The latest KFC tech chronicles just got even weirder.
KFC isn’t new in trying out two things to entice customers to buy their chicken. Previously, they made a KFC tray typer which lets customers pair their smartphones with wireless keyboard and type while eating with their greasy hands.
But this one’s a step further up in the game. In partnership with Baidu, they came up with an idea of a smart restaurant which can suggest orders to customers based on how they look. The facial recognition technology will take into consideration the customer’s facial expression, gender, and age to come up with an order.
According to the press release sent out by Baidu, the smart restaurant will typically suggest a guy in his 20s to order “a set meal of crispy chicken hamburger, roasted chicken wings and coke for lunch”. Meanwhile, those who are a bit older would be suggested to take salad and other healthy foods.
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While it’s a little annoying to have a software suggest an order for you, it can definitely work in circumstances where a person isn’t sure of what food he’d like to eat or if he/she is in a hurry. Despite the recommendation, customers aren’t forced to take the suggestion given. Instead, they can simply order another meal if they didn’t like what the smart restaurant recommended.
The restaurant will keep a ‘history’ of your previous orders so when you come back, they can recommend your favorites. Now that may not seem like a great idea, but think of it this way. It’s just like the regular waiter or bartender on your favorite restaurant who remembers your favorite food and drink whenever your there. Alright, I admit that this one’s a bit different because it’s a software. And with the recent concerns with data privacy, it’s really not great to give your information out in the open.
If you find this technology useful, you would have to either go to Beijing, China or wait a couple more years. It’s currently exclusively to one KFC establishment as experiment, so if you want to see it take off, you better pray that it catches on.
Source: TechCrunch