ROBIOTIC is part of the TELEKOM campaign "X mal mehr"
X times better service: The intelligent drink coaster SmartCall from ROBIOTIC is part of the campaign "X times more" of Deutsche Telekom as a smart digital solution. The SmartCall is currently revolutionizing the catering service. ROBIOTIC relies on IoT mobile phone technology solutions to reliably network smart products. For this purpose, Deutsche Telekom provides M2M SIM cards that can be permanently integrated into the devices and forward the recorded data to an IoT cloud. Since this data is sent via the mobile network, not even a WLAN router is needed to offer customers the service of the future - contactless service creates security!
X times better service for the gastronomy
The gastronomy industry is currently in a phase of upheaval: not only the current corona crisis, but also the strong competition and the associated price war have been challenging especially breweries for some time now. "In addition, breweries know very little about the usage behavior of beer drinkers, for example. They deliver bottles and kegs to restaurants and retailers and get the empties back. They don't know exactly when which customers consume how much," explains Thomas Krekeler, CEO of the IoT service provider ROBIOTIC. As part of the HK Systems group of companies, ROBIOTIC therefore thought about how an effective IoT solution could contribute to service optimization and sustainable customer loyalty in the catering industry. The result was a smart piece of the future with its finger on the pulse of time: together with the glass manufacturer RASTAL, a digital drinks ordering system was developed with the intelligent beer coaster "SmartCall" at its heart.
How SmartCall pushes the gastronomy industry
The digital beverage order system consists of an intelligent beer coaster with integrated weighing sensor and mobile phone as well as special drinking glasses with NFC chips. With these components, the system detects the fill level of a glass and makes this information available in visual form on a terminal, a tablet or even a smartphone. In this way, the service staff can get a quick overview of the beverage glasses in the restaurant and can react in good time to empty glasses or other wishes of the guests. Active action is the key to increased sales: SmartCall automatically informs the service staff so that they can proactively approach the guest. The guest also has the additional option of calling the service staff or contacting the host via two integrated service buttons - a great solution especially for areas in pubs, restaurants, beer gardens etc. where visibility is difficult.
How the SmartCall works
With the help of several sensors, SmartCall determines the weight of the drinking glass and thus calculates the fill level. This data is transferred to the ROBIOTIC IoT Cloud via mobile phone technology and visualized on the user interface of a POS system, tablet or smartphone. The NFC chip integrated in the glass can be used to identify and assign different types of glass (e.g. for Pils or wheat beer). Fill levels and glass types are visualized in several steps as images from full to empty, with the display also being shown in three colors with a traffic light model. The SmartCall itself is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery. Service personnel can recharge up to ten coasters at the same time using the charging tower supplied.
The idea of the smart beer coaster is really well received by breweries: Initial tests have shown that sales can be increased by ten to 20 percent with the SmartCall. "The tests have shown that a brewery or restaurant can better adapt to the drinking behaviour of its customers," Krekeler explains. "They now know which type of beer or drink is drunk in what quantities and when. If we then enrich the collected data with other information, such as weather data, beverage manufacturers and restaurateurs can tailor their special offers to the current situation.” To network the coasters, the system uses SIM cards from Deutsche Telekom, which work with the Narrowband IoT radio standard right down to the last corner of a room. The advantage over a card that uses a WLAN for transmission, for example: Customers no longer need to install anything on site. The devices register themselves - even abroad - and are immediately ready for use without any configuration. A real plug & play solution!
With the SmartCall, ROBIOTIC has achieved a real innovation coup: The product was recently awarded the "German Innovation Award". A coveted cross-industry prize that innovative products and solutions only receive if they can demonstrate significant added value for the user compared to previous solutions.
veröffentlicht am : 2020-06-26 00:00
