vi

Hochschule Rhein-Waal

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences

Faculty of Communication and Environment

Degree Program Information Engineering and Computer Science, M. Sc.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sandro Leuchter

INTERNET OF THINGS

Food industry: SMART CAFE

Final Term Paper

WS 2014/2015

Module Applied Research Project B

by

Ali Abid Kazmi (Matriculation Number: 16269),

Muhammad Mohsin Reza (Matriculation Number: 16311),

Syed Raza Shahzaib (Matriculation Number: 16277), &

Bijen Hirachan (Matriculation Number: 16373)

vii

Summary

Internet of things is about introducing automation in industries. In this paper we shall

target the food industry. Smart Caf is an innovation to redesign the restaurants

environment, digitalize their menus and provide customers an unusual dining experience.

This document gives the design and implementation of an E-menu application based on

Android Operating System and development of a PHP based Menu Updating System to

keep the E-menu up-to-date. The project aims to automate the ordering services in

restaurants/cafes, eliminate ordering inefficiencies like wrong/late orders, and provide a

solution to replace existing paper menus of yester-year, which becomes tatty and worn

with time.

The Android Food Menu app, ported onto the hardware device (of choice), offers menus

with high-resolution pictures, detailed descriptions and prices. Using the device, the user

can browse E-menu, customize selections and send his order wirelessly to Kitchen,

without having the waiter to wait aside. The selected order is displayed on Kitchen Portal

with table number and time of order, stored in database as a record and its receipt is

printed at the Finance Portal. This reduces the tasks of the waiter to only deliver meal and

receipt to the customer in one go.

viii

Table of Contents

1. Problem Statement: .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Approach ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 2

1.2.1. Academic Objectives ..................................................................................................... 3 1.2.2. Industrial Objectives ...................................................................................................... 3

1.3. Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 3 2. Related Work ........................................................................................................................... 3

2.1. Project Domain ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.2. Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 4

2.2.1. Android based Food Menu Applications ....................................................................... 5 2.2.2. IOS/Windows Food Menu Applications ........................................................................ 5

2.3. Selection of Android OS for developing E-menu .................................................................. 6 2.4. Selection of Routing Protocol: .............................................................................................. 6

2.4.1. How JSON will be used in our application. ................................................................... 6 2.5. Shortcomings/issues in Existing E-menus ............................................................................. 6 2.6. Issues addressed by the proposed project ........................................................................... 7 2.7. Core Features of Smart Caf ................................................................................................. 7

3. Software Design and Development.......................................................................................... 8 3.1. Software Design .................................................................................................................... 8

3.1.1. System Block Diagram .................................................................................................. 8 3.1.2. Layered Model of Smart Cafe ........................................................................................ 9

3.2. Software Development ....................................................................................................... 10 3.2.1. Developing a Caf Management System ..................................................................... 10 3.2.3. Developing an Android Food Menu App..................................................................... 12 3.2.4. Portals development ..................................................................................................... 16 3.2.5. Web Designing ............................................................................................................. 18 3.2.6. Database for keeping Revenue Records ....................................................................... 20

3.3. Software Quality Attributes ................................................................................................ 21 4. Analysis and Evaluation ............................................................................................................ 21

4.1.4. Using different domains to check validity of JSON parser .......................................... 21 4.1.5. Editing Order ............................................................................................................... 22 4.1.6. Sending subscription SMS ........................................................................................... 24 4.1.7. Verifying Call waiter button ........................................................................................ 24 4.1.8. Verifying signup button from website ......................................................................... 26 4.1.9. Data storage in Database .............................................................................................. 27 4.1.10. Editing Menu at run-time ........................................................................................... 28 4.1.11. Stacking orders ........................................................................................................... 30

5.1. Future Work ........................................................................................................................ 31 5.2 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 31

Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 33

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4-1: Validity of JSON parser on different domains ............................................................... 21

Table 4-2: Test Case 04 (checking validity of JSON parser on different domains) ........................ 22

Table 4-3: Test Case 05 (Editing/Deleting Already selected order) ............................................... 23

Table 4-4: Test Case 06 (Send Subscription SMS) .......................................................................... 24

Table 4-5: Test Case 07 (Calling Waiter via Viber and SMS) .......................................................... 25

Table 4-6: Test Case 08 (Verifying sign-up button from website) ................................................. 27

Table 4-7: Test Case 09 (Data storage in Database) ...................................................................... 27

Table 4-8: Test Case 10 (Editing Menu at run-time) ...................................................................... 30

Table 4-9: Test Case 11 (Stacking orders according to time) ......................................................... 31

x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1-1: Traditional ordering method in Restaurants/Cafes 1

