While millions of people around the world face hunger, nearly a third of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste, according to the United Nations. The high school cafeteria where cafeteria manager Sooyoung works is one of many places that generate excess amounts of food waste. Sooyoung checks the food waste bin every day, and is always disappointed with the amount of leftover food.
An increasing amount of food waste has been concerning for Sooyoung, who has no choice but to devote a significant portion of the cafeteria budget to food waste disposal. She believes Korea’s unique “banchan” (the array of side dishes that accompany the main dish) has contributed to this phenomenon. The cafeteria has to prepare a variety of side dishes, which often go uneaten by students. Thinking that something must be done, she convinces the school administration to deploy a food scanner at the school cafeteria.
The digital solution that Sooyoung helped deploy is an Artificial Intelligence-based 3D food scanner called, “Zero Waste AI”, which is connected to a mobile application for students. Once students are served their food, they carry their plate to Zero Waste AI. They then authenticate themselves to the system either through face recognition or by typing their username and password onto Zero Waste AI. Once they are logged in, a camera attached to Zero Waste AI scans their plate.
After the meal, the students carry their plate back to Zero Waste AI, which scans their plate for the second time. By scanning students’ plates before and after their meal, Zero Waste AI collects data on the quantity and type of both food consumed and food left. Zero Waste AI aggregates this data for every individual student, who can access this information on the mobile app.
Once Zero Waste AI completes its second scan, students can access data on their food intake percentage, which is calculated by the amount of food they consumed divided by the amount of food they served onto their plates. Students can see how much food they consumed and wasted by each individual side dish, rice and soup. The Artificial Intelligence-based mobile app analyzes this information and recommends the student how much food they should self-serve in the future. Additional features of the Zero Waste AI mobile app include calorie intake, meal time, and nutritional intake analysis.
With the successful deployment of Zero Waste AI, Sooyoung launches “Zero Food Waste Campaign” in her cafeteria, aiming to reduce food waste and CO2 emission by 30%. She plans to use a significant portion of her cafeteria’s food waste disposal cost savings towards fighting global hunger. Everyday, students can see how much they have contributed to the campaign on a large monitor at the back of the cafeteria.
The “Zero Food Waste Campaign” has been a huge success for Sooyoung and her team. Not only did Sooyoung’s cafeteria achieve the 30% food waste reduction goal, but the Zero Waste AI food scanner and mobile app also raised public awareness of the impact of increasing food waste on Earth as well as a significant portion of the population with limited food sources.
Overview
The Busan CIC formed a team consisting of a leading humanitarian organization, Busan IT Promotion Agency (BIPA), Dongseo University, and Busan CIC members startups (Nuvi Labs and One Data Technology) to develop an Artificial Intelligence-based 3D food scanner prototype that reduces food waste and raises fund to eliminate global hunger. With the ability to scan plates before and after a meal, and to analyze food waste by type and cost, this digital solution gathers data that are used by cafeterias to reduce food waste by optimizing food inventory and improving menu options.
Problem
With each Korean generating on average 130kg of food waste every year, Korea has become one of the biggest producers of food waste in the world. Korea’s unique “banchan” (the array of side dishes that accompany the main dish) culture has contributed to this phenomenon, as restaurant leftovers account for 68% of all food waste produced in the country. The Busan CIC sought to build a solution that could not only reduce food waste, but also donate a portion of the cost savings towards fighting global hunger.
Approach
The Busan CIC created a team that comprised a leading humanitarian organization, BIPA, Dongseo University, and two start-ups, which were Nubi Lab and One Data Technology, to launch the Zero Waste, Zero Hunger Challenge. Using the Amazon Working Backwards process, the Busan CIC delivered 2 Innovation Workshops and conducted over 60 end-user interviews to define the problem and develop a creative solution.
The prototype that the team developed was an AI and Machine Learning-based 3D food scanner to reduce food waste in cafeterias. Scanning food plates before and after a meal, and analyzing food waste by type and cost, the scanner creates data that could help cafeteria management optimize food inventory, quantity and menu options to reduce food waste. The prototype was deployed at six K12 schools, Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and Dongseo University cafeterias throughout the 7 months for pilot testing. Approximately 30% of food waste deduction had been achieved. Additionally, the Zero Waste, Zero Hunger Challenge contributed to the leading humanitarian organization’s winning the 2021 Seoul Environmental Award.
Next steps
After successful completion of the pilot test in 2020, the team is currently rolling out the solution in school cafeterias across Korea. With a portion of cost savings going towards ending food hunger, it is estimated that this solution has the potential to generate USD $8.6 million in annual donation across Korea, feeding over 103,600 beneficiaries around the world.
System Architecture
Design Artifacts
As part of the solution design process, a fictional Press Release and Frequently Asked Questions document as well as visuals were used to create a vision of what the solution could accomplish.
Press Release
1) The solution was featured in 15 news agencies, a press conference and the Kim Eojun TV & radio news show in 2020 and 2021.
The solution was presented at the National Assembly seminars on Nov 26 2020 and July 7 2021.
Booklets
The Challenge was featured at the ‘Open Policy’ booklet that was published by Presidential Commission on Policy Planning. 3000 copies were distributed to major public sector organizations including Cheongwadae, also known as the Blue House, is the executive office and official residence of the Republic of Korea's head of state, the President of the Republic of Korea.
