Wireless Beacons for Drive Through Payment Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drive-through payment processes are time-consuming and prone to errors, as they often require customers to have payment instruments on hand and rely on sequential line systems, leading to frustration and potential deterrence from ordering due to long wait times, especially for customers with small orders.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system using wireless beacons, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, to monitor users' locations and facilitate payment processes by establishing connections between user devices and merchant systems, allowing for automatic check-in, order tracking, and payment processing, while directing users to optimal lanes based on order size and traffic conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional payment processes are used requiring cash or payment card, then payment can be completed, but the process becomes time-consuming and requires customers to have payment instruments on hand
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing wireless beacon connections and processing payments before the customer physically arrives at the payment window. The beacon detects the vehicle's approach and initiates payment processes in advance, so that by the time the customer reaches the payment point, the transaction is already complete or nearly complete, eliminating waiting time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical payment instrument handling (cash, cards) with an automated electronic system using wireless beacons and mobile devices. This substitution eliminates the need for customers to manually present payment instruments while enabling faster, contactless payment processing through automated beacon-based identification and transaction initiation.
2Reliability
If a sequential line system is used to serve customers, then each customer receives service in order, but customers with small orders experience unnecessarily long wait times
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting vehicles with beacons before they reach the service window and pre-processing their orders and payments. This allows the system to prepare for upcoming transactions in advance, so that when small-order customers arrive at the payment window, their transactions are already complete or can be finalized immediately, eliminating unnecessary waiting time while maintaining service order integrity.
3Reliability
If customers must wait in a visible line, then service sequence is maintained, but long wait times deter customers from ordering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the visible mechanical line system with an invisible electronic beacon-based tracking system. Vehicles are identified and tracked through wireless beacon connections rather than physical positioning in a visible queue. This substitution maintains service sequence through electronic record-keeping while eliminating the visual indication of waiting, thereby improving customer satisfaction without sacrificing service order accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution streamlines the drive-through experience by reducing wait times, minimizing errors, and enhancing customer satisfaction by enabling efficient payment processing and order fulfillment, even before arriving at the payment window, thus improving throughput and customer convenience.
Implementation Method 1
a first wireless beacon of a plurality of wireless beacons set up at a merchant location to provide communications with a device
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided systems and methods for drive through monitoring using wireless beacons. A merchant may set up a wireless beacon at a drive through location for the merchant. The beacons may provide check-in services to a user when the user arrives at the drive through in a vehicle. The user may be checked-in through a device for the user, such as a mobile phone or a vehicles dashboard console that has communication capabilities with the beacon. Once the device establishes a communication channel with the beacon, check-in information or an identifier is received and associated with an order. The order may previously have been provided to the merchant. The user can complete payment for the order through the device and when the user arrives at a pick-up window, the merchant may utilize another beacon to connect to the device and retrieve the correct order for the user.