photographing the food and drink. The ingredient discriminating unit specifies the food and drink based on the image and discriminates the ingredients used in the food and drink. The ingredient specifying unit collates the personal information corresponding to each of the individuals and the ingredients discriminated by the ingredient discriminating unit and specifies the ingredients corresponding to each of the individuals. The display displays a list of the ingredients corresponding to each of the individuals specified by the ingredient specifying unit.