Online food delivery service Just Eat has launched a ‘magic wand’ in the UK that allows consumers to summon their favourite takeaway by waving the device.
Users activate the wand by pressing a button and waving it. It then communicates with the Just Eat app using Chirp soundwave technology.
It transmits an encrypted sound signal to the mobile app, triggering it to users’ last order via Just Eat.
Once payment has been made, the LED tip flashes to confirm the order has been placed. Only one order can be placed an hour to reduce the chance of accidental multiple orders.
According to Oxford University food scientist Professor Charles Spence, the wand can also make the food taste better by bringing a sense of fun to the occasion.
“A wand has a special place in our psyche, thanks to the popularity of magic shows and Harry Potter,” he said. “It appeals to our inner child and evokes happy memories. Anything that makes your mind happier, makes your taste buds happier.”
With 78,700 restaurant partners, Just Eat has also partnered with Apple TV, XBox, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Alexa to allow consumers order takeaways.
Just Eat UK managing director Graham Corfield said: “We are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to use technology to offer more choice, ease or simply to make the takeaway experience more enjoyable.
“One-wave-wand-ordering is very exciting technology. It takes that feel-good moment of being able to order your favourite meal at the touch of a button to the next level. It’s still very much at trial stage, but it has the potential to make mealtimes magical.”
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