Near-field communication sensors and cloud-based smart restaurant management system

In this paper, we introduce an efficient and user-friendly Smart Restaurant Management System. This system will solve key problems faced by restaurants today through the use of technologies such as Mobile and Web applications, Internet of Things (IoT), Near-Field Communications (NFC) sensors, and cloud computing. Restaurants have many inefficiencies due to human limitations that can be resolved through automation and device-to-device communication. This Smart Restaurant Management System accomplishes this by providing two interfaces for the two types of users in restaurants; an Android mobile application for customers and a web application for restaurant staff members. The Android mobile application allows customers to have a seamless dining experience with features such as finding available parking spaces easier through internet-connected infrared proximity sensors in the parking lot, finding available tables at the restaurant easier through NFC sensors, ordering dishes through an interactive menu, and being able to pay the bill from their NFC equipped phones. The web application provides staff members benefits such as collecting data and statistics on the restaurant's performance in real time and automating the order placement system for waiters and cooks via IoT technology.