In 2.5 seconds, Pizza Hut’s latest technology can determine what sort of pizza you want before you do it. This may sound like an Orson Well novel, but the technology is real and is currently being tested in select markets. Are you someone who has to see something to believe it? Well, that’s how Pizza Hut’s newest menu works. The “Subconscious Menu”, developed by Tobii Technology, is a tablet that uses eye-tracking technology to follow your retina, and, based on that information, builds your ideal pizza. Currently, Pizza Hut is testing their latest technology by organizing their 20 most common toppings into their digital menu. In 2.5 seconds, it can create your favourite pizza from 5,000 potential combinations. This device is 98% accurate.
For now, “Subconscious Menu” is just released in the UK. As far as the United States, there isn’t any specific timeline for when the technology will become available. Pizza Hut stated that they would decide whether to release a digital menu in the United States based on the response it received in the UK. I’m sure, even if you are not a Pizza Hut fan, you will want to try the “Subconscious Menu” out. If you are as skeptical as I’m, the fun will be whether the device really succeeded in creating the pizza of my dreams. In addition to technological improvements, Pizza Hut is introducing popular new flavors such as Sriracha, a curry-flavored crust, and “spin” flavors such as balsamic with buffalo. They marketed this campaign as “The Flavor of Now”.
Competition is hot in the pizza chain world. With Domino’s releasing their real-time pizza tracker, which allows people to track the progress of their pizzas online or on their mobile devices, another big pizza player has felt compelled to step up. But, how far will technology take the fast food industry? Technological developments aren’t all the time a positive thing in the world of fast food. Employee mechanization is fast approaching. The demand for higher wages has prompted some companies to consider implementing automated workers. Even delivery drivers can get replaced with driverless vehicles. This means that people who deliver meat, bread and vegetables to fast food restaurants have the potential to lose their jobs if the robotic worker’s push works. On a less somber note, it is taking a long time to implement this kind of technology. It would be years before we saw McDonald’s consisting totally of touch screens and robotic cashiers. For now, I’ll be waiting patiently for the Pizza Hut cake of my dreams.
