Restaurant Order Management with an Automated Serving Bot

Automation is happening in every domain around us. In today's world with the Covid-19 scenario and the spread of other deadly diseases, the need and importance of automation in every field, especially in the hospitality industry is surging. Restaurants are places where people directly interact with each other. This could lead to the spreading of contagious diseases. Also, the absence of unskilled labor in many countries resorts to automation in restaurants. Machine-based automation helps restaurateurs and customers to decide how much interaction is needed. This research aims at implementing a cost-efficient automation solution in a restaurant and a waiter-less ordering system. An intelligent food serving robot assistant aids in the automated serving of food in a restaurant. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are placed on the floor for path planning. Food is ordered through a website by scanning the Quick Response (QR) code on the table. Once the food is prepared, it is delivered to the required table by the robot by detecting the RFID tags placed on the floor. The food is served using a lead screw mechanism. A communication gateway betwixt the customer and the restaurant is set up through a Web Application. Finally, the paper discusses some optimization measures and future directions for the use of robots in the hospitality sector.