IoT in the Kitchen, AI at the Drive-Thru

Hello readers,

Welcome to the IoT For All newsletter! This week we’re talking about how IoT is laying the groundwork for McDonald’s upcoming AI push, bringing LPWAN to industrial IoT, and more.

IoT in the kitchen, AI at the drive-thru

Quick-service restaurants have always lived or died on speed and consistency. Now McDonald’s is betting that AI and IoT can deliver both at levels humans alone can’t match. Its new digital transformation initiative, branded “Digitizing the Arches,” shows the potential for edge computing and connected devices to power predictive AI systems that keep operations running smoothly.

At the restaurant level, McDonald’s is bringing edge computing into its kitchens via a Google Cloud partnership and rolling out a series of AI-powered features backed by IoT data. Sensors on essential devices like fryers and McFlurry machines feed data into AI-powered predictive maintenance models, geofencing features leverage location data from customers’ apps to alert workers when pickup is imminent, and security camera feeds and smart scales back AI-order checking at drive-thrus.

Then, there’s the delicate process of rolling out pilot programs for voice AI at the drive-through in an attempt to speed up interactions without adding crew stress. Broadly the hope is that technology takes pressure off front-line staff, rather than adding complexity.

Behind the scenes, at the corporate level, McDonald’s is also retiring hundreds of legacy HR and finance systems and consolidating into a single global cloud platform. And while that may seem mundane, even incremental efficiency gains add up fast in an enterprise with tens of thousands of locations. The process is already underway, with McDonald’s already trialing AI order verification at 400 restaurants, with plans to scale up to 40,000 by 2027.

Of course these applications aren’t a novel idea. Starbucks, for instance, has been using IoT sensors to gather and process data on each pull of espresso for the better part of half a decade. Competing chains like Wendy’s and Taco Bell have already been testing AI in the drive-thru for at least a year. Digital transformation is not some cutting edge BLBH; it’s table stakes.

But while AI can promise smarter kitchens and smoother customer experiences, without real-world data streams, it’s all just theoretical. IoT sensors, geofencing, and connected equipment are what ground those algorithms in reality—making sure the predictions match the fries on the tray.

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