Figure 1-2: Paper Menu Card provides insufficient details 1

Figure 1-3: Illustration of Approach used by Smart Caf 2

Figure 2-1: E-Menu benefits restaurant with latent revenue 4

Figure 2-2: Different types of E-menu Devices [10] 6

Figure 3-1: Software Block Diagram 9

Figure 3-2: Layered Software Model of Smart Caf 9

Figure 3-3: Concept of Caf (Menu) Management System. 10

Figure 3-4: Different categories in Caf (Menu) Management System. 10

Figure 3-5: Items added in the Appetizers category 11

Figure 3-6: GUI for adding/editing content information for each item. 11

Figure 3-7: MySQL database from where the menu is fetched 11

Figure 3-8: Layouts of Welcome and Home Page 12

Figure 3-9a and 3-9b: Layouts of Categories and items in Menu 13

Figure 3-10: Sample Layouts for detailed description of an item. 13

Figure 3-11: Sample Layouts for Reviewing Order. 14

Figure 3-12: Server telling Preparation Time 14

Figure 3-13: Additional Features in App 15

Figure 3-14: Internet Access and interactive games while waiting 15

Figure 3-15: Internet Based Call Waiter Facility 15

Figure 3-16: Options Tab 16

Figure 3-17: Client-Server architecture [12] 17

Figure 3-18: Kitchen Portal 17

Figure 3-19: Finance Portal 17

Figure 3-20: Sample Receipt 18

Figure 3-21: Home Page of Smart Cafs Website 18

Figure 3-22: Features Page of Smart Cafs Website 19

Figure 3-23: Sign-Up Page of Smart Cafs Website 19

Figure 3-24: Members Area showing PHP scripts of Smart Caf on 000webhost.com 20

Figure 4-1: Deleting an item from order 22

Figure 4-2: Editing/Deleting Order 23

Figure 4-3: Subscribing for Menu Updates 24

Figure 4-4: Calling Waiter via Viber 25

Figure 4-5: Sending Message to Waiter 25

Figure 4-6: Sign-up page from Website 26

Figure 4-7: Database storing username and password. 26

Figure 4-8: Members Area 26

Figure 4-9: Orders stored in Database 27

xi

Figure 4-10(a): Initial Price of Item 28

Figure 4-10(b): Price of item changed on server end 28

Figure 4-10(c): Price Updated on Client App 29

Figure 4-11: Adding an item in Menu 29

Figure 4-12: Deleting an item from Menu 30

Figure 4-13: Stacking Orders 31

xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

App Application

ASP Active Server Pages

CEO Chief Executive Officer

E-menu Electronic Menu

E-table Electronic Tables

GUI Graphical User Interface

HTML Hypertext Markup Language

iOS IPhone Operating System (Apple)

JDK Java Development Kit

JSON JavaScript Object Notation

IDE Integrated Development Environment

OS Operating System

PHP Hypertext Preprocessor

POS Point-Of-Sale

SD card Secure Digital Card

SDK Software Development Kit

SMS Short Message Service

SQL Structured Query Language

WAMP Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP

Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity

WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access

1

1. Problem Statement:

Customer satisfaction is the key to success for any business. The traditional hand-waving method for

calling waiter is inefficient during busy hours. Waiters often miss out on calls from patrons or bring

wrong orders owing to language barriers. Figure 1-1 illustrates the traditional ordering method of most

restaurants/ cafes worldwide that requires a waiter to handover menu card to patrons when they come

to table and stand aside them till they place order.

Figure 1-1: Traditional ordering method in Restaurants/Cafes

Paper menus, as seen in Figure 1-2, can quickly become tatty, grubby, torn and worn and are often with

poor imagery, little or no text descriptions. Sometimes the patron himself is not satisfied with the dish

he has ordered since the menu cards lack enough details. At times, the total bill exceeds customers

budget since in traditional method there is no way of calculating the total bill before placing the order.

Moreover, costly reprinting of menu cards is required whenever chef has to make changes in menu or

prices.

Figure 1-2: Paper Menu Card provides insufficient details

Labor rates are increasing every now and then and it is also difficult to find employees in the middle of

the highway, where the restaurants are usually located. Restaurant requires more waiters for efficient

flow of services, but this also increases the amount spent on labor wages. A trade-off taken between the

two will even result in low quality services.

2

Our project finds the solution to paper menu cards and ordering inefficiencies faced in

cafes/restaurants. The core tasks involved in the project are design and development of a standalone E-

menu device to be placed at each table, developing an Android Food Menu App to be ported on this

device, development of Kitchen and Finance Portals, development of database to keep revenue records,

designing a password protected GUI to allow chef to add/edit/delete items in menu on run-time, and a

mechanism to call steward in case of help and send menu updates to subscribers via SMS.

1.1. Approach

The project entitled Smart Cafe is a customizable digital representation of the traditional restaurant,

offering menus with high-resolution pictures and detailed description of the contents on an Android

app ported on a hardware device that is capable of sending the order directly to the Kitchen screens.

Figure 1-3 illustrates the approach adopted by Smart Caf to address the problems faced by

restaurant/cafes. The order can be edited anytime and the total bill can be viewed even before

confirming order. This would eliminate all kinds of language barriers, ordering inefficiencies and will

remove the need of a waiter to wait aside patrons for taking orders.

Figure 1-3: Illustration of Approach used by Smart Caf

The server end allows Kitchen staff to view the placed orders on Kitchen screens, keep record of daily

revenue and update menus in real time via a password protected GUI, hence eliminating dependence on

waiting staff to bring orders and saving the amount spend on costly reprinting of menu cards. With the

proposed project, menu display, menu updating and ordering services can be made very versatile.

1.2. Objectives

The project objectives can be broadly divided into Academic and Industrial objectives.

3

1.2.1. Academic Objectives

Academic objectives include learning application development on Android OS and PHP, learning and

applying JSON parsing to interface Android with PHP and MySQL and learning web development

using PHP.

1.2.2. Industrial Objectives

Industrial objectives includes revitalizing casual dining industry, providing restaurants a prototype to

be used as E-menu device, a password protected GUI allowing chef to update menus on run-time, a

database to keep record of daily revenues and a mechanism to send menu updates to subscribed

patrons. The system has been specifically designed to automate, manage and control ordering services

in restaurants/cafes efficiently and to increase customers satisfaction.

1.3. Limitations

Android Operating System has been used for the Food Menu app on client side. This Application

cannot be executed in any other OS based cell phone, tablet or embedded board like iOS, Windows etc.

