1. Introduction to intelligent catering settlement

Intelligent catering settlement refers to automatic settlement through a series of intelligent technologies, which can avoid manual and cumbersome settlement operation, and is generally applied to self-selected restaurants. Intelligent participation in the settlement system has changed the current situation of slow settlement, error-prone, high cost and poor experience in traditional self-help restaurants, and can highly optimize the existing settlement scheme. However, because the core technology of intelligent catering settlement is different, the cost, convenience and accuracy will be different.

ii. introduction of intelligent catering settlement technology

at present, the principles of intelligent catering settlement application are mainly divided into RFID radio frequency technology and image recognition technology.

1. RFID radio frequency technology

RFID radio frequency technology is used for intelligent settlement, which mainly uses RFID radio frequency technology to implant an RFID radio frequency chip at the bottom of each tableware. After the tableware enters the settlement area (radio frequency antenna induction area), the RFID radio frequency chip at the bottom of the tableware is read and written, and the communication and management of the RFID radio frequency chip at the bottom of the tableware are realized by means of the computer and its communication technology, so as to realize fast settlement.

The intelligent settlement of this technical principle has the characteristics of rapidity and accuracy, but this technology has obvious shortcomings. Tableware and dinner plates need to be customized, that is, customers must use this technology to settle the plates made by manufacturers with RFID radio frequency chips. The cost of dinner plates is higher, which is normally 2-4 times that of ordinary dinner plates. At the same time, because the chip is not resistant to high temperature, it is often easy to damage the chip when the tableware is disinfected or loaded in catering, so it is troublesome and costly to replace the tableware later. This kind of processed dinner plate, commonly known as smart plate, is mainly supplied by Hangzhou Xiongwei Technology and has a large-scale supplier in China.

2. Image recognition technology

Image recognition technology, also known as image information processing technology, is an important technical component in the field of artificial intelligence and is also used in intelligent catering settlement. At present, image recognition technology is used to realize intelligent settlement in the field of group meals, mainly based on the characteristics of tableware, such as size, shape, color and dishes, to quickly and intelligently identify tableware and product images in the "settlement area" and intelligently and accurately settle accounts, and connect with third-party payment systems such as one-card to allow diners to quickly complete payment and reduce queuing time.

this technology has developed rapidly in recent years. Image recognition intelligent settlement technology, also known as visual intelligent settlement technology, compared with RFID radio frequency technology, in addition to the characteristics of speed and accuracy, it also has the characteristics of no need to customize dinner plates, low cost and simple post-maintenance, and the cost is 41%-61% lower than that of RFID radio frequency technology. At the same time, it can also identify and analyze the data of dishes, so as to achieve the functions of nutrition, health and food recommendation. At present, the Gezi visual settlement system developed by Guangzhou Wugongge Information Technology Co., Ltd. has realized the first commercial application of image recognition in the field of intelligent catering settlement in China, and now it is ahead of its competitors in the number of customers and practical experience in the same industry in China. At present, it has been deployed in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Hubei and other regions, with enterprises, universities, government units and other types of users.

3. Comparison

(1) Technical comparison

The core technology of Gezi visual settlement system is self-developed image processing algorithm, while other companies that develop intelligent catering settlement systems often use RFID technology.

Compared with the core technology, the image processing algorithm applied in our company's Gozi visual settlement system has the following competitive advantages:

① Compared with RFID technology, image recognition technology has faster recognition speed and higher recognition sensitivity, and has a leading speed advantage compared with traditional manual settlement, which can greatly reduce the queuing time of diners;

② Image processing technology is more accurate than RFID technology in dealing with settlement identification. In practical application, the accuracy of statistical data identification can reach over 99.95%.

③ Image processing technology is simpler than RFID technology to update the settlement system, and it can instantly update and upgrade the image processing technology in the settlement system that has been running in the dining hall remotely; However, the internal settings of the system using RFID principle technology are fixed, and it is necessary to upgrade the technology and replace tableware in large quantities (the internal chip settings are fixed).

④ Image processing technology is more competitive than RFID technology. Image processing technology is one of the important areas of artificial intelligence technology research and development. The technology applied to the settlement system of our company is self-developed and competitive, which is different from other companies in technology research and development. The development of RFID principle technology is relatively mature, and intelligent settlement systems applying this technology are common, with technical differentiation and weak competitiveness. Moreover, in the future, the image processing technology may be continuously expanded and upgraded, with great development potential, and the technical function of RFID principle has been basically fixed.

(2) Quality comparison

RFID tags are easily affected by high temperature, so they cannot be used as long as the tags are damaged. RFID principle technology needs to embed chips in tableware, which is susceptible to induction failure due to temperature, damage and other reasons. At the temperature above 51 degrees, the chip begins to have the risk of being affected; When the temperature is above 81 degrees, the chip fails. In order to facilitate the operation, the canteen generally has no habit of specifically controlling the disinfection temperature range. In order to ensure the disinfection safety of tableware, the disinfection temperature will even be habitually set at a higher standard. High-temperature disinfection may not only make the chip invalid, but also bring potential chemical erosion risk to tableware after the chip fails, which also brings security risks to the canteen. However, the processing of tableware in canteen is generally batch processing, which damages the chip more or less during cleaning.

The Gozi visual settlement system based on image processing technology does not need to add additional RFID, so there will be no problem, that is, the Gozi visual settlement system does not need to customize the plates specially, and will not bring extra costs and consequences of plate loss to customers. In addition, the hardware used in this system is highly developed hardware products such as cameras and monitors, and the quality can be guaranteed.

(3) Functional comparison

The main functions of Gozi visual settlement system are as follows:

① Settlement function: improve settlement efficiency and reduce labor costs;

② data analysis function of enterprise client: merchants analyze the data of consumers' meals in the background, and launch appropriate packages to guide consumers' consumption. It not only increases the income of restaurants, but also gives consumers preferential treatment.

③ Personal client information management function: Operators can publish information to consumers through app and WeChat official account platform, and provide value-added services. Such as the provision of consumption records, healthy diet analysis, food recommendation and marketing interaction.

(4) Comparison of follow-up maintenance

The Gozi visual settlement system has no special customization requirements for the dinner plate, so there is no maintenance problem caused by the need to update the dinner plate due to the damage of the dinner plate in the later period. At the same time, due to the interference of RFID radio frequency technology, RFID radio frequency technology is easily interfered by mobile phones and other reasons in the settlement process, which leads to problems and is not easy to use and maintain.

The hardware of Gezi visual settlement system consists of industrial cameras, computers, display screens and other components, all of which are relatively mature industrial products, so the quality and after-sales are relatively guaranteed and easy to maintain. Moreover, when the customer needs to add new dishes and plates, because of the advantages of its own independent algorithm, the customer staff can directly enter the plate registration, which can be settled without image training, customized plates and professional operation, which is easy to maintain and manage.