Augmented Reality Menu Ordering With Proportional 3D Food Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers, especially tourists, often face difficulties in visualizing portion sizes and ingredients of menu items due to limited space on traditional menus and language barriers, leading to unexpected orders and dissatisfaction.
Innovation Solution
An augmented reality (AR) application that uses codes linked to a content delivery network (CDN) to provide 3D renderings of menu items proportional to actual serving sizes, allowing users to inspect ingredients and proportions before ordering, and optionally translate menu item names.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional printed menus are used to display menu items, then the menu can be displayed in the local language, but customers cannot visualize portion sizes and ingredients, leading to ordering mistakes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses augmented reality to create virtual 3D copies of actual food items that are superimposed over the physical menu. These 3D models accurately replicate the portion size, ingredients, and appearance of the real dishes, allowing customers to visualize exactly what they will receive without requiring physical samples or complex photography.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from 2D menu descriptions and images to 3D augmented reality visualizations. By adding the third dimension through AR technology, customers can view food items from multiple angles and better understand portion sizes and ingredient compositions, resolving the limitation of flat menu presentations.
2Loss of information
If more item images are added to menus to help customers visualize food, then customers can better understand menu items, but menu space is insufficient and design becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the third dimension through augmented reality to display detailed 3D food models without consuming additional physical menu space. Instead of printing multiple images on the menu surface, the system projects virtual 3D representations that customers can view through their mobile devices, effectively infinite scaling without area constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of food items that can be displayed on digital screens without requiring physical space on the printed menu. These 3D digital copies replace the need for multiple printed images, allowing unlimited visualization options while maintaining a compact physical menu design.
3Reliability
If traditional menus are used without visual aids, then menu design is simple, but customers return items due to unexpected portion sizes and ingredients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs accurate 3D digital copies of food items that match the actual dishes in terms of portion size, ingredient composition, and presentation. These virtual replicas allow customers to make informed ordering decisions with high accuracy, reducing item returns while the underlying system remains relatively simple to implement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an augmented reality intermediary layer between the customer and the physical food. This AR mediation provides accurate visual information about portion sizes and ingredients without requiring complex changes to the restaurant's kitchen operations or food preparation systems, achieving high ordering accuracy with minimal operational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Three-dimensional (3D) model images for menu item are maintained in a content delivery network (CDN) along with codes. The codes are printed/affixed to menus adjacent to the menu items. The menus include an anchor object that is sized in proportion to plates that serve the menu items. A user operates an augmented reality (AR)-enabled application (app) and uses a gesture to identify a code associated with a menu item from a menu. The code is decoded to contact the CDN and obtain the 3D model image corresponding to the menu item. The user centers a view-finder over the anchor object on the menu and the 3D model image is rendered on the anchor object in a scaled size and a scaled proportion for what will be provided to the user. The user may spin the 3D model to inspect proportions and ingredients of the menu item through the app.