However, it is compatible on all Android devices version 2.3.3 and above.

2. Related Work

Technological advances are taking place all over the world. Over the recent years, the idea of having E-

menu in restaurants has gained immense popularity in developed countries. This section provides a

brief overview of the study done during the period of project i.e. websites/books/conference

papers/patents etc. referred. This part of the paper also gives details about similar E-menu projects done

elsewhere in world, their limitations and finally how these issues are addressed by Smart Cafe.

2.1. Project Domain

The scope of the undertaken project is to design and develop an android app that fetches run-time

updateable menu, enables the patron to select order and sends it wirelessly to the Kitchen

Screens. Accordingly, the project falls under the broader umbrella of Electronic Menu, Wireless

Transmission and Android-PHP interfacing with focus on devices having Android as their operating

system. The domain itself is newly emerging and quite promising.

The overall capabilities of Android Applications have rapidly increased in recent years in terms of

interactive GUIs, run-time functionalities, connectivity with PHP and MySQL etc. These

4

advancements have made it feasible and in some cases preferable to have Android Food Menu Apps

instead of iOS/windows based food menu applications in restaurants. PHP on the other hand is fast,

stable, secure, and easy to use and open source (free), hence most suitable for server side.

2.2. Literature Review

Technology is taking a toll over human operations with its feet paving faster and more efficiently,

taking lesser time, reducing the need of human work force day by day. E-menus at the restaurants

are gaining momentum, whereby the patrons, as opposed to existing paper menus, send their order

wirelessly to kitchen using a sophisticated and stylish machine displaying electronic menus.

With such fast technological advancements sweeping along the dining industry, it is certain that the

trend will shift towards E-menu devices and wireless ordering shortly. According to Intelity CEO,

David Adelson, about 380 hotels in several U.S. cities are using this system and this number will grow

[1]. However, not only U.S, many other countries including Malaysia, China, Japan etc have started

automating their ordering services.

Having E-menus in a restaurant helps redeploy personnel away from the point of service to other areas

while eliminating incorrect orders and gaining a more streamlined workflow. With e-Menus, the

restaurant can increase its order processing capacity and table turn rates during peak periods. Its

about impulse-buying, said Adi Chitayat, Conceptics chief executive. If a person starts looking at

pictures of chocolate cake, the chances are hell order it. [2]. Figure 2-1 shows some very interesting

facts of the survey conducted in US on how the e-Menu has benefit restaurant with latent revenue [3].

These amazing results have led the researchers with the co-operation of the developers to do more and

more development in this field.

Figure 2-1: E-Menu benefits restaurant with latent revenue

5

The syndicate conducted a literature survey of existing E-menu devices and food menu apps on a large

scale. Emphasis was also laid on the organization of different departments in a restaurant to understand

the management and control of ordering services. The websites of different restaurants that have

already installed E-menu devices were also searched for information. This enriched the idea of

restaurant automization using E-menu and developing a backend Menu Management Server to edit the

menu at run-time.

The theoretical material regarding E-menu and wireless ordering was also found in some very

interesting US Patents, namely Interactive Visual Ordering System by Allan J. Camaisa [4]. It gave

sufficient details of what the E-menu should look like, what should and what should not be included in

an E-menu app. The patents along with dozens of existing E-menu applications on internet were used

to design own E-menu template, with the aim to cover all the functionalities and features in one app.

On the next few pages we have thrown light on the similar E-menu projects being conducted and

implemented by restaurants in different parts of world.

2.2.1. Android based Food Menu Applications

A close look at the literature revealed few of the Android Food Menu Applications already developed

on Androids platform. E.g. Aptito applications have a huge market in USA and Europe [5], Azilian E-

menu prevails in many restaurants of Europe and India [6], Restaurant Menu (alpha) by Cymaxtec

team [7] etc.

2.2.2. IOS/Windows Food Menu Applications

Other than Android, few E-menu apps have also been developed on other platforms like Apple iOS,

Windows etc. Notable among these are Restaurant Menu App by Rappasoft [8], Food Menu by NoV

iOS Solutions, Titbit Digital Menu App etc.

The Figure 2-2 shows these different styles of E-menu ordering. The E-menu devices are not limited to

table top devices (Figure 2-2a). Simple tablets can also be handed over to customers for E-ordering as

shown in Figure 2-2b.

6

Figure 2-2: Different types of E-menu Devices [10]

2.3. Selection of Android OS for developing E-menu

According to the literature review, Android Operating System was found to be the best platform for

Food Menu Applications owing to the popularity of operating system in market over iOS, Windows

etc. and also because of its appealing and catchy user interface. Moreover, Android can easily be

interfaced with PHP i.e. server side. The system is open-sourced based on Linux and hence can be

developed by developers. [11]

2.4. Selection of Routing Protocol:

If we talk about client-server architecture, as told above, client is Android device while the server side

is a combination of PHP Script and MySQL. In short, PHP Script sits in middle. An Ad-hoc network

can be created so that the board and PC can communicate in peer-to-peer fashion. Moreover TCP/ FTP

or preferably UDP sockets can be created with each table given port numbers and IP addresses.

The most reliable among these is sending the order as JSON object via HTTP POST command. JSON

(JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight text-based open standard designed for human-readable

data interchange. [12]

2.4.1. How JSON will be used in our application.

When android application will execute, it will connect android device to PHP Script whereby the PHP

Script will fetch data from the database. It will encode it into JSON format and send it to the device.

