Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. News

Touchscreen restaurant table forecasts the end of human interactions

By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s only natural that with tablets becoming more popular and television screens growing larger, someone would combine the ideas into a touchscreen table. But while a touch-capable coffee table would look cool in your living room, the general consumer market just isn’t quite there yet. That’s why we’re digging this Moneual Touch Table made for restaurants.

Designed to feature touchscreen menus, order placement interface, and payment options, the Touch Table would be the one stop shop for cafe-goers to enjoy a Seamless-esque experience by interacting solely with computers and minimally with humans. Except, of course, when the waitress brings you your coffee and pastry. Customers can also pay using their NFC-capable smartphones by simply tapping the device on the table screen. This could theoretically reduce human errors and make it easier for friends to split bills without asking the waitress to do the math twice. Additionally, the inclusion of an operating system within a table could mean infinitely possibilities, such as gaming apps, Foursquare check-ins, or Facebook browsing while you’re enjoying that drink. Just make sure you keep that Purell handy, because who knows how many people have fondled this table before you got there.

Recommended Videos

Moneual has yet to reveal much about Touch Table other than this photo teaser, but the company will be at the International CES and so will we. If the Touch Table is ready for play, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on interactivity, usability, and of course, price and availability.

[1/8/13 CES Update]

We finally got our hands on the Moneual Touch Table at CES 2013 and we can attest that this thing is pretty cool. While there are no NFC capacities to show, the table does have a credit card slot and USB cables so owners can port their own apps into the machine while customers can use the USB cord to charge their electronics. We also learned that the Touch Table runs on Windows, in case anyone was interested in developing their own custom app.

The current Moneual interface allows users to view available menu items and tap to order. After the selection has been made, they are taken to a screen where a circular clock denotes the order completion percentage. In the meantime, users can browse the Moneual catalog to learn more about the company has to offer. It’s a neat way to advertise without being too invasive, especially if it’s up to the customers to decide whether they want to interact with the machine. Price and availability are still undetermined as of the show.

Topics
Natt Garun
Natt Garun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
An avid gadgets and Internet culture enthusiast, Natt Garun spends her days bringing you the funniest, coolest, and strangest…
Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.
costco ev charging us electricera fast station 1260x945

Costco, known for its discount gas stations, has left EV drivers in need of juicing up out in the cold for the past 12 years. But that seems about to change now that the big-box retailer is putting its brand name on a DC fast-charging station in Ridgefield, Washington.
After being one of the early pioneers of EV charging in the 1990s, Costco abandoned the offering in 2012 in the U.S.
While opening just one station may seem like a timid move, the speed at which the station was installed -- just seven weeks -- could indicate big plans going forward.
Besides lightening-speed installation, Electric Era, the Seattle-based company making and installing the charging station, promises to offer “hyper-reliable, battery-backed fast charging technology in grid-constrained locations.”
Its stalls can deliver up to 200 kilowatts and come with built-in battery storage, allowing for lower electricity rates and the ability to remain operational even when power grids go down.
If that sounds like it could very well rival Tesla’s SuperCharger network, it’s no coincidence: Quincy Lee, its CEO, is a former SpaceX engineer.
Costco also seems confident enough in the company to have put its brand name on the EV-charging station. Last year, the wholesaler did open a pilot station in Denver, this time partnering with Electrify America, the largest charging network in the U.S. However, Costco did not put its brand name on it.
In an interview with Green Car Reports, Electric Era said it was still in talks with Costco about the opening of new locations. Last year, Costco said it was planning to install fast chargers at 20 locations, without providing further details. It has maintained EV-charging operations in Canada, the UK, Spain, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the wholesaler’s U.S. EV-charging plans might very well resemble those of rival Walmart, which last year announced it was building its own EV fast-charging network in addition to the arrangements it already had with Electrify America.

Read more
The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores
wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.

Read more
Aptera’s 3-wheel solar EV hits milestone on way toward 2025 commercialization
Aptera 2e

EV drivers may relish that charging networks are climbing over each other to provide needed juice alongside roads and highways.

But they may relish even more not having to make many recharging stops along the way as their EV soaks up the bountiful energy coming straight from the sun.

Read more