How an AI camera is ensuring food safety

If you walk into Capitol Hill's restaurants like Emilie's or Kevin Tien, you'll find yourself alone. It is because only one customer can enter at a time due to the coronavirus pandemic. There will be an employee to greet you, wearing a mask and gloves. If you order something, they deliver your food in a new white paper bag. Demonstrating these cautions helps them to win customers' trust that their food is safe from coronavirus.

Dragontail Systems, a restaurant technology company, is offering a whole new way to restaurants so that their customers can trust them in terms of food safety by applying an artificial intelligence (AI) camera to verify those crucial safety measures during COVID-19 pandemic.

Ido Levanon, Dragontail Co-founder, and CEO says, "It may not be an easy sell; however, the restaurant sector wasn't always eager to adopt new technologies. All of the latest developments on the technology, especially in AI, unfortunately never reached the restaurant industry."

Ido Levanon, along with his other cofounders, launched Dragontail Systems in 2013 with two products. One system uses an algorithm to optimise delivery efficiencies, and the other is an artificial intelligence camera, which was initially made to help restaurants with quality control. "Almost half of us are developers, data scientists, mathematicians, and half are operations people," Ido explains.

Dragontails Systems' initial customers were large food chains such as Domino's in Australia and New Zealand. They are now opening an office in the U.S, hoping to sell their updated AI camera to restaurants of all sizes. As the restaurants are struggling right now, "we believe our technology is going to make a big difference, says Ido.

The company's AI technology can verify more than just the correct number of pepperoni slices, claims Ido. The camera can also recognise all-important safety measures, including washing their hands, cleaning the surfaces, and wearing a mask.

Claire Miller, one of the pastry chefs at Emilie's states, that they sanitize all the surfaces of the restaurant every 20 minutes. "There's a long list of safety protocols that each employee must repeat each day," she adds.

If Emilie's uses Dragontail's technology, it could allow customers to see more of what the restaurant is already doing in the kitchen, argues Ido.

Miller is sceptical about whether Emilie's be able to afford Dragontail's technology. She finds it difficult to imagine the restaurant's current financial situation. They've had to lay off most of their hourly staff, and she is still paying for employees' health insurance, even for those who were laid off. Emilie's is also supporting the staff, selling sourdough starters, and donating the proceeds to Ayuda, a fund for undocumented workers. They are also offering workers some of the restaurant's pantry items.

Ido says, "Dragontail's technology can make financial sense for restaurants like Emilie's. Pricing begins at $50 per month and can go up to $500." He feels confident the return on investment makes it worth. The company wants to serve restaurants regardless of size, especially during this pandemic. "We are now going after the mom and pops and the single stores that are severely affected," he adds.

Some restaurants might feel wary about bringing cameras into the kitchen. When Domino's first began using Dragontail's technology, some franchises were uneasy with the presence of cameras in their kitchens. Still, the camera is installed above the employee so that faces aren't captured, Ido elucidates.

AI is not necessary for food to be safe from coronavirus. While the technology is still advancing, the risk of transmitting the virus through food delivery packaging is relatively low. To be safe, wash or sanitize your hands after collecting the delivery, transfer to clean containers or sanitize packaging when possible, and wash your hands before, during, and after cooking," J. Kenji Lopez-Alt writes.