Enhancing the coffee shop experience with an interactive coffee table

This functional proof of concept brings curiosity and surprise to the coffee shop experience to delight customers

Table Service is an interactive coffee table designed to entertain and compliment experiences in café and bar environments. The table uses rear-mounted RFID readers to detect the type of drink and location of placement on the surface of the glass table.

The interactive coffee table began as a method of gathering data from customers to later use in data visualisations that identify consumption trends over time or day, week and year. However, the product evolved to become a complimentary and entertaining experience for customers by the addition of a rear-projected display onto the table’s surface.

Features of the table include:

• Information related to the drinks placed on the table, for example a map displaying the source of the coffee beans used in the customers beverage.
• A UI (User Interface) featuring accessible information and notifications, such as alerting the customer when their beverage is getting cold.
• Built in jukebox, with speaker system mounted underneath the table.
• Games such as ‘Simon Says’, where the players must watch carefully for instructions on where to place certain drinks on the table.
• Video playback and tours can launched by placing specially designed tokens on the table.
• Animated infographics utilising data gathered by the table.

Project credits

Design and development: Patrick Robert Doyle
Video production: Danny Piercy