What is ScoopScale?
ScoopScale is a weighing station for food outlets that checks portions against the order. A staff member scans the order QR, places a cup, and the scale tares it. Each scoop is weighed and compared with the target weight for that item. The station then checks pack barcodes and uploads the results. We built it for Natural Ice Cream.
It is a unit in daily use at an outlet; pilot rollout planned.
Why weigh portions at all?
Portion control decides margin. If a scoop runs 10 percent heavy across a day of orders, the outlet gives away stock. If it runs light, guests notice. Counting orders does not catch either problem, because the order says “two scoops” whatever the scoops weigh.
A scale that knows the order can catch both. It compares the real weight with the target for the exact item on the bill, and it records the result against that order.
How does a weighing session work?
A session follows the order, step by step. The steps are short, because staff work at speed.
- Scan the order QR, which tells the station what the order contains.
- Place the empty cup and let the station tare it.
- Add each scoop and watch the weight against the target for that item.
- Scan the pack barcodes to confirm the right packs go in the right order.
- Finish the order. The station stores the result and uploads it.
Results sit in a local queue if the outlet’s connection drops, and upload when it returns. Staff never wait for the network to finish an order.
What is in the next-generation design?
A second design is ready but not yet manufactured. We are clear about this status. It exists as design files and checks, not as a batch of units.
- A custom ESP32 carrier board designed in KiCad. Design-rule checks pass, and factory files are ready for JLCPCB.
- Parametric 3D-printed enclosures, with checks for spill-proofing, since ice cream outlets are wet places.
- Signed over-the-air firmware updates with automatic rollback, delivered over encrypted MQTT.
Signed updates mean a station only accepts firmware that we have signed. Automatic rollback means a bad update returns the unit to the last working version without a visit to the outlet.
How does it connect to the rest of the system?
ScoopScale reads the order from the same platform that runs billing. The order QR links the weighing session to the bill, so results appear against the right order and the right outlet. This is why we describe it as part of the Restrologic POS ecosystem, though the station is its own device.
You can read about the wider rollout in our Natural Ice Cream case study. The story of taking a bench prototype to a working outlet is in from weighing station prototype to outlet.
Can we build something similar for you?
Yes. Weighing, scanning, counting and sensing problems share the same ingredients: a microcontroller, a sensor, firmware that copes with poor networks, an enclosure that survives the floor, and software on the other end. We design the board, print the enclosure, write the firmware and build the cloud side.
Our hardware and IoT service describes how a project runs, from a bench prototype to a pilot at your site. A pilot at one site first is our usual advice, since real conditions teach more than a lab.
What we do not claim
We keep claims small. ScoopScale is not deployed across many outlets today. One unit is in daily use at an outlet, and a pilot rollout is planned. If you want to see it, or discuss a pilot at your own outlets, ask us and we will tell you what is ready and what is not.
Talk to us
Tell us what you need to measure and where. We will reply with a view on whether a pilot makes sense. Call or WhatsApp Deepak on +91 70275 16740, or write to deepak@restrologic.com.