PR
“Zero Waste AI” Checks for Leftover Food Waste and Optimizes Menu
Humanitarian Organization ‘A’ Reduces Food Waste and Helps Solve Global Food Crisis
Mr. P, who runs a cafeteria at the headquarters of a major domestic company, was able to solve the problem of food waste, which was his biggest problem recently. In the past, he relied on his instinct to see how much of the food was left, but thanks to the technology that uses artificial intelligence and big data, he can accurately determine the amount of food he needs to serve to minimize food waste. In addition, the time for selecting menus and preparing meals has been reduced, and labor and food waste disposal costs have also been reduced. While expanding its solution to other cafeterias, the company decided to donate the savings to the Global Hunger Fund.
Humanitarian Assistance Agency ‘A’ and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have revealed how two large cafeterias in the last three months have piloted and validated data to reduce food waste and help fight hunger. “Zero Waste AI” is a solution launched in cooperation with AWS, Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency, and Dongseo University (DSU) as part of the 'Zero Waste Zero Hunger' campaign that ‘A’ has been pursuing.
This is how it works: a special camera installed at the end of the cafeteria records the type and amount of food left on the plates of the customers. This camera takes photos of only one plate and cannot capture the appearance of the customers, but it is necessary for customers to provide their consent to using this service. For accurate measurements, the customer leaves the leftover side dishes in one bowl. A special camera is also installed on the table where the plates are returned, and the type and amount of food left behind are recorded once again. These records, along with information such as the daily season, weather, and holidays, are delivered to the cloud, and the food waste data are analyzed to provide recommendations to the cafeteria operations team to minimize food waste.
Restaurant B, who participated in the piloting, said, “Food waste has decreased since the solution was introduced, and the processing cost has been reduced by more than 40%, and the time for the management staff to prepare meals has been reduced by half.” “Traditionally, it was difficult to accurately match the amount of preliminary meals prepared so that there is no shortage of meals, but now we can minimize the amount of leftover food.
Half of the money secured by this reduced food waste and disposal costs will be donated to ‘A’ to fight food hunger worldwide. “We welcome restaurants and food vulnerable groups to develop a win-win solution,” said ‘A,’ announcing the launch of a zero-waste AI solution. “With 100 feeding kins used by 1000 people a day, we can provide 2 million meals to countries losing their lives every year due to hunger.”
FAQs
[Restaurant Operator]
Q. Where can I download this application? How do I install it?
A. “Zero Waste AI” can be downloaded from Google Play, Microsoft Store and Apple App Store. The app is available for administrator and client server separately, and the application for client server only needs to be installed once on one main PC in the business (feeding hall). The application for administrators is for smartphone installation by operating staff at the business site. In addition, there are functions for restaurant users in the same app, so you can use the functions for restaurant users by clicking the “User” menu after inching the app.
Q. I am trying to introduce this application/solution. In what areas can I get support?
A. The app provides comprehensive resources for reducing food-related costs in large catering establishments. From the type and amount of food selected by the restaurant users, the type and amount of food left behind, and the amount of food and the amount of food left, depending on the weather and the season. To accumulate, analyze, and provide this information, hardware such as a mini server and a PC (or laptop) with an Intel 10th Gen i5 or higher CPU is required. Contact Amazon Web Services to receive consultation and initial free equipment rental, depending on the size of your business and the size of your customers. Our experts will also visit your site to guide you on how to install and utilize the initial hardware.
Q. Can I get a residual reduction case for other restaurants participating in this campaign?
A. Our basic intention is to inform you how to minimize residual balance by providing optimized food quantity and diet according to the conditions of participating restaurants by making big data of all participating restaurants in this campaign. Reduction cases can only be provided to cafeterias that have agreed to disclose.
Q.What are the benefits for operators participating in the campaign?
A.This campaign aims to help hunger populations on the other side of the world by reducing domestic food waste. It is a campaign to help hungry people through the natural practice of reducing waste and protecting our environment.
Q.How do you reduce the balance and lead to donation?
A. If you can save more than usual costs (for example, 40%) by reducing residual waste, residual food, and pretreatment costs generated in the cafeteria, it is a way to donate part of it (for example, 10-20%) to Company A. And if you can accurately predict drinking water, you can reduce your food costs, thereby reducing your overall costs, and a portion of it will be donated.
[Restaurant Customer FAQ]
Q. Do I need to install “Zero Waist AI” to use the cafeteria?
A. No. You can dine in the cafeteria without the need for an app. Install a smartphone app to access a healthcare feature that records and analyzes daily food intake and calorie information.
Q. How do I join if I don't have a smartphone?
A. Even if you do not use the app, the remaining amount will be automatically checked at the exit area, and the reduced balance will be donated to A to fight hunger. A special camera installed at the end of the feeding room records the type and amount of food on your plate. This camera only shoots one plate and does not capture the appearance of customers, but it does capture food information. A special camera is also installed on the table where the plates are returned, and the type and amount of food left behind are recorded once more.
Q. Isn't my personal information escaping?
A. The information collected through the camera is not collected at all that identifies an individual by the type and amount of food. Special cameras record the type and amount of food on the plate, so no personal information is left on the record. Individual information is recorded only for users who have agreed to leave their basic information (gender, age group, etc.).
Q. What are the benefits for people who use the restaurant?
A. Zero-waist AI creates an optimized amount of ingredients and menus, allowing users to enjoy a diet composed of the right amount to help maintain their health. It also helps to protect the environment by reducing residual residues that are discarded indiscriminately. As part of the savings are donated to company A, my small selection helps fight hunger around the world. The app also gives you information about your daily food intake, calorie intake, and more.
Q. How do you plan to secure your budget?
A. We can secure our budget by participating in government-initiatives, but that doesn't guarantee sustainability. We can also consider funding by participating in the competition. In the long run, it is necessary to think about a sustainable way to reduce the cost of residue/residual food from the perspective of the company and recover all initial costs after a certain period of time.
