KFC Dumi is an AI Robot designed to take orders from consumers. KFC’s primary target consumers are young adults. For these millennials who grew up with the Internet, they are so used to doing everything online and nowadays they go to the restaurant more for experiences and social purposes. Meanwhile, due to the rising wages and the shortage of labor, it is inevitable for the restaurant industry to automatize the operation.

Thus, we designed Dumi to accommodate young consumers’ behavior so that they can fully manage and enjoy their dining experience, while improving operational efficiency. The idea of Dumi to design a voice-controlled robot that can take orders, even make small talk with consumers and recommend meals based on consumer data.

The first Dumi was launched in KFC’s Original + concept restaurant in May 2016. It has been working very well and will be rolled out to major KFC restaurants.

The key elements of the design covered the whole dining experience in the restaurant. From ordering, paying, waiting to dining, KFC Original + Store offers the most innovative and entertaining dining experience.

Ordering

• Voice-controlled AI robot, Dumi

We worked with Baidu to design Dumi, the voice-controlled ordering robot. We tested plenty of conversations and ordering processes with Dumi, so that it can really understand what consumers say, even with different accents, in order to make communication seamless.

• Ordering Kiosks and mobile payment

We designed a more stylish appearance and user interface to offer consumers a more convenient ordering process. The mobile payment is also provided as it is the most commonly used payment method for the young generation.

Waiting

• 3D Hologram Projection

In the waiting area, we set up a 3D Holographic Projection to surprise consumers with an amazing demonstration of making delicious fried chicken.

Dining

• Smart Music Table

The “Smart Music Tables” leverage KFC’s owned media platform “K-music”. Consumers can also scan a QR code to listen to the music of their own choice from “K-music” to create a perfect dining atmosphere. They can also recharge their cell phones wirelessly.

The project was completed in 5 months from the planning stage to implementation. The KFC Original+ Restaurant has been fully functioning since May 2016 and has been planned to be rolled out nationwide.

KFC launched this Original+ Store when they celebrated its 5000+ store opening. This brand new digital dining experience became the highlight of the grand opening of KFC’s 5,000th restaurant. It gained over 600 new articles from various media outlets and created tremendous discussions on social media. It also attracted many consumers to the restaurant to explore fresher and more interesting digital dining experiences.

We believe in the long run, Dumi will contribute greatly to KFC’s operational efficiency. It will shorten consumers’ waiting times to enhance the consumers’ satisfaction as well as reduce the number of service staff, which in turn increases customer loyalty and profitability.