ESP Systems, a North Carolina based company, has recently launched a new restaurant system that will “smarten up” restaurant management and will also revolutionize the restaurant dining experience. ESP is a wireless system that links restaurant managers, waiters, and customers together by creating a Wi-Fi “bubble’ over the entire eatery. This patented “front-to-backend” system connects everyone from the front end of the restaurant with everyone at the back end of the restaurant in the kitchen and in the bar. The core of the system is a device called the “ESP Hub”. This device is the size and shape of a portable CD player and is essential to all parts of this system, as all the ESP functions revolve around it. When diners are seated, they are given a disk to put into the hub in order to activate it. Once the system is activated, customers can summon their waiters, place orders, and ask for the bill by simply tapping the large button on the top of the device. Even more importantly, with this technology restaurant hosts automatically know the real-time status of every table in their establishment, by using their “ESP Watches” to wirelessly connect with each “ESP Hub.” With these watches, the restaurant employees can change table statuses from ready to dining status, can interact with each other mid-shift, can find out the status of their orders from the kitchen, can receive food orders and requests for the check from customers via the “ESP Hub”, and can summon bussers to come clear tables once guests have left.
ESP systems are built on the Microsoft platform and the user interface is designed with Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. It relies on the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 development system to maximize the software coding and also uses the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. Of course, the system also relies on wireless Wi-Fi Internet for smooth and wireless operations.
There are many advantages for restaurant managers and owners that equip their restaurants with guest customized service systems such as ESP. ESP systems can eliminate long customer waiting times as they alert hosts as soon as tables become available, therefore making table turnover quicker and more efficient. This system also improves the dining experience by not only shortening the time that patrons spend waiting for a table, but by also shortening the time that it takes for customers to receive their food. Since servers are notified via their “ESP Watches” when their orders are ready to be served, all food is served hot and on time. But most importantly, ESP improves staff productivity, which is among one of the greatest advantages for restaurants using this service. Greater staff productivity means greater table turnover, which in turn means greater profit for restaurant owners. The advantages of using ESP are priceless, as they all contribute to making restaurants more productive, and most importantly, more profitable.
Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages to using the “ESP Hub” in restaurants. Although this system is meant to make restaurant dining more enjoyable for customers, they may find that the restaurant has become too reliant on technology and therefore no longer emphasizes the personalized service that they are accustomed to receiving in a restaurant. Furthermore, customers who are not technologically savvy may find this system to be a nuisance rather than a convenience. Last but not least, it seems as though this technology is easily susceptible to being abused by its users, such as unruly children, and unsupervised teenagers.
Sources:
Piquepaille, R. (2007). Wireless Restaurant Waiters.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Roland Piquepaille’s Technology Trends
Web site:
http://www.primidi.com/2006/09/02.html
(2007). Turning Tables on Slow Service.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Microsoft
Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/industry/hospitality/businessvalue/esparticle.mspx
(2007). ESP Systems.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from ESP Systems
Web site:
http://www.espsystems.net/
Monday, October 1, 2007
VoiceSensor
VoiceSense, an Israeli company, focuses on the use of voice analysis to provide companies with real-time personal and customer intelligence. Their patented VoiceSensor is an automatic system for monitoring customer dissatisfaction in call centers. This technology highlights behavioral profiles, temperament, and mood changes that are reflected in human speech patterns during these calls. VoiceSensor can turn data from customer interactions in call centers into useful information that will help businesses enhance their sales outcomes as well as their customer retention, loyalty, and satisfaction. Organizations that explore the use of VoiceSensor in their call centers can gain a competitive advantage in their industry, as they will be better equipped to recognize and therefore to handle dissatisfaction with customer service that are often not expressed by the customer.
VoiceSensor’s technology is based on a patent-pending speech analysis system that reveals customer dissatisfaction by detecting emotions in telephone calls. It integrates the examination of speech acoustic parameters with techniques that capture dialog dynamics, as well as analyzing the prosodic parameters of speech (e.g. intonation, speech patterns) during conversations between customers and their service representatives. By doing so, this system detects negative customer emotions and then uses the collected data to warn organizations when customers are dissatisfied with the service that they are receiving.
The key to VoiceSensor’s ability to function for the customer service sector is that its signal processing does not need to learn individual voice characteristics in order to measure emotion. In simple terms, VoiceSensor serves its purpose because it can read the emotions from any customer, and is not only able to analyze pre-programmed voices.
There are many advantages for organizations that choose to use this technology once it becomes available. Customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention are the most important goals of today’s businesses. Since call centers are the main communications channels between businesses and their customers, companies will benefit from the voice analysis that VoiceSensor provides, as it will enable them to improve customer service and to provide customers with a more personalized and enjoyable experience. VoiceSensor’s functions will allow its corporate users to gain a competitive advantage in their industry, as managers are notified in real-time when their customers are dissatisfied. With these real-time notifications, managers can deal with dissatisfaction promptly so that it does not destroy the possibility for future business dealings with that particular customer. Most importantly, VoiceSensor enables organizations to improve their customer service policies because it automatically brings recurring service issues to management’s attention via the continuous reports and updates that it sends to them. VoiceSensor’s functions will therefore allow any company who uses it to gain a competitive advantage in the customer service sector, because they will be able to offer enhanced “intelligent” customer service that other companies will not have access to.