Now, android application will get these encoded data. It will parse the data and display it on android

device.

2.5. Shortcomings/issues in Existing E-menus

Existing e-menu apps whether on Android platform or iOS have some issues that need to be addressed.

7

2.5.1. Menus cannot be updated on run-time

Most of the restaurants have E-menu apps at client end that cannot be updated in real time. The Food

Menu Apps have inbuilt restaurant menus that are impossible to edit at run time. So after the chef

makes amendment in E-menu, the whole app needs to be installed on the device, which is very time

consuming and hectic. Having E-menu which cannot be edited in real time is no good a solution to

replace paper menu cards which was at least cheap.

2.5.3. Orders sent to Central System adds to delay

Moreover, existing E-menus send the patrons order wirelessly to Internal Order System which then

sends copy of patrons order to the Kitchen. This adds to the delay in waiting time of patrons because

the cooking staff is still dependent on waiting staff for bringing orders. These issues need to be

addressed to make ordering services of a restaurant/ caf more efficient.

2.6. Issues addressed by the proposed project

The proposed project finds the solution to E-menu problem by designing and developing a strategy to

directly send orders to Kitchen screens and a Menu Management System that can update menu in real

time.

2.6.1. Menu Management System to keep menu updated

The first issue of the inability of E-menu Systems to update menu in real time is solved by developing

a Menu Management Application. This application is hosted on server. The password protected GUI

gives chef web management control to edit menus, add/remove content description, price, image etc. of

any item he wants. The Android App is made to fetch menu from the server on run-time instead of

picking up the in-built menu. In this way the menu fetched is always updated and synchronized.

2.6.2. Orders sent directly to Kitchen Portal

Smart Caf also addresses the issue of dependency of kitchen staff on wait staff to bring orders. For

this, the patrons selected orders are sent directly to Kitchen Portal large screens installed in Kitchen,

instead of sending the orders to Central System first. This not only eliminates dependence on wait staff

to bring orders but also reduces the waiting time for diners. Having large screens in Kitchen also helps

chef in better viewing of order.

2.7. Core Features of Smart Caf

The core features of the project include:

8

User friendly and intuitive Android Food Menu App,

Food Menu App with high resolution pictures (enlarges on touch), content descriptions and

prices,

Wireless ordering inside restaurant orders sent directly to Kitchen screens,

Internet Based Ordering for members anywhere, anytime,

Web Management control given to chef for editing/updating menus on run-time,

Internet Based Call waiter facility to call waiter in case of any help,

Electronic Bill Calculation and Viewing even before confirming order,

Exhilarating Games and open internet access for patrons while waiting,

Member Subscriptions - inform subscribers of menu updates via SMS,

Customizable layouts according to restaurants taste and demand,

Compatibility on all Android devices (2.3.3 and above)

3. Software Design and Development In this section we will discuss the methodology and approach leading to the development of

applications of Smart Caf for both client (Android Applications) and server side (involving PHP and

MySQL).

3.1. Software Design

The software portion of Smart Caf includes the development of Android Food Menu Application on

the client side and its porting mechanism on the client side. This application is, however, interfaced

with the PHP server using JSON Parser. The software development on the server side includes tasks

like PHP scripting for Kitchen/ Finance Portal for the chef to view orders, Web Development for

customer-restaurant interaction, development of Menu Management GUI using MySQL database to

edit menu at runtime and keeping a database to save received orders. To understand these, lets give a

look at the system block diagram and layered model.

3.1.1. System Block Diagram

The software portion of Smart Caf can best be illustrated by the Software design block diagram shown

in Figure 3-1. The development of Android Application requires installation of JDK, SDK, Eclipse in

order and then the development of designed app. PHP Scripting is required for the development of

Kitchen and Finance Portals. The portals receive customers order as JSON object.

9

Caf Management System is also developed. It requires making of GUI first and then linking it with

MySQL Database and Android App so the updated menu can be synchronized all over easily. Web

Development involves designing the website, checking its performance on WAMP server and finally

porting on a free web host. Lastly, Database Development makes use of MySQL database to store

orders for revenue check. These activities are discussed in detail in subsections ahead.

Figure 3-1: Software Block Diagram

3.1.2. Layered Model of Smart Cafe

The flow of services in Smart Caf is illustrated in Figure 3-2 as the layered model. This explains that

the Android E-menu on client layer fetches data from the database. When the client orders something,

his order is sent to server layer as JSON object and displayed onto Kitchen Screens. The order finally

goes to Data layer and gets stored in MySQL database as a record.

Figure 3-2: Layered Software Model of Smart Caf

10

3.2. Software Development

Software development on the basis of design of Figure 3-1 is discussed at length in this section.

3.2.1. Developing a Caf Management System

The purpose of developing a caf management system is to keep a password protected database at the

server end where the whole menu is saved and provide Chef with the access to edit/add/delete items

whenever he wants. Such a mechanism should be developed so that these changes gets updated and

synchronized in all the E-menu devices at client side instantly. Figure 3-3 helps explain this concept of

a Caf (Menu) Management System.

Figure 3-3: Concept of Caf (Menu) Management System.

This Caf Management System has the capability to make as many categories of dishes as the chef

wants as opposed to existing E-menu apps that makes use of in-built menus which cannot be changed

on run-time even. Figure 3-4 illustrates that different categories like appetizers, rice, snacks, soups etc

can be made very easily and updated on the Android Menu.

Figure 3-4: Different categories in Caf (Menu) Management System.

In each of these categories, items/products can easily be added. Figure 3-5 shows some of the products

e.g. French fries, tacos, rolls etc that were added to the Appetizers category.

