KFC China Uses Facial Recognition To Make Food Recommendations

Have you ever looked at someone’s face and thought to yourself, “Yea, that person looks like they would enjoy a 2 piece chicken combo, with a side of coleslaw, and an iced lemon tea,”? We’re pretty sure that there isn’t a relation between how someone looks and what they like to eat, but apparently that’s what Baidu and KFC in China are trying to do.

In a report from TechCrunch, it seems that Baidu and KFC China are working together and have opened a new “smart restaurant” in Beijing. The restaurant comes with a facial recognition scanner and program that makes recommendations to customers based on factors like their age, gender, and even facial expression.

According to Baidu, some examples include how a “a male customer in his early 20s” might be recommended “a set meal of crispy chicken hamburger, roasted chicken wings and coke for lunch,” while “a female customer in her 50s” would be recommended “porridge and soybean milk for breakfast.”

We’re pretty sure that there are some who might not like what these suggestions imply, but then again customers are still free to order what they want as these are merely recommendations. We suppose the upside to this tech is that if you’re bored of eating the same thing, you can try your luck at the recommendations. Interestingly enough despite being known as a fast food chain, KFC has dabbled in some pretty interesting tech in the past, like a printer built into a chicken bucket, and using bone conduction to deliver music to customers.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: baidu, f&b, KFC