1) Introduction and Background [ATD]

Our team was inspired to aid the restaurant industry, particularly the many repetitive tasks that restaurant workers have to complete every day as they prepare and cook food for guests. Many restaurants have furthermore been plagued by short staffing issues since the beginning of the pandemic, so automation of the most repetitive tasks could hopefully allow these restaurants to increase their food output, decrease prices, and better serve the community, despite industry-wide issues.

To achieve this, we developed a mechanism that distributes toppings onto a plate of food by carrying a container over the full plate and shaking it periodically. This mechanism is versatile and can be used to distribute a range of toppings, from parmesan on pizza to spices on steak. The device is designed to run efficiently on a single motor, with its power transferred throughout the whole device to produce each output action.

Our team sized the mechanism such that it would be feasible to build within our allotted time and budget, as well as be portable. However, future versions of the device could be scaled up to accommodate larger dishes.