11

Figure 3-5: Items added in the Appetizers category

The chef can add information about these items from the server too e.g. name, description and high

resolution pictures can be added as shown in Figure 3-6. The content information is fetched by the

Android E-menu when the user requires it. The advantage of creating a Caf Management is that it can

keep the Android App updated all the time.

Figure 3-6: GUI for adding/editing content information for each item.

Like, adding/editing the price, description or picture of any item, the chef can also delete any item in

any category he wishes. Any changes or additions made in the GUI are updated in MySQL database at

the server end as shown in Figure 3-7. The restaurants menu will be fetched from here when the user

will demand it.

Figure 3-7: MySQL database from where the menu is fetched

12

3.2.3. Developing an Android Food Menu App

3.2.3.1. Setting up Development Environment

For the development of code in android an integrated development environment (IDE) for java called

Eclipse is used. Eclipse requires an installed Java Runtime. Hence Java Development Kit (JDK) and

Android SDK were first installed. Eclipse was downloaded from www.eclipse.org and unpacked to a

directory. All projects are located in a workspace.

3.2.3.2. Creating Android Project in Eclipse

Select from the menu File -> New-> Android project. Give the name "Smart Cafe" to the project and

start making a simple menu for restaurant. The project created in the eclipse can be run on the emulator

or it can also be run on the external environment such as android cell phone attached to the computer

(eclipse) through the USB interface.

3.2.3.3. Developing Food Menu App

The Android Food Menu App has been developed on Android Version 2.3.3 i.e. Gingerbread. Android

has backward compatibility thereby meaning that the app will be compatible on all Android devices

with 2.3.3 and above versions. The snapshots from the Android App will help explain its design. Figure

3-8a shows the Welcome page of the App, whereby the customers will press ENTER to formally

start the app, then press MENU button in Figure 3-8b to open up the restaurants menu before him.

Figure 3-8: Layouts of Welcome and Home Page

The menu, as shown as a sample in Figure 3-9a, is fetched from the database using JSON Parser as

discussed in the section above. JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It is a lightweight text-data

interchange format and is language independent. Part of the JSON parser code written in eclipse to

fetch the categories of dishes can be found in Appendix B.

13

Similarly Figure 3-9b will open up, if suppose the user selects soups. The soups category has also been

fetched from the database. This list can be changed anytime anywhere by the master Chef having the

username and password.

Figure 3-9a and 3-9b: Layouts of Categories and items in Menu

Patron can see details of the selected soup by clicking on it once. A new layout will open up before him

giving all the necessary details, e.g. the price, description, and high resolution picture of the item. A

spinner has been placed to set the quantity to be ordered. Figure 3-10 gives the snapshot of the layout

that will open before the customer if suppose we wishes to see the detailed information of Chicken

Thai Soup.

Figure 3-10: Sample Layouts for detailed description of an item.

In Figure 3-10, pressing Main Menu button will take the patron back to menu, the Add to Order

button will add this dish to users order giving him a notification that the dish has been added.

14

Moreover, the Review Order button will give him summarized view of what and how much each

item he has ordered so far. Figure 3-11 shows part of Review Order layout.

Figure 3-11: Sample Layouts for Reviewing Order.

Pressing Place order button in the Figure 3-11 will send the order wirelessly to the Kitchen Screens

along with the table number and time of order. The user will be notified about the preparation time as

shown in Figure 3-12. Meanwhile the patrons can play games or access internet.

Figure 3-12: Server telling Preparation Time

3.3.3.4 Adding additional features in Application

Apart from making an E-menu application, certain other features were added in the app as

enhancements in the project. These are discussed briefly here using Figure 3-13. The functionalities of

the app have been discussed in more detail in the user manual i.e. Appendix C.

15

Figure 3-13: Additional Features in App

The About Us tab is for the restaurant to add details about itself, Menu button has been discussed in

detail above, the Fun Zone button open the game zone and internet access to the patron, as shown in

Figure 3-14, so he can enjoy himself while waiting for order.

Figure 3-14: Internet Access and interactive games while waiting

The Call Waiter button allows the user to call steward if he needs help. Figure 3-15 shows how the

internet based call is routed via Viber to the concerned waiter.

(a) Call Waiter page (b) Calling Waiter

Figure 3-15: Internet Based Call Waiter Facility

16

The Review Order button opens the summarized view of what the patron has ordered so far. It has been

discussed in detail above. The Options button opens more additional services/ options for the user to

stay tuned to Smart Caf as shown in Figure 3-16.

Figure 3-16: Options Tab

The MEMBERS button gives him the opportunity to fill out the form and become member of the

restaurant and stay updated with the menu updates and brand promotions. The SUBSCRIBE Button

takes the user to another form using which he can subscribe to SMS notifications from the restaurant.

The HELP button displays the user manual to the user, the DIET INFO gives details about the

hygiene standards the restaurant is following and lastly the GALLERY button will take the user to

the restaurants gallery and pictures. The functionalities of the app have been discussed in more detail in

the user manual i.e. Appendix A.

3.2.4. Portals development

According to Smart Cafs concept, there are two portals at server end namely Kitchen Portal and

Finance Portal. When android application is executed i.e. when the user sends order, JSON parser

connects the android device to PHP Script via Http Post command. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

is a lightweight text-based open standard designed for human-readable data interchange. Part of the

code used to send order wirelessly to the Kitchen Portal via HTTP POST can be found in Appendix B.

