Unsurprisingly, new restaurant technology at the 2022 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this weekend emphasized labor solutions using automation and AI. Frictionless convenience technology, from making restaurant workers’ jobs easier (like kiosks) to replacing server positions when humans were not available (like robots) was an ongoing trend at the NRA show.
Rather than introducing entirely new forms of technology to wow conference attendees, this year’s restaurant tech vendors were mostly presenting vastly improved versions of tech we’ve seen in the past: introducing smoother and more personalized versions of end-to-end technology solutions.
While robots have had a place at the show for a while now, the robots we saw this year had a more widely expanded repertoire and can deliver items door-to-door, pour drinks and bring food to tables. Kiosks of course, are nothing new, but the 2.0 versions of restaurant kiosks we’re seeing are flashier and more customizable to a restaurant’s aesthetic and operator needs.
Take a closer look at some of the tech trends on display at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show.