sushi conveyor belt system singapore
Join Our Mailing List We won't spam you or ever share your information. Image recognition software supports sushi buffet chain in Singapore Advanced image recognition research from the Advanced Digital Sciences Center (ADSC) has found an unusual testbed: a sushi buffet. As pieces of sushi rush along a conveyor belt in Sushi Express in Singapore, an image recognition system quickly identifies each sushi roll and tallies the number of pieces per category. It helps employees know when they are running low on smoked salmon rolls, for example, and need to add more to the conveyor. This system makes the sushi identification process seamless and simple, thanks to complex algorithms that were created by a team of researchers at ADSC, a University of Illinois research center in Singapore. The technology uses object detection and recognition techniques such as machine learning and classification algorithms. “We were working with object detection and classification in the lab, and found that there was a need in industry that could also provide us with data to test our methods,” said Yuduo Zheng, a senior software engineer at ADSC.
“We discovered that it can actually work well with sushi and provide useful statistics to our industry partner, Xjera Labs.” Their system consists of two parts: detection and classification. To detect the sushi piece, the algorithm extracts what is called the local binary patterns (LBP) from the sushi—a type of visual descriptor in computer vision. The system then uses AdaBoost, short for adaptive boosting, which increases the algorithm strength and learning capabilities to better identify the correct piece of sushi. They further improve their classification component with deep learning, which uses machine learning algorithms to extract data and make accurate predictions. ADSC and Xjera Labs worked together to develop the system, and Xjera Labs has since licensed the technology and are involved in commercializing it for several chain sushi companies. The ADSC team is continuing to improve the algorithms so the system will recognize new types of sushi, as well as seamlessly adapt to novel conditions and products of different brands and outlets.
Have you figured out yet that I’m excited for conveyor belt sushi from Singapore?
order sushi online tel avivIt’s not open yet, but after much begging, they finally let me into Sakae Sushi (43rd btw.
sushi online bestellen tilburgLex+3rd) last night for a first look at the conveyor belt and computer system (which they’ve been putting together all week). The belt itself, which snakes in a u shape around the entire restaurant, carrying little small plates of sushi to every table, doesn’t actually go back into the kitchen- where all the food is prepared. There are no sushi bars either. All the food is made in the back, and brought out by servers to be placed on the conveyor belt. For those “crazy” people, who don’t want to eat sushi off a conveyor belt, there is a mouse operated computer at each table you can use to order anything off of the menu.
This not only includes freshly made small plates of sushi, but larger things that don’t fit on the conveyor belt as well. A look at the complete menu after the jump, plus an update on their “Friday” Grand Opening… Looking at the whole menu, I’m realizing that it will take a lot of planning (and math) to get out of this place full for under $10 (and still be full). But as far as I’m concerned, exceptions can be made to the Midtown Lunch $10 price limit in two instances. 1) All you can eat buffets, and 2) restaurants that use conveyor belts to deliver my food. Here is a sample of some of the things that you may see roatating around the restaurant from 3 sample pages taken from the menu: To see the full 30 page menu, click here. If you’ve been to a Sakae Sushi overseas, you may end up disappointed by the first US location which lacks some of the uniqueness or “cool” factor of the locations in Asia. That’s because they felt a more subdued location would be more appealing to the clientele of Midtown.
See what the losers have done? Even when we get something cool, we get screwed. According to their publicist the restaurant is still on track to open on Friday, but not until dinner time, meaning (if it actually happens) Tuesday should be our first chance for an official “Midtown Lunch”. Posted by Zach Brooks at 3:17 pm, January 17th, 2008 under 43rd btw. Lex+3rd, Sakae Sushi, Sushi. You must log in or register to post a comment. Sakae Sushi is a restaurant chain from Singapore that specialises in affordable Japanese food served to diners via a kaiten (conveyor belt).1 Since the opening of its first outlet in 1997, the chain boasts over 100 outlets across Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States and Japan.2 Sakae Sushi is the brainchild of entrepreneur Douglas Foo.3BackgroundIn 1996, Douglas Foo set up the company Apex-Pal to enter the garment business trade. However, due to strong competition from low-cost garment factories from China, Foo went in search for a new business model.
