Miso Robotics
Miso Robotics is a Southern California based startup company specializing in the creation of robotic artificial intelligence for the commercial kitchen. Their flagship product, named ‘Flippy’, assists kitchen staff in the high-volume production of food, specifically by flipping grilled foods and deep frying. Miso Robotics’ aim is to improve efficiency and safety in the kitchen and reduce stress amongst the staff, so that they might spend more time interacting with the customers they serve.
This was a 2 week sprint product design project. With a goal to identify the challenges that kitchen staff faces while working alongside autonomous technologies in the kitchen.
Client
My Role
UX/UI Designer
Client
Miso Robotics
Duration
2 week sprint
THE
CHALLENGE
Miso Robotics is a Southern California based startup company specializing in the creation of robotic artificial intelligence for the commercial kitchen. Their flagship product, named ‘Flippy’, assists kitchen staff in the high-volume production of food, specifically by flipping grilled foods and deep frying. Miso Robotics’ aim is to improve efficiency and safety in the kitchen and reduce stress amongst the staff, so that they might spend more time interacting with the customers they serve.This was a 2 week sprint product design project. With a goal to identify the challenges that kitchen staff faces while working alongside autonomous technologies in the kitchen.
Helped provide a design solution for Miso Robotics with a product that can help educate kitchen staff on operating Flippy.
MEET
FLIPPY
Flippy is a service robot intended for particular tasks. Flippy’s most built out feature is being connected to an AI service and can be upgraded to learn new pieces of information. Flippy works well in a quick service environment, as opposed to a gourmet chef’s experience. Flippy’s focus is optimized for safety and efficiency. Flippy is not intended to be an entertainment piece, though has potentiality for it based on competitors. Flippy is not intended to replace customer service or staff, but rather to work in tandem with them.
How might we help kitchen staff feel
comfortable with operating Flippy?
Miso Robotics Training
Accessibility
While less highlighted in the research, accessibility was also included to expedite the flow, as well as the inclusion of language selection. While all team members from the research said they required to know English, they might be more comfortable in their native language for training. Flippy also might broaden its reach globally, which would necessitate the training to be in other languages.
Introduction
While this idea was ultimately abandoned as it did not pertain to the actual training, it was used as a marker to start the training. The team ultimately iterated it down to a screen introducing Flippy as a teammate.
Explore Flippy Features
This meant including a 3D model and frequent use of pictures and videos. The user interviews referenced interaction with AI in the restaurant as being complex, but simplified by use of color categories and up to date information. The heuristic evaluation and C&C helped to identify the features that should be highlighted.
Safety
User interviews and C&C pointed that safety is an important part of bringing AI into the kitchen. In the safety section, users can learn about Flippy’s mission on how it can optimize a safe and efficient workflow in the kitchen.
Test with Flippy
While walking through each category in the training, we decided to let the users have to finish each category in order to continue to the next category. Reasons for users to be more engaged throughout the training, and to really understand each section which leads them to the quiz in the end to really test their knowledge from their training. And right after a quick three question test, the user will be ready to start working with the actual Flippy in the kitchen.
Vision + AI
Flippy help kitchen staff in prep work, grilling, frying, and final assembly in commercial kitchens. Flippy, a burger-grilling robot, which grabs unwrapped burger patties, moves them into position on a hot grill. Flippy uses thermal scanner to keeps track of each burger’s cook-time and temperature, then alerts staff cooks when it’s time to apply cheese or other toppings.
Design System
Validation
The purpose of our research was to first discover the interests of two parties: the business and the consumer. While the identity of the business is obvious, the consumer is a little more obscure. Through research, the team considered that the consumer was not the individuals receiving food/finished products from Flippy, but rather, those who were receiving Flippy itself: the kitchen staff. Below, we describe the path taken in order to ascertain not only where the business stands, but also where the story led us to define a focused and relevant problem for the appropriate user.