The server side is a combination of PHP Script and MySQL. In short, PHP Script sits in middle as

shown in the Figure 3-17. The PHP Script fetches data from the Android app and saves it in database.

17

Figure 3-17: Client-Server architecture [12]

Precise details of the patrons order i.e. item name and quantity along with the table number and time

of order displayed on the Kitchen Portal are shown in figure 3-18.

Figure 3-18: Kitchen Portal

The page refreshes itself every 7 seconds. Other orders received after it will be stacked under this

order. When the chef is done preparing the meal, he will press the delivered button. This will remove

the order from the Kitchen Portal and send it to the Finance Portal as seen in Figure 3-19.

Figure 3-19: Finance Portal

The finance staff will press print button to print the receipt. Figure 3-20 shows the sample receipt that

will have brief summary of the order and total bill. The waiter just has to deliver the meal and receipt to

the respective order.

18

Figure 3-20: Sample Receipt

In this way, Smart Caf can automate ordering services to a greater extent if the whole system is

installed at any restaurant/caf.

3.2.5. Web Designing

For web development first step taken was installation of WAMP to be used as a local server and

database. Next we downloaded notepad++ to write the codes. These codes were all saved in www

folder of WAMP. All the .jpeg, .txt etc files to be accessed by the website should also be saved in this

folder

3.2.5.1. Website Architecture and Designing

The web layout was designed using html, CSS and PHP scripting. The coding was done on simple

notepad and/or sometimes on Dreamweaver. The website developed consists of three main domains.

First is the public domain which is public so anyone wishing to know about Smart Caf can read along

the tabs. These include major pages like Home, About Us, Features, Signup and Contact Us pages. The

Home Page as shown in Figure 3-21 gives brief overview of Smart Caf.

Figure 3-21: Home Page of Smart Cafs Website

The Features Tab, shown in Figure 3-22 gives brief overview of the core features of Smart Caf

including interactive digital Food Menu, items along with high resolution pictures and content

19

description, wireless ordering inside restaurant, bill viewing before confirming order, internet based

call waiter facility, exhilarating games while waiting for meal, customizable layouts, web management

control for chef to update menu, database to keep revenue records, compatibility on all Android devices

(2.3.3 and above) etc

Figure 3-22: Features Page of Smart Cafs Website

The customers can easily sign up to become the members of Smart Caf via the Sign up tab as shown

as a snapshot in Figure 3-23 taken from the website. Finally the Contact Us tab gives details about

Smart Caf where the team may be contacted.

Figure 3-23: Sign-Up Page of Smart Cafs Website

The second domain of the website is the members domain which requires the member to go to sign in

page and enters his e-mail and password there with which he had subscribed. He will be directed to

Members area upon correct entry, where he can view the menu updates, discount coupons, brand

promotions etc. The members can view the public domain too.

20

Thirdly the restaurants domain is for viewing Kitchen and Finance Portal and for web management

control over the menu. Login script has been incorporated which requires user name and password

from the chef who wishes to add/delete/edit the menu, prices, items, pictures or content descriptions.

Upon entering the correct username and password the chef gets diverted to restaurants menu where he

can edit anything he wants to, as discussed in section 5.2.2.

3.2.5.2. Webhosting

Owing to the monitory constraints there were two options of free hosting. One was getting hosting

from MCS. It would result in site name like sitename.mcs.edu.pk and second was to use any good free

web host available online. We registered with www.000webhost.com. 000webhost.com provides free

web hosting services without advertising. There are no hidden costs, no adverts, and no restrictive

terms. Fast speeds, maximum reliability and fanatical user support are the important features we

received. The name chosen for the site was smartcafe.com but because we did not go for paid hosting,

so we got the domain name smartcafe.net46.net. Figure 5-31 shows snapshot from the 000webhost.com

where the PHP scripts of Smart Caf are hosted.

Figure 3-24: Members Area showing PHP scripts of Smart Caf on 000webhost.com

3.2.6. Database for keeping Revenue Records

All the incoming orders get stored in MySQL Database as a record so that the owner can keep a check

on revenues all the time. It can be seen from the phpMyAdmin panel from the 000webhost where the

Smart Cafs site is hosted.

21

3.3. Software Quality Attributes

Some of the quality attributes identified includes:

3.3.1. Portability: The apk file of Android just needs to be installed at client devices, while server side

is hosted on 000webhost.com, hence making the software portable.

3.3.2. Maintainability: The applications, either Android or that on PHP side, are easily maintainable,

in case of a change in requirement or bug found,

3.3.3. Adaptability: Android OS is backward compatible, for forward compatibility some changes in

the implementation are required.

3.3.4. Availability: the applications are available 24/7, provided Wi-Fi is switched ON and configured

properly. Website can also be viewed 24/7.

3.3.5. Flexibility: the layout/architecture of the applications is flexible enough for some later

requirements change or application enhancement.

3.3.6. Usability: Both the applications are user-friendly and intuitive.

3.3.7. Reliability: The system has been designed to provide maximum reliability.

4. Analysis and Evaluation

In this chapter, some test cases are discussed that were used to evaluate the performance of the

software pertaining to the project.

4.1.4. Using different domains to check validity of JSON parser

JSON parser was used to convert the android string to JSON object and send it to PHP scripts running

at the webpage. The web pages were hosted on different domains to check whether the app still sends

order or not. The table 4-1 gives details about the sites used.