Eventually, Foo decided to set up a Japanese restaurant that offered quality sushi and other Japanese dishes at affordable prices.4Foo set up his first sushi outlet, which he named Sakae Sushi (sakae meaning “growth” in Japanese5), in OUB Centre at Raffles Place in 1997 during the the Asian financial crisis.6 It was an immediate success as customers were attracted by Sakae’s affordable and simple price structure. It was also a novelty in Singapore at the time to have dishes served on a conveyor belt.7ExpansionSakae’s popularity prompted the opening of a second outlet in the Heeren mall on Orchard Road in 1998, and a third one at Wheelock Place, also in Orchard, the following year.8 Foo had initially planned for six Sakae outlets for the Singapore market, but he soon saw the potential for expansion to suburban areas, and to turn Sakae into a major food franchise – to be “the McDonalds of sushi”.9 The first Sakae heartland outlet was opened in Eastpoint Mall in 2000 and this was followed by the first overseas branch in Indonesia in 2001.10By 2006, there were 31 Sakae outlets in Singapore and another 12 in Malaysia
, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and China. Net profit was S$3.7 million with a revenue of S$51.9 million.11 This spectacular growth had come about without bank borrowings, with Sakae’s expansion financed initially through Foo’s savings, then by earnings and capital gained from the company’s public listing.12 In 2008, Sakae opened its first outlet in the United States at the Chrysler Building in New York.13 Today, there are over 200 Sakae outlets worldwide.14Sakae expanded by growing the number of company-owned outlets and through franchising. Foo also created a portfolio of brands such as Sakae Teppanyaki, Hei Sushi, Senjyu, Crepes & Cream, Kyo and Nouvelle Events. But Sakae Sushi remains the core of Apex-Pal.15When the global economic crisis struck in 2008 and Sakae found its margins squeezed by higher prices for commodities such as rice, the company froze wages and cut executive pay but decided against mass staff layoffs. A profit of S$2.3 million in 2007 was followed by a net loss of S$3.8 million in 2008 due to increasing costs of rental, salary and commodities.
To counter this, Sakae introduced cost-cutting measures such as sourcing for new food suppliers, minimising waste and tightening other operational practices.16 The company returned to profitability in 2009, posting a S$3.3 million profit on a revenue of S$88.8 million.17Use of technologyThe use of technology in food preparation and serving has been a signature mode of operation for Sakae Sushi.18 To ensure that Sakae’s food is of a consistent quality across the chain, ingredients are prepared at a central kitchen and sushi rice rolling machines are installed in every outlet.19In Sakae outlets, each table is equipped with a hot-water tap for tea refills and a computerised menu by which diners can view and order items. This electronic ordering system has been patented by Sakae, as has its portable conveyor belt system, which also won Spring Singapore’s Innovation of the Year Award in 2003.20Public listingIn 2003, Sakae’s parent company Apex-Pal was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
Apex-Pal’s food businesses, of which Sakae is the flagship brand, represented over 95 percent of the company’s revenue.21 In August, Apex-Pal’s initial public offering (IPO) set out 16.5 million shares, 836,000 of which were for public investors and the rest for institutional investors, clients and company employees. The former was 916 times subscribed, which made it the highest share subscription rate in Singapore at the time. Overall, the IPO was 47.4 times subscribed.22The IPO brought in about S$3.4 million, which helped to finance the opening of new Sakae outlets (and other brands within Apex-Pal) and was used as working capital.23 The parent company was renamed Sakae Holdings Ltd in 2010.24Authors Alvin Chua & Lim Tin SengReferences1. Sakae!: Cooking up a global food business. Singapore: Cengage Learning, p. 66. (Call no.: RSING 338.76164795 KOH)2. Sakae Holdings Ltd. (2014). Annual report 2014, p. 1. Singapore: Cengage Learning, p. 1. 4. Koh, W. (2009). Singapore: Cengage Learning, pp. 1, 65–66.
5. Prystay, C. (2008, March 10). Sakae Holdings Ltd. (2015). Prystay, C. (2008, March 10). Sakae Sushi – where F&B, tech meet. The Business Times, p. 2. Elias, R. (1998, December 3). Sushi chain to open at Wheelock Place. The Business Times, p. 3. A simple goal – to be the McDonald’s of sushi. The Business Times, p. 3; Sakae Holdings Ltd. (2016). Sakae Holdings Ltd. (2016). Sim, G. (2006, August 21). The interview: Leading in Asia: Chasing big dreams while putting people first. The Wall Street Journal Asia. Chuang, P. M. (2004, February 9). It pays to be crazy sometimes. Yang, H. (2009, April 9). Layoffs not an option for sushi chain boss. The Straits Times, p. 49. Apex-Pal International Ltd. (2009). Annual report 2009, pp. 4–5. The interview: Leading in Asia: Chasing big dreams while putting people first. The Wall Street Journal Asia; It pays to be crazy sometimes. F&B chain Apex-Pal goes for Sesdaq listing. The Business Times, p. 7. Apex-Pal’s public tranche offer 916 times taken up.