When dining at new restaurants, trying to select a meal from an unfamiliar menu can often place patrons in a quandary. A new projection system in London’s Inamo restaurant, however, hopes to alleviate some of this uncertainty by displaying images of meals on diners’ tables as they browse the menu.
The pan-Asian restaurant uses unique technology called E-table, which is designed to give patrons more “control over their dining experience”. Projectors are installed in the venue’s ceiling, which turn the tabletops into the equivalent of a computer monitor. Using a touch mousepad on the table, diners can navigate the interactive ordering system, with images of each meal being projected onto their plate as they browse the menu. The system also enables diners to place their orders themselves, change the pattern of the projection to function as a virtual tablecloth, view a live webcam feed of the kitchen, play games with other diners, find out more about what’s happening the neighborhood, and order taxis. A video with Inamo co-creator Noel Hunwick can be viewed below:
The versatility of the system means there is plenty of potential here both to make the dining experience more entertaining and immediate, as well as for sponsorship and themed events and launches. Whilst we’ve seen numerous restaurants create apps and install tablets on-site, Inamo have bucked that trend to create a dining experience that is truly unique. Food for thought!
Spotted by: Sarah Mitchell
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