Image-Guided Food Transfer Robot for Unmanned Table Service

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing in-store food and beverage delivery systems fail to seamlessly integrate customer information with order processing, leading to inconvenient manual logging and incomplete unmanned serving services, as customers must manually collect dishes and retrieve food from pick-up stands.

Innovation Solution

An in-store food and beverage transfer and collection system utilizing image recognition with cameras to identify customers, track table occupancy, match order information, and control a transfer robot to deliver and collect food and beverages automatically, including determining consumption completion for refills and payments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If a robot transfers food by identifying order information by table, then food delivery automation is achieved, but customer information integration fails requiring manual login or manual information combination

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefood delivery automationVSAvoidcustomer information integration

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual information combination (mechanical process of staff matching customer info with order info) with image recognition technology (optical/electronic system). The camera captures customer face images, the processor automatically recognizes customers and links their information with table order information, eliminating the need for manual intervention and achieving complete automation while maintaining ease of operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an image recognition system as an intermediary between the robot and the customer information database. This intermediary automatically extracts customer identity from face images and bridges the connection between customer information and order information, resolving the integration problem without requiring direct manual interaction

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If a person collects dishes after customer finishes meal, then complete service is provided, but unmanned serving service cannot be fully implemented

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomplete service provisionVSAvoidunmanned serving service

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical action of manual dish collection with an automated image recognition system. The camera continuously monitors the table, the processor analyzes images to detect when customers have finished their meals (through patterns like empty plates, stacked bowls), and automatically triggers the robot to collect dishes, achieving complete unmanned service while maintaining complete service quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables the dining environment to self-monitor and self-report meal completion status through image analysis. The table setup itself (arrangement of dishes, their positions) provides the information needed to trigger collection, eliminating the need for external human judgment or customer notification

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Ease of operation

If customer directly goes to pick-up display stand to get food, then food retrieval is simplified, but self-serving service is implemented reducing unmanned service capability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefood retrieval simplicityVSAvoidunmanned service capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of having customers actively go to pick up food (customer-initiated), the system inverts the approach by having the robot proactively deliver food to the customer's table (system-initiated). The robot receives orders, prepares food, and autonomously navigates to deliver it, maintaining simplicity for customers while preserving and enhancing unmanned service capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS12254713B2In-store food and beverage transfer and collection system using image recognition and method of transferring and collecting food and beverage in store using the same

Publication Date: 2025.03.18 XYZ INC

AI summary

Provided are an in-store food and beverage transfer and collection system using image analysis and a method of transferring and collecting food and beverage in a store using the same in-store food and beverage transferred and collection system. The in-store food and beverage transfer and collection system using image analysis includes: an image obtaining unit configured to obtain an image of a predetermined area and comprising a plurality of cameras; a processing unit configured to process a control command for processing an order of a customer by using an image obtained by the image obtaining unit; and a transfer robot configured to obtain order information of the customer according to the control command of the processing unit, and transfer food and beverage that are ordered.