5 tech things: Aramark launches biometric age verification at Major League ballpark

In this special edition of its 5 Things series, Food Management highlights five recent technology-related developments affecting the foodservice world.

Here’s your list for today:

1.    Aramark launches biometric age verification at Major League ballpark

Aramark Sports Entertainment has announced today the launch of Amazon One’s new age verification capability at Coors Field, home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Amazon One is a free, contactless service that allows customers to use the palm of their hand to pay, enter or identify themselves. Using the new age verification feature, Amazon One customers can prove eligibility to purchase alcohol in just a few seconds. Coors Field will become the first-ever venue to implement the new capability beginning this month.

Read more: Aramark Sports Entertainment Announces Latest Innovation with Launch of New Amazon One Age Verification Capability at Coors Field

2.    System lets NHL arena employees access pay as they earn it

UBS Arena, home of the NHL's New York Islanders, has partnered with DailyPay to provide the essential financial wellness benefit of on-demand pay to UBS Arena employees through a collaboration with Oak View Group, a global venue development, advisory and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries. Through DailyPay, UBS Arena employees will have voluntary access to their pay as they earn it, eliminating the need to rely on a traditional scheduled payday and letting them avoid the use of high-interest payday loans.

Related:5 things: Hospital’s garden helps to reduce staff food insecurity

Read more: UBS Arena Partners With DailyPay to Offer its Employees On-Demand Pay

3.    Wendy’s pilots underground food delivery system

Wendy’s is launching a pilot autonomous underground food delivery system, collaborating with logistics company Pipedream. Using the new system, online food orders will be processed and delivered from the restaurant’s kitchen to designated parking spots for pick up, with autonomous robots used to transport the meals underground and to the car-side Instant Portal pick-up.

Read more: Wendy's to Pilot Autonomous Robot Food Delivery System

4.    Major Soccer League team launches checkout-free store

Major League Soccer team FC Cincinnati is launching a checkout-free concession space at TQL Stadium that it says is the first of its kind at a professional sports facility in Ohio. SuperBook Marketplace will be powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology that eliminates checkout lines and enables customers to quickly grab concession items and get back to their seats. The space, which previously had been used for storage, offers LaRosa’s pizza, chicken sandwiches, beer and craft beer, seltzers, canned cocktails, soft drinks, popcorn, cotton candy and other snacks.

Related:5 things: Cost pressures force major district to raise lunch prices for coming fall

Read more: FC Cincinnati Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology for SuperBook Marketplace

5.    AI advances highlighted at NRA Show

OpenAI and ChatGPT were the talk of the tech pavilion at the recent 2023 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, as generative AI starts to become an important tool in a restaurant operator’s toolbox. The latest technology leader to join the generative AI revolution is PopMenu, which just announced a new feature as part of the technology platform’s suite of capabilities that uses ChatGPT to automatically suggest, schedule and write digital marketing campaigns. PopMenu is able to “feed” crucial operator data including guest behavior, order history, and performance of previous marketing campaigns to ChatGPT, and then the artificial intelligence will spit out suggested content of social media posts, emails and texts to send out to customers and fans.

Read more: PopMenu enlists ChatGPT to introduce automation to digital marketing

Bonus: Northern Arizona University offers late night pickup and delivery, with bots

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]