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Digital kiosk dishes calorie info to diners

The interactive touchscreen lets users see a running total of their meal's calories.

June 17, 2013

As the Affordable Care Act menu labeling provision trickles into effect, technology providers are stepping up with solutions that have the potential to ease the compliance burden for restaurant chains, improve the overall experience for the customer — and ultimately, encourage healthier food choices.

At the recent National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, NEC Display Solutions showed off its touchscreen "Menu Wayfinder," an interactive digital signage kiosk that allows users to look up calorie information for every item on a restaurant's menu.

According to NEC Director of Sales Rich Ventura, the solution is targeted for use in mall and university food courts, as well as fast casual and quick service restaurant locations. Each menu item that the user selects creates a tally to show the total calorie count of the meal. If the user finds the count too high they can select the "healthy option" tab and the system suggests lower-calorie alternatives.

"Every restaurant is being told we have to cut calories and you have to lable calories," said Ventura. "This is an interactive, fun way — but also a smart way — to interact with customers."

The solution features content from Allure Global Solutions, a kiosk enclosure from Peerless-AV, and touch integration from TouchSystems, all NEC partner companies. Check out the video below from the NRA show floor:

Read more about kiosks in restaurants.