Guest Location Tracking for Privacy-Preserving Order Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for order delivery in dining environments often require guests to carry physical objects or receive notifications, which can be inconvenient and inefficient, and lack effective tracking systems that respect guest privacy.
Innovation Solution
A delivery system utilizing computer vision techniques to identify guest attributes, associate them with orders, and track their movements within the environment to passively deliver items to designated locations without the need for physical objects or notifications, using anonymous attributes like hair color, clothing, and gait.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical objects (cards, buzzers) or notification systems are used to track guests for order delivery, then order delivery accuracy is improved, but device complexity and guest inconvenience increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical tracking systems (physical cards, buzzers, visual indicators) with a computer vision-based optical system. Cameras capture images of guests, and image processing algorithms automatically identify and track guest attributes (clothing color, accessories, physical characteristics) to determine guest locations and deliver orders without requiring guests to carry or interact with physical tracking devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables automatic guest tracking and order delivery notification without requiring guest participation. The computer vision system independently identifies guests, tracks their movements throughout the facility, and determines when they have reached their destination, eliminating the need for guests to carry cards, press buzzers, or actively engage with the tracking system.
2Reliability
If visual indicators or notifications are displayed to guests for order readiness, then order delivery reliability is improved, but guest privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual notification systems (electronic displays, illuminated signs) with an auditory notification system. Guests receive order readiness alerts through audio signals that do not require visual attention, thereby maintaining privacy while still reliably notifying guests that their orders are ready for pickup.
3Reliability
If servers visually search for guest cards or numbers to deliver orders, then order delivery accuracy is improved, but time efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous feedback loop where the computer vision system constantly monitors guest locations, tracks movements, and updates the system in real-time. This allows the system to proactively determine when guests have reached their destinations and automatically notify them, eliminating the need for servers to continuously search for guests and reducing overall delivery time while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary tracking of guests from the moment they enter the facility or place an order. By continuously monitoring guest locations in advance, the system is already prepared with location information when orders are ready for delivery, eliminating the need for last-minute visual searches by servers.
Data Source
AI summary
A delivery system may include one or more processors and memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to identify one or more attributes of a user in one or more images and associate the one or more attributes of the user with an order placed by the user. The delivery system may also track the one or more attributes of the user in the one or more images over time to identify movement of the user within an environment and in response to the one or more attributes of the user in the one or more images remaining at a location for more than a threshold time, create an association between the one or more attributes of the user and the location. The delivery system may then provide an instruction to deliver items in the order to the location.