Table 4-1: Validity of JSON parser on different domains

Site/ Domain Hosting Type Status of received order

Local host Local Successful

Wimcl.com/ws Paid hosting successful

smartcafe.net46.net (000webhost) Free web hosting successful

The purpose of checking the working on JSON parser was to make sure that the app can send order to

any kind of domain whether local, paid or free web hosting site. Hence the restaurant using Smart

22

Cafs application can use any server, local or remote. The Table 4-2 summarizes the results of the test

case.

Table 4-2: Test Case 04 (checking validity of JSON parser on different domains)

Test Case ID 04

Test Case name checking validity of JSON parser on different domains

Expected Result Should receive order on any kind of domain

Observed Result Local and remote servers both can successfully receive

order

Result Status Success

4.1.5. Editing Order

This test was done to check whether the user can successfully edit his order before placing/ confirming

it or not. Editing order includes editing quantity of a particular item, deleting a certain dish, or deleting

all items so far selected.

4.1.5.1. Deleting an already selected item

Consider that the customer has ordered these dishes as shown in fig 4-1a. Now if the user wants to

delete Chicken Burger from the order, he can simply type 5 in ID, and press DELETE ENTRY

button. The entry as shown in Figure 4-1b will be deleted.

(a) Customers Order (b) Deleting an entry

Figure 4-1: Deleting an item from order

23

4.1.5.2. Editing quantity of a certain dish

The quantities of the items selected can also be changed. The user just has to type 2 in ID and the

quantity, say 4, in quantity box and press edit entry. Figure 4-2(a) shows that the entry has been

edited.

4.1.5.3. Deleting all dishes

Now if the user wishes to delete all the orders selected he can simply press delete all button. The

figure 4-2(b) shows that all orders will be cleared then.

(a) Editing Entry 2 (b) Deleting all orders

Figure 4-2: Editing/Deleting Order

Table 4-3 gives summarized results of test case 05.

Table 4-3: Test Case 05 (Editing/Deleting Already selected order)

Test Case ID 05

Test Case name Editing/Deleting an already

selected order

1. Deleting an already selected dish Successful

2. Editing Quantity of a particular item Successful

3. Deleting all dishes Successful

Overall Result Status Success

24

4.1.6. Sending subscription SMS

Another service provided by the project Smart Cafe is to send brand promotions, menu updates etc

to subscribers via SMS. For this Android SMS service was used. To test the code, type a random

number and name and subscribe yourself. An SMS confirming the subscription will be received

shortly. An illustration of the utility is shown in figure 4-3.

(a) Subscribing to GSM Service (b) Receiving Confirmation Message

Figure 4-3: Subscribing for Menu Updates

The test results have been summarized in the table 4-4.

Table 4-4: Test Case 06 (Send Subscription SMS)

Test Case ID 06

Test Case name Send Subscription SMS

Result Status Success

4.1.7. Verifying Call waiter button

The Call Waiter button allows the user to call steward if he needs help. Testing of this functionality is

important to prevent any kind of inconvenience for the customer later. To check the internet based call

facility, click on viber image. Figure 4-4 shows how the internet based call is routed via viber to the

concerned waiter. The patron presses the CALL WAITER button, selects any waiter from the list and

that particular waiter will be called via viber.

25

Figure 4-4: Calling Waiter via Viber

The patrons can also make regular calls or send text messages to waiter asking for help or particular

items like plate, fork, glass etc. The notification of message sent on client side and the message

received by waiter verifies that the call waiter functionality is working as shown in Figure 4-5.

Figure 4-5: Sending Message to Waiter

Basing on the results, the table 4-5 summarizes the test case

Table 4-5: Test Case 07 (Calling Waiter via Viber and SMS)

Test Case ID 07

Test Case name Calling Waiter via Viber and SMS

1. Calling Waiter via Viber Successful

2. Calling Waiter via SMS Successful

Result Status Success

26

4.1.8. Verifying signup button from website

The website smartcafe.net46.net also has a signup page. Those who register them there can have access

to the members domain. For final testing of app, it was checked whether the signup and sign in pages

functions rightly or not? Figure 4-6 shows the signup page of Smart Cafs website.

Figure 4-6: Sign-up page from Website

After successful signup, the user details will be stored in database for authentication every time he logs

in to the site. Figure 4-7 shows this.

Figure 4-7: Database storing username and password.

Now when the user sign in, he will be directed to members area, shown in Figure 4-8.

Figure 4-8: Members Area

27

The results are summarized in Table 4-6.

Table 4-6: Test Case 08 (Verifying sign-up button from website)

Test Case ID 08

Test Case name Verifying signup button from website

Result Status Success opens up members area on successful signup only

4.1.9. Data storage in Database

All the received orders are stored in database as a record, so that the management can keep a check on

its revenue. It was necessary to check database whether it is storing results or not. To test this, certain

orders were sent and database was checked. The database stores result in table having column for item

name, price, quantity, time and table number. It is password protected, so no one can even edit the

details. Figure 4-9 shows that entries are successfully stored there.

Figure 4-9: Orders stored in Database

Table 4-7 gives an overview of the test case.

Table 4-7: Test Case 09 (Data storage in Database)

Test Case ID 09

Test Case name Data storage in Database

Result Status Success

28

4.1.10. Editing Menu at run-time

The menu as explained in the previous chapter can be updated on run time. To verify the claim,

consider Figure 4-10(a) that shows snapshot of app before the chef changes price of Five Spice

Chicken. The price initially was Rs 200.00.

Figure 4-10(a): Initial Price of Item

Figure 4-10(b) shows the changes being made to the price of the item from the Caf Management GUI.

The price is changed to Rs 220.00 on the server side.

