Enhancing the restaurant dining experience with an NFC-enabled mobile user interface

Abstract

We provide a field study of a smartphone application and server-side software for improving the on-premises restaurant experience. To increase customer engagement, the smartphone client uses Near-Field Communication (NFC) to bootstrap the communication with the server and to localize customers to specific tables. The application further provides a complete end-to-end experience by allowing users to select food items, read micro-reviews of dishes, submit their order, and be alerted when the food is ready. We deployed our prototype system in a cafe-style restaurant in the dining commons of Stanford University and observed that the system was able to successfully streamline and enhance the dining experience for both customers and restaurant staff.