Design of service robot for assistance in restaurants

Abstract

The project targets the development of a service robot that is customised for restaurant operations which seeks to alleviate operational inefficiency and workforce challenges in the Food & Beverages (F&B) industry. The main goals are to develop a robot that can clear tables after meals, transports dirty dishes and cutleries back into the kitchen before enhancing the workload of servers in restaurants. Given the accelerated growth in demand for automation technologies to streamline work operation within this industry, this project is targeting restaurant owners and would be investors. To fulfil these goals, this project begins by unpacking user needs and values. An in-depth literature review supports the conceptual design phase, to see and evaluate different ideas. After this screening, the conceptual design is selected and further developed. In so doing, the report clearly outlines the aims to achieve and highlighting its path towards revolutionising restaurant operations with automation technologies.