A sensor device (8, 15, 20) for monitoring the volume of granular food or candy contained in a pick-and-mix container (2), wherein the sensor device (8, 15, 20) comprises at least one pair of electrodes (10, 11), a capacitance meter (12) and a controller (13). The capacitance meter (12) is connected to the at least one pair (9, 16) of electrodes (10, 11, 17, 18) and operable to measure the capacitance over the at least one pair (9, 16) of electrodes (10, 11, 17, 18) to produce an output indicative of the capacitance through the container (2). The controller (13) is operable to determine and report a content level of the container (2) based on at least the output of the capacitance meter (12) and calibration data related to the type of container and/or to the type of content, and/or operable to monitor the output of the capacitance meter (12) to determine a state of low content level based on at least the output of the capacitance meter (12) and calibration data related to the type of container and/or to the type of content, and to emit an alert signal upon determination of said state of low content level.

A sensor device (8, 15, 20) for monitoring the volume of granular food or candy contained in a pick-and-mix container (2), wherein the sensor device (8, 15, 20) comprises at least one pair of electrodes (10, 11), a capacitance meter (12) and a controller (13). The capacitance meter (12) is connected to the at least one pair (9, 16) of electrodes (10, 11, 17, 18) and operable to measure the capacitance over the at least one pair (9, 16) of electrodes (10, 11, 17, 18) to produce an output indicative of the capacitance through the container (2). The controller (13) is operable to determine and report a content level of the container (2) based on at least the output of the capacitance meter (12) and calibration data related to the type of container and/or to the type of content, and/or operable to monitor the output of the capacitance meter (12) to determine a state of low content level based on at least the output of the capacitance meter (12) and calibration data related to the type of container and/or to the type of content, and to emit an alert signal upon determination of said state of low content level.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes an automated delivery system apparatus comprising a mechanical guide, a movable unit coupled to the guide on a first surface, and an engaging unit configured to couple to a second surface separated from the first surface by a thickness. The engaging unit is configured to engage an item on the second surface. A magnetic binding force between the movable unit and engaging unit moves the engaging unit along a path corresponding to a path of the movable unit. The engaging unit moves an item along a least a portion of the path.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a granule dispenser comprising a container for holding granulated components, a cap coupled to a bottom of said container, and a stopper. The stopper may be spring loaded against the ridge of said cap. An interface between the stopper and the cap comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of sawtooth forms, wherein the protrusions mate to a base portion between the sawtooth forms in a first position to form a seal between the cap and the stopper, and wherein, when the stopper is rotated, the protrusions engage a sloped portion of the sawtooth forms to create a plurality of openings between the cap and the stopper.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes an automated food production kiosk. Embodiments of a kiosk may comprise a robotic system having a reach. A plurality of food ingredient dispensers may be configured around the robotic system. Each dispenser may have a physical interface within a reach of the robotic system to receive an item. One or more physical processing units have a physical interface within the reach of the robotic system to receive the item. The kiosk may prepare food items under control of a local server, a cloud server, or both, for example.

An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

An improved dispenser unit for dispensing bulk food items, including a cabinet having at least one hopper having a drum with product compartments, a deflector and flexible gate valve, a dispense assembly, and a control system. The dispense assembly may or may not include one or more belts and/or sensors. The product compartments include flexible and/or elastic membranes, which dynamically change the effective product storage volume within a compartment, and eliminate rigid or semi-rigid pinch points between the drum and drum compartment. A product flow divider may be positioned above the receiving container in the dispense assembly, said divider configured to cause the dispensed product to divide into two or more flow streams into the receiving container. The receiving container may be vibrated or oscillated.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a solid dispenser comprising a dispensing element and a housing. The dispensing element includes a plurality of blades extending from a cylindrical base. In one example embodiment, the blades are separated by 90 degrees to form channels from an upper opening in the housing to a lower opening in the housing. A hopper for storing items to be dispensed may be configured on one side of the dispenser, and a trap for controlling the flow of dispensed items may be configured on the other side of the dispenser. In one embodiment, the dispenser is controlled by motors coupled to a server as part of a fully automated cloud controlled robotic food preparation system, where each dispenser may accurately deliver different quantities of ingredients for different orders.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a solid dispenser comprising a dispensing element and a housing. The dispensing element includes a plurality of blades extending from a cylindrical base. In one example embodiment, the blades are separated by 90 degrees to form channels from an upper opening in the housing to a lower opening in the housing. A hopper for storing items to be dispensed may be configured on one side of the dispenser, and a trap for controlling the flow of dispensed items may be configured on the other side of the dispenser. In one embodiment, the dispenser is controlled by motors coupled to a server as part of a fully automated cloud controlled robotic food preparation system, where each dispenser may accurately deliver different quantities of ingredients for different orders.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a cloud computer system for controlling a plurality of remote devices comprising a cloud server including a cloud based operating system comprising a data model stored in a computer memory. The data model includes commands that may be performed by a plurality of remote devices in a remote system and, for each remote device, one or more operations for triggering processes executed by the remote device. The cloud based operating system generates a set of instructions from the plurality of commands and corresponding operations to control a portion of the remote devices to perform a task.