AI and robotics in the European restaurant sector: Assessing potentials for process innovation in a high-contact service industry

Abstract

The restaurant technology market is rapidly evolving and is transforming the restaurant business as a significant sector of tourism and hospitality. Enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), mobile apps, kiosks and chatbots revolutionize the guest experience and robots automate restaurant operations. Despite the increasing interest, the use of AI and robotics in restaurants is still in its early stage and restaurant managers are seeking guidance to leverage these technologies for service excellence. In this high-contact service sector, emotional skills need to be balanced with the possible automation potentials. The present research analyzes the current state of AI and robotics in the restaurant sector and proposes a systematic identification of process innovation potentials. For this purpose, a market analysis of the European AI and robotics market for restaurant operations is conducted, which yields a first knowledge base for future research and conceptual work. Besides detailed empirical data, a reference process is developed for leveraging new technologies for process innovation.

Digital Transformation in the Restaurant Industry: Current Developments and Implications

“…The former might be linked to the PoS systems and provide functionalities like ordering as well as entertainment while the latter might (semi)automate the preparation of food. The world of connected sensors and actuators ("Internet of Things") is already present in many kitchen devices (e.g., oven, fridge, inventory sensors in bins, thermometers, faucets) as well as in more complex robotic devices (Blöcher & Alt, 2020). These comprise smart cooking devices (e.g., sous vide, pressure cooker, kneading machine) and 3D printing for personalized food production (e.g., bakeries), but also human-like robotic arms, hands and fingers that are able to perform simple operations in the kitchen and to automate the preparation of meals and drinks.…”

“…• Smart technologies, such as analytics, AI and XR are often present in combination with other technologies, e.g., in PoS systems and smart mobile or stationary devices. They rely on the extraction of data and unveil many use cases (Blöcher & Alt, 2020). Well-known examples are analytics for decision support (e.g., in planning staffing and inventories), learning and adaptive strategies (e.g., for personalization and forecasting) and marketing analytics (e.g., for personalized campaigns and offers).…”

Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the Food Industry

“…ese days, a large majority of customers are introduced to a food place via Google searches or another online medium. is fact is being utilized while recommending a customer with a preferred restaurant or cafe based on their locations and ratings with the help of AI [45]. ese AI agents also help in notifying the customers about the offers, events, or sales in their favorite food places.…”

Influence of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Awareness on Employee Creativity in the Hotel Industry

“…The advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution affects our life, work, and production through artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, automation, and digitization ( Ivanov and Webster, 2019 ; Hwang et al, 2020 ), which are seen as the breakthroughs of emerging technology. These technologies, especially AI and robotics, have exhibited profound effects on a large number of sectors such as the hotel industry ( Blöcher and Alt, 2020 ; Henkel et al, 2020 ; Tussyadiah, 2020 ). AI and robotics are widely used in hotels worldwide which can replace some repetitive and tedious tasks.…”