FAST FOOD ORDERING

1. Dot-Meal: Introduction
Dot-Meal is a mock-up prototype of an inclusive food-ordering tool using digital-paper technology. Our team
discovered older adults’ pain points and applied state-of-the-art technology to design an intuitive interaction.
It was a capstone project for Information Science and Culture major at Seoul National University.
PROJECT EXPLANATION DOT_MEAL ?
DIGITAL-PAPER ?
• DESCRIPTION: A capstone project cooperating with Neolab,
a tech-based start-up company
developing digital-papers.
• CLASS: Field Research Study (Fall 2012)
• MAJOR: Information and Media Culture
• TEAM SIZE: 5
• MY CONTRIBUTION: - Planning research methods.
- Conducting user interviews.
- Analyzing interview findings
(i.e. Affinity wall, User journey map, Persona)
- UI design of receipts.
• This paper converts handwriting or
drawing to digital text or image using
Dot-code technology.
• An infrared sensor in the tip of a pen
recognizes invisible dot patterns on
paper, creating digital images of what
was drawn on the paper.
• Dot-Meal is a food-ordering tool with
Dot-Code integrated papers.
• Users check menu items and ingredients
they like or dislike on the paper, and the
information is digitally transferred to the
kitchen.
• This tool can help users order meals at
their table without having to order at the
counter and give them enough time to
decide the details of the food.

2. Dot-Meal: Identifying Users & Setting Research Question
Through preliminary interviews and affinity diagram analysis, we selected old adults who visited
fast-food restaurants as prospective users of this ordering system.
RQ: What pain-points do older adults have while they order at the counter in fast-food restaurant,
and how can digital-paper technology help alleviate the problems?
Easy to access
Older adults
with low digital literacy
At restaurants,
cafés, and grocery stores
• Prelim
Interview
Participants
- 4 older adults, age 65 to 69, living in an urban area
- Having ordered foods or drinks more than once a week
- Visiting grocery stores more than once in two weeks
• Interview
Results
“When I was young, there were
not these kinds of American
restaurants. I had never visited there
before my grandchild wants to go.”
“When I first visited there,
I took a long time to understand order
system, and I felt sorry for the people
behind me.”
“I’m not confident in exploring too
many ingredients, so ask my
grandchild to order my meal.
Sometimes he adds some weird
sauce, and I can’t eat it.”
I love to take a walk with my
grandchild, but I don’t like standing
with others in narrow aisles in fast-
food restaurants to protect my weak
back.
• Main
Questions
- What brings you to restaurants / cafes / grocery stores?
- What’s your pain point when you go there?
- They often visit fast-food restaurants for their grandchildren.
- They suffered from ordering meals at restaurants such as
Subway and Panda Express due to unfamiliar order systems.
- They feel uncomfortable when they are standing for ordering.
WHO, WHEN, WHERE
WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY?
WHAT PAIN POINTS
THIS TECHNOLOGY CAN ADDRESS?
Let’s examine
older adults’
experiences
at restaurants,
cafés, and
grocery stores.

3. Dot-Meal: Study & Finding
・ Name (Age) Sumi Park (66)
・ Location Seoul (City)
・ Health Low cognitive ability
Mild back pain
・ Mobile
Technology
- Cell phone
- Smart phone
- Tablet PC
* It was not common for older people to use smart devices in 2012.
・ Job - Caring two grandchildren (age 6 and 8)
while a daughter works at a company.
・ Goal - Having fun with grandchildren at restaurants
they usually like such as Subway or Panda Express.
・ Frustration - She is not familiar with fast-food order system.
- It’s hard to recognize dozens of ingredient choices.
- Her back pain makes her difficult to stand for a long time
1. Stand and wait
for her turn.
Entering Subway and
going to the counter
Ordering
Menu
Selecting
Ingredients
Transaction
and Pick-Up
2. Tell the name
of menu to server.
3. Tell ingredients
to server.
4. Be asked about
the preference of
ingredients or
cooking style.
5. Pay with a card.
6. Find a table.
“My back pain will start
to kill me if waiting time
gets longer.”
“I’m excited!”
“I’m completely lost. There are
too many options to select in a
short time, and I can’t
understand any of them”
“I'm already tired of waiting
and ordering, and it’s not
convenient to carry my tray
back to my table through
narrow aisles.”
“It’s yummy!”
USERS’ NEEDS
1. More time to scan information of ingredients 2. Less movement in a restaurant.
Phase
Step
Emotion
For in-depth understanding their characteristics and needs, the team created a persona and journey map after
interviewing 10 older adults (age between 65 and 74)
USER CHARACTERISTICS
1. Low digital literacy 2. Low cognitive ability 3. Low mobility
PERSONA USER JOURNEY MAP

4. Dot-Meal: Interface Design
1. Sitting at a table 2. Selecting ingredients for order
Menu booklet on
Digital-Paper
Pen nip
w/ IR
Sensor
3. Check the ingredients with the Dot-code pen with an
integrated infrared sensor.
4. A small monitor on the pen shows if ingredients are
correctly selected.
5. After selecting all ingredients, push the OK button.
Monitor
OK Button
・The sensor reads coordinates on the paper
and recognizes the choices of ingredients.
・The monitor shows the ingredient information
recognized by the sensor.
・If a user pushes the OK button, the pen sends the
input information to the mini printer on the table.
Mini printer
on the table
・The mini printer prints the
receipt made of the digital
paper including information
of ingredient choices which
the pen transmit.
6. Check the receipt printed
by mini printer on the table.
Dot
-code
Pen
Phase
Step
Touch
Point
Inter
-action
1. Sit at a table.
2. Skim ingredients
information on
the menu.
We designed a menu board with digital-papers where older adults can select ingredients intuitively in a comfortable
position at a table. Through a usability test, we added the editing process.
4. Editing order
and sending it to a counter
7. Make edits to the ingredients by
marking an X with the order-pen.
8. Write a memo about any
additional requests.
9. Push the OK button to finish.
・Upon clicking the OK button,
the pen sends the information of
the receipt as text and image
to counter/kitchen.
OK
Button
Dot
-code
Pen
3. Printing a receipt
Through a usability test,
we realized that
users should be able to
edit their choices
Receipt
Add one more stage
Pen nip
w/ IR
Sensor
USER JOURNEY MAP OF DOT-MEAL