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Alice Shen

A university in eastern China is the latest to replace cashiers in one of its cafeterias with “smart checkouts” that allow diners to pay for their meal with the swipe of a card.
Hefei University of Technology in Anhui province follows other colleges in Shanghai and Hangzhou to introduce the technology, according to a report in the Hefei Evening Post on Wednesday.
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One cafeteria worker told the newspaper more students and staff had been dining there since the new system came in on October 8.
“Before these smart checkouts, the cashiers had to add up the prices – humans are much slower and also more likely to make mistakes,” the worker said.
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Bowls and plates in the cafe are embedded with chips that are read by sensors at the checkout points, and diners can then pay with a smart card, cafeteria manager Mei Rui told the newspaper.
“This system has reduced the cost of labour for us – it’s made our cafeteria more efficient,” Mei said.
Students appear to have embraced the technology, with more choosing to go to the cafeteria with smart checkouts than to others on campus.
“The place had far fewer diners before,” computer science student Liu Yamei said. “Now you can’t find an empty seat during lunch and dinner.”
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Aside from offering students a faster way to pay for their meals, there are also plans to introduce a function to help them keep track of their health – in the next few months, they will be able to see how many calories and nutrients are contained in their meal.
And the cafeteria meanwhile will be able to track which dishes are the most popular, Mei said.
The system also supports payment using facial recognition and mobile phones but they are not available at the university yet.


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Smart technology on the menu at university cafeteria in eastern China

At a Hefei University of Technology cafeteria, students can pay for their meals at “smart checkouts” – and soon they will be able to see the calorie and nutrient content of their meals. Photo: Hf365.com

News

China

People & Culture

Bowls and plates embedded with chips are scanned at checkout points and diners then pay with a smart card


China technology