ShareVending machine dispenses fresh foods via RFID
The startup PantryLabs has created refrigerated kiosks which can identify sandwiches and other perishable products stored within, and can track sales and inventory levels.
The startup PantryLabs has created refrigerated kiosks which can identify sandwiches and other perishable products stored within, and can track sales and inventory levels.
Following two pilots conducted at Bay Area hospitals, San Francisco-based startup PantryLabs has begun selling its smart sensor-based refrigerated vending machine, known as a Pantry, to enable businesses, such as health-care facilities, restaurants and other food sellers, to dispense fresh food automatically. The Pantry has a built-in RFID reader to track the items stored inside the unit via tags affixed to food packaging.
PantryLabs developed the solution to allow users to monitor the food inventory inside vending machines, view alerts to restock those machines, and prevent products from going out of stock, thereby reducing sales. The Pantry refrigerated vending machine has a built-in RFID reader to identify which food items consumers have removed from its shelves.
The Pantry has a ThingMagic Mercury6e RFID reader module and a reader antenna on each of its shelves. The unit employs a Wi-Fi or 3G cellular connection to PantryLabs' hosted server, where data regarding its inventory is stored and managed.
First, upon acquiring and installing the Pantry, users apply a PantryLabs RFID label, with a built-in Impinj Monza 4D chip that PantryLabs has pre-encoded with a unique ID number, to each food item. The label's ID is linked to the food item's description and expiration date, which employees input into the software, and the item is then placed inside the kiosk, where its ID number is captured and stored automatically in the server's software.
To use the Pantry, a consumer first swipes a credit or debit card through a mag-stripe reader installed on the kiosk's front, prompting the refrigerator door to unlock. The individual then opens the door and removes the desired items. Once he or she closes the door again, the system considers the transaction complete, and the software determines which items have been removed. The total cost is then charged to that person's credit or debit card account.
Following two pilots conducted at Bay Area hospitals, San Francisco-based startup PantryLabs has begun selling its smart sensor-based refrigerated vending machine, known as a Pantry, to enable businesses, such as health-care facilities, restaurants and other food sellers, to dispense fresh food automatically. The Pantry has a built-in RFID reader to track the items stored inside the unit via tags affixed to food packaging.
PantryLabs developed the solution to allow users to monitor the food inventory inside vending machines, view alerts to restock those machines, and prevent products from going out of stock, thereby reducing sales. The Pantry refrigerated vending machine has a built-in RFID reader to identify which food items consumers have removed from its shelves.
The Pantry has a ThingMagic Mercury6e RFID reader module and a reader antenna on each of its shelves. The unit employs a Wi-Fi or 3G cellular connection to PantryLabs' hosted server, where data regarding its inventory is stored and managed.
First, upon acquiring and installing the Pantry, users apply a PantryLabs RFID label, with a built-in Impinj Monza 4D chip that PantryLabs has pre-encoded with a unique ID number, to each food item. The label's ID is linked to the food item's description and expiration date, which employees input into the software, and the item is then placed inside the kiosk, where its ID number is captured and stored automatically in the server's software.
To use the Pantry, a consumer first swipes a credit or debit card through a mag-stripe reader installed on the kiosk's front, prompting the refrigerator door to unlock. The individual then opens the door and removes the desired items. Once he or she closes the door again, the system considers the transaction complete, and the software determines which items have been removed. The total cost is then charged to that person's credit or debit card account.