MenuVista, the thesis project of ITP student Chia-wei Chang, gives restaurant customers a preview of their orders by projecting photos of the meal on their empty plates. Besides, the system allows them to modify their orders by using a projected menu with a touch sensor interface which includes menu text and food images.

On the restaurant table, a blinking icon invites you to START ORDERING. You touch the start icon and the titles of each category of the menu appear. By touching the icons projected on the table, the image of the dish selected will be projected on your plate. You can also modify the dishes and hit the “Pick this” icon to have the image of the dish stay on the plate. If you’re happy with it, just touch the “Complete Order” icon. A summary of your order will show up, so are the options of changing the orders.

System: a hanging projector above the table projects the images of the menu and dishes images. QProx sensors beneath the table catch the touching movement from the users. The PIC connected to the QProx will send out message through CoBox to a Flash movie to trigger the reactions.

Chang’s work will be at the ITP show on May 10 and 11, but you can get a preview of it today at 12,20 by checking the live webcast of his project.