Although VoiceSensor's capabilities will truly give a “leg up” to its users, it seems as though VoiceSensor is the type of service that users can become dependent on to find, to solve, and to fix their customer service issues. This dependence on technology may cause employees to have a more lackadaisical attitude towards their jobs and therefore become fully dependent on VoiceSensor. In other words, call center representatives may lose their connection with the customer. Their attitudes may become one of “why bother dealing with the issues that arise, VoiceSensor can handle it!” this possible dependence on technology rather than the human touch may actually lessen customer satisfaction in the long run and counteract VoiceSensor’s benefits.
Sources:
Retrieved
October 1, 2007
Web site:
http://www.voicesense.com/index.html
Bar-Sadeh, U. (2000). Invitation for Technological Cooperation.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Matimop
Web site:
http://www.matimop.org.il/newrdinf/company/c6701.htm
(2007). Canadian Patents Database.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Web site:
http://patents1.ic.gc.ca/details?patent_number=2456625
VoiceSensor’s technology is based on a patent-pending speech analysis system that reveals customer dissatisfaction by detecting emotions in telephone calls. It integrates the examination of speech acoustic parameters with techniques that capture dialog dynamics, as well as analyzing the prosodic parameters of speech (e.g. intonation, speech patterns) during conversations between customers and their service representatives. By doing so, this system detects negative customer emotions and then uses the collected data to warn organizations when customers are dissatisfied with the service that they are receiving.
The key to VoiceSensor’s ability to function for the customer service sector is that its signal processing does not need to learn individual voice characteristics in order to measure emotion. In simple terms, VoiceSensor serves its purpose because it can read the emotions from any customer, and is not only able to analyze pre-programmed voices.
There are many advantages for organizations that choose to use this technology once it becomes available. Customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention are the most important goals of today’s businesses. Since call centers are the main communications channels between businesses and their customers, companies will benefit from the voice analysis that VoiceSensor provides, as it will enable them to improve customer service and to provide customers with a more personalized and enjoyable experience. VoiceSensor’s functions will allow its corporate users to gain a competitive advantage in their industry, as managers are notified in real-time when their customers are dissatisfied. With these real-time notifications, managers can deal with dissatisfaction promptly so that it does not destroy the possibility for future business dealings with that particular customer. Most importantly, VoiceSensor enables organizations to improve their customer service policies because it automatically brings recurring service issues to management’s attention via the continuous reports and updates that it sends to them. VoiceSensor’s functions will therefore allow any company who uses it to gain a competitive advantage in the customer service sector, because they will be able to offer enhanced “intelligent” customer service that other companies will not have access to.
Although VoiceSensor's capabilities will truly give a “leg up” to its users, it seems as though VoiceSensor is the type of service that users can become dependent on to find, to solve, and to fix their customer service issues. This dependence on technology may cause employees to have a more lackadaisical attitude towards their jobs and therefore become fully dependent on VoiceSensor. In other words, call center representatives may lose their connection with the customer. Their attitudes may become one of “why bother dealing with the issues that arise, VoiceSensor can handle it!” this possible dependence on technology rather than the human touch may actually lessen customer satisfaction in the long run and counteract VoiceSensor’s benefits.
Sources:
Retrieved
October 1, 2007
Web site:
http://www.voicesense.com/index.html
Bar-Sadeh, U. (2000). Invitation for Technological Cooperation.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Matimop
Web site:
http://www.matimop.org.il/newrdinf/company/c6701.htm
(2007). Canadian Patents Database.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Web site:
http://patents1.ic.gc.ca/details?patent_number=2456625
Advanced Biorefinery Inc.
Advanced Biorefinery Inc. has developed a new way of turning North America’s forest waste, called “slash” into carbon-neutral liquid for power generation and chemical production. This leading edge technology called “dry distillation” turns biomass into renewable and ecologically friendly energy. This system is a modular and quick-to-assemble pyrolysis plant that can follow logging companies into forests and convert their trimmings into clean-burning renewable fuel on the spot. With this technology, companies can take the machine to the biomass, making it financially worthwhile to collect and to turn into fuel. This portable “dry distillation” plant that is capable of processing 55 dry tons of forest “slash” per day into a mixture of 60 per cent bio oil and 40 per cent charcoal, ash, and synthetic gas. Each unit can produce 6000 gallons of bio liquid per day, which is enough energy to provide electricity to 1500 to 2000 homes as well as fuel the machine’s own operations.
This technology is a self-sufficient, modular, and portable plant that is composed of six modules. Each module is eight feet high, eight feet wide, and twenty feet long. When put together, these modules house a fast pyrolysis system that is unique to this new modular technology.