Figure 4-10(b): Price of item changed on server end

Figure 4-10(c) verifies that the price got changed from Rs 200.00 to 220.00 on run-time.

29

Figure 4-10(c): Price Updated on Client App

Similarly the chef can add any item in any category he wishes. Figure 4-11(a, b) shows the app before

and after adding Mango shake in drinks and beverages respectively.

Figure 4-11: Adding an item in Menu

However if the chef wants to delete a certain dish, whether its not in stock or is seasonal, even then he

can easily delete them from the GUI. These dishes will be updated on users E-menu device on runtime

as verified by the Figure 4-12(a, b).

30

Figure 4-12: Deleting an item from Menu

Table 4-8 summarizes the results of the test case.

Table 4-8: Test Case 10 (Editing Menu at run-time)

Test Case ID 10

Test Case name Editing Menu at Run-time

1. Editing a particular entry Successful

2. Add a new item Successful

3. Deleting an item Successful

Overall Result Status Success

4.1.11. Stacking orders

The Kitchen and Finance Portals WebPages have refresh time of 7 seconds i.e. the page refreshes itself

every 7 seconds, and stacks the orders in first in first position basis. To verify that the webpage stacks

the order in the order they were received, send 2 orders with a 20-30 seconds delay and observe

whether the page automatically picks up all the orders or it needs to be refreshed manually. Figure 4-13

helps explain this.

31

Figure 4-13: Stacking Orders

The results are summarized in Table 4-9.

Table 4-9: Test Case 11 (Stacking orders according to time)

Test Case ID 12

Test Case name Stacking orders according to time

Result Status Success - The page refreshes every 7 seconds

and stacks the new orders below

5.1. Future Work

A project like Smart Caf can be customized easily to the lifestyle or demand of the restaurant. Some

of the enhancements are discussed in this chapter that can be made to the project in future to enhance

its features. Multi Language Support, iOS/Windows Compatibility, Play Store, Implementation in

Hotels, and Implementation in Hospitals where the target audience of Smart Caf are not only limited

to restaurants, cafes, food bars or hotels, but these Android E-menu devices can also be installed aside

patients bed in hospitals from where they can order their food anytime without inconvenience. This is

done especially for people who have allergies from a particular ingredient. The customer can place an

order keeping nutrition in mind. A further enhancement can be made to the Master Chefs interface by

adding the field of inventory. Inventory will deal with the ingredients of the recipe and will notify the

Chef as to how many grams of a particular ingredient will be added to the dish; moreover, it will also

monitor the amount of stock left accordingly. This will help the Chef manage his available stock and

determine the percentage of wastage of stock.

5.2 Conclusion

The hotel industry has been trying to automate its ordering services but has been held back by

technological limitations. Smart Caf is an innovation to revolutionize the casual dining industry by

providing fast, automated and efficient ordering and delivery system via E-menus. The syndicate has

designed Android application as a solution to replace the outdated paper menus of yesteryear and

provide guests with a perfect dining experience. The system will neither require maintenance after

installation nor prior knowledge of touch-screens is needed since guests and staff will intuitively

understand how to use it.

32

With a Smart Cafs Menu Updating System in place, the menus can be updated electronically without

requiring costly reprinting of menu-cards. Other key features of Smart Caf are membership via email

and subscription via SMS for customers. Calling waiter is another attribute of the application that

allows the patron to seek information from waiter. Screens at Kitchen Portal and Finance Portal are

installed that display orders and print receipts respectively.

If implemented, this indigenous restaurant automation system will streamline the ordering procedures

of restaurants. The system can be used stand-alone or even fully integrated with existing POS. These

digital menus are wave of future and will revolutionize the restaurant industry forever.

33

Bibliography

References

[1] Hotels offer services through tablet PCs, http://intelitycorp.com/main/press/usatoday.php

[2] From tips to clicks: restaurants try e-menus,

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL204599320080225?i=1

[3] eMenu benefits restaurant with latent revenue, http://www.emenuworld.com/ emenu/why-

emenu+/business-benefits_25

[4] Allan J. Camaisa, INTERACTIVE VISUAL ORDERING SYSTEM, US Patent 5845263, Year 1998

[5] Aptitos All in one digital solution for the digital age, http://www.aptito.com/

[6] Mobile Apps Development, http://www.azilen.com/

[7] Restaurant Menu (alpha), https://play.google.com/ store/apps/details? id=com.tecnomark.menudroid

[8] Mobile apps, http://codecanyon.net/user/Rappasoft

[9] Food Menu NoV iOS Solutions, http://www.speakipad.co.uk/food-menu-nov-ios-solutions/

[10] Self Service and QSR, http://www.emenuworld.com/segments/self-service-and-qsr_30

[11] Chao Wang Liaoning; China Wei Duan; Jianzhang Ma; Chenhui Wang; "The research of Android System

architecture and application programming", Computer Science and Network Technology (ICCSNT),

International Conference, (Volume:2 ), pages 785 790, year 2011.

[12] Connection between PHP (server) and Android (client) Using HTTP and JSON,

http://fahmirahman.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/connection-between-php-server-and-android-client-using-

http-and-json/

[13] Step Down switching voltage Regulator Adjustable & Fix Output,

http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/L/M/2/5/LM2576.shtml

[14] Java SE, http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

[15] Eclipse, www.eclipse.org/?

[16] Adobe Dreamweaver, http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver.html

[17] WAMP, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wamp

[18] Layouts, developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/declaring-layout.html?

34

[19] Android version history, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history

[20] Java How to Program (6th Edition) by (Deitel)

[21] www.stackoverflow.com for queries