Each pyrolysis plant rapidly heats the biomass to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit in an oxygen-starved environment and shatters the molecular structure of the “slash” to produce the oil, the charcoal, and the gas. This system differs from most pyrolysis plants, as it must be flexible and simple due to its modular nature. With this particular system, the biomass is almost instantly vaporized by a hot steel shot which is circulated by energy-efficient augers. Afterwards, the charcoal and gasses that are produced are captured form the hot vapors and recycled as fuel for powering the system and pre-drying the “slash”.
This technology offers many advantages to its users. Before Advanced Biorefinery Inc., “slash” was not harvested despite its ability to be turned into fuel because it was not cost effective to transport it to refineries. However, now that the transportation factor has become obsolete, it is more cost effective to process it. The main benefit however is that “slash” will now be transformed into bio oil that can be burned in boilers, turbines, and diesel generators to produce heat and power. Also, bio oil contains acetic acid, acetol, glyoxal, and formic acid, which can be used in chemical markets such as foods and fertilizers. The use of this product now gives companies to make use of an alternative energy in a more cost effective way than before it became available. Furthermore, there may be opportunities to use this technology in remote locations where the main source of electricity may only have been fossil fuels such as diesel oil, a costly and environmentally unfriendly source of electricity in many remote locations.
Despite is apparent advantages, this technology may not be as revolutionary as it seems. This modular plant is time consuming to put up, and also needs a proper location to be set up in. If it is not possible to use this machine in the area that the logging company is working in, then the promised amounts of energy may not be produced, or even more importantly, they may not be able to produce the energy that is needed to power their own operations. Also, although this system is a more cost effective way to refine the “slash”, it does not mean that it is truly cost effective. The cost of transporting the equipment along with the cost of employing workers to run it may still be greater than the cash return net of the savings on electricity that needs not be purchased. Also, there may not be enough “slash” in the immediate vicinity of the machine needed to operate it for long periods of time, enabling companies to get the desired cash return out of the investment.
Sources:
Hamilton, T. (2006). Turning Slash into Cash.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Technology Review
Web site:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/17298/page2/
Fransham, P. Biomass to Bioproducts.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Advanced Biorefinery Inc
Web site:
http://www.advbiorefineryinc.ca/index.html
Larmour, A. (2005). Biorefinery Targets Energy in Forest Waste.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Northern Ontario Business
Web site:
http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/industry/energy/10-05-biorefinery.asp
This technology is a self-sufficient, modular, and portable plant that is composed of six modules. Each module is eight feet high, eight feet wide, and twenty feet long. When put together, these modules house a fast pyrolysis system that is unique to this new modular technology.
Each pyrolysis plant rapidly heats the biomass to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit in an oxygen-starved environment and shatters the molecular structure of the “slash” to produce the oil, the charcoal, and the gas. This system differs from most pyrolysis plants, as it must be flexible and simple due to its modular nature. With this particular system, the biomass is almost instantly vaporized by a hot steel shot which is circulated by energy-efficient augers. Afterwards, the charcoal and gasses that are produced are captured form the hot vapors and recycled as fuel for powering the system and pre-drying the “slash”.
This technology offers many advantages to its users. Before Advanced Biorefinery Inc., “slash” was not harvested despite its ability to be turned into fuel because it was not cost effective to transport it to refineries. However, now that the transportation factor has become obsolete, it is more cost effective to process it. The main benefit however is that “slash” will now be transformed into bio oil that can be burned in boilers, turbines, and diesel generators to produce heat and power. Also, bio oil contains acetic acid, acetol, glyoxal, and formic acid, which can be used in chemical markets such as foods and fertilizers. The use of this product now gives companies to make use of an alternative energy in a more cost effective way than before it became available. Furthermore, there may be opportunities to use this technology in remote locations where the main source of electricity may only have been fossil fuels such as diesel oil, a costly and environmentally unfriendly source of electricity in many remote locations.
Despite is apparent advantages, this technology may not be as revolutionary as it seems. This modular plant is time consuming to put up, and also needs a proper location to be set up in. If it is not possible to use this machine in the area that the logging company is working in, then the promised amounts of energy may not be produced, or even more importantly, they may not be able to produce the energy that is needed to power their own operations. Also, although this system is a more cost effective way to refine the “slash”, it does not mean that it is truly cost effective. The cost of transporting the equipment along with the cost of employing workers to run it may still be greater than the cash return net of the savings on electricity that needs not be purchased. Also, there may not be enough “slash” in the immediate vicinity of the machine needed to operate it for long periods of time, enabling companies to get the desired cash return out of the investment.
Sources:
Hamilton, T. (2006). Turning Slash into Cash.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Technology Review
Web site:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/17298/page2/
Fransham, P. Biomass to Bioproducts.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Advanced Biorefinery Inc
Web site:
http://www.advbiorefineryinc.ca/index.html
Larmour, A. (2005). Biorefinery Targets Energy in Forest Waste.
Retrieved
October 1, 2007, from Northern Ontario Business
Web site:
http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/industry/energy/10-05-biorefinery.asp
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