About 67,000 food services pros from around the globe converged on Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center for the National Restaurant Association’s annual trade show in late May. These are the people who own, manage, buy and sell for some of the industry’s largest brands, and those that we spoke to had questions about technology that blurs lines between business solutions and consumer electronics.

Major food service businesses are increasing investments in technology as a way to improve convenience and the customer experience. They’re also trying new digital endeavors to appeal to a fresh crop of eaters seeking better quality food and an experience that incorporates their gadgets. Whether it’s a tablet-based POS software or an app that allows customers to engage with restaurants on their mobile devices, restaurants are moving toward technologies that look more and more like the tech consumers use in their daily lives. Here’s a look a few other of the most interesting ideas from the show.

1. Co-operative innovation

Some very exciting ideas in food service come from startups, and Panasonic has a track record of working with small companies to provide end-to-end solutions to customers. It benefits the entrepreneur who has an innovation, but may be struggling to bring it to the marketplace or to introduce it to more customers. The small company gains exposure to the engineering and tech resources of a global organization. Perhaps the biggest winner is the food service provider because it sees a steady stream of solutions that can help to increase customer engagement. Panasonic’s work with entrepreneurs take different forms, from partnerships to investments to acquisitions. One such example is Quick Service Software Inc., known for back office software to manage information from the POS and aid in all aspects of managing a quick service restaurant.

2. Immersive tech

For example, those who visited the Panasonic booth this year were able to experience the company’s own twist on this concept with our LinkRay technology. Using visible light communication, LinkRay delivers mobile content by enabling ordinary smartphones to read IDs sent from LED transmitters, such as displays, signboards and spotlights, and to connect to associated mobile content. Applied to restaurants, this technology allows consumers to view expanded menus, nutrition information and even order from their smart phones.

3. Step savers and other productivity hacks

Upscale dining at the movies is a trend sweeping across the U.S., according to Nation’s Restaurant News, which reports that foodservice spending at movie theaters has risen 20 percent compared with a year ago. “Many major movie-theater chains now offer full chef-driven menus complete with alcoholic beverages and seat-side service,” according to the article. One such trendsetter is Flix Brewhouse, which welcomes people with craft beers, fresh and familiar food and blockbuster movies.

To simplify the serving process—and help prevent servers from interrupt action scenes on the big screen—Flix Brewhouse introduced to its locations a feature-packed tablet that would integrate with our existing network infrastructure and most importantly to have ruggedization—and to last–without trading off features.

By allowing its servers to present the check and take the payment all with the same device in a single stop at the table, it saves the time that goes into the back-and-forth between dropping the check, returning to pick up the payment, walking to the credit card machine and running the payment before, finally, dropping off the completed bill for the customer to sign and leave a tip. Matthew Baizer, COO of Flix Brewhouse, say that technology provided an opportunity to increase speed of service at their locations.

“We’ve seen our guest satisfaction and speed of service scores escalate a lot,” Mr. Baizer says.

With this technologies becoming more commonplace while also making transactions easier for both consumers and businesses alike, it seems a pretty safe bet that restaurant technologies will continue to make their way from the kitchen to the other side of the counter. Automation will become a larger part in creating a seamless experience for QSR customers.

The newest generation delivers a preview of attitudes and expectations about technology and service.

Move over millennials, restaurants are open for Gen Z. This is the generation born between 1996 and 2012. Although experts debate the exact start and end years, they all agree Gen Z is big: two billion worldwide, and about one-quarter of the North America population. The oldest among Gen Z can work, vote and drive.

This generation was born after the Internet came to life. Many navigated toddlerhood with the help of a tablet. They love YouTube how-tos and are globally connected via social media.

Gen Z displays characteristics significant to the restaurant industry, according to QSR magazine: “For those in this group of digital natives and mobile accelerators, technology is everywhere and practically invisible. The implications are far-ranging.”

One example: In a national study by the Center of Generational Kinetics, half (50%) of Gen Z respondents said they use their phone to comparison shop.

Mississauga is one of Canada’s most youthful cities, where about one quarter of all residents represent Gen Z. Some of the area’s quick service restaurants are already adjusting. Awiter Yaacoub manages the bustling Tim Hortons, which opened late last year. "We are getting busier every week – people come because we can serve them faster and faster every day," he says.

Finding ways to win and hold the attention of the newest generation is important to the restaurant industry, especially quick service and fast casual, which have long held a special place for teens and young adults. To garner loyalty, restaurants often turn to technology. But technology only works when well executed. Panasonic is the integrated solutions provider that delivers results for Tim Hortons, McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and other retailers that use technology to enhance the lives of guests they serve. We do this by harnessing a broad set of disruptive technologies that inspire and amaze – from mobile real-time computing to artificial intelligence and robotics. Here’s a look at a few innovations and ideas exciting Gen Z.

1. Customer choice

With customers demanding more choice and control, some of the biggest names in food are turning to digital self-order kiosks to give people a choice in how they interact with the restaurant. Kiosks allow consumers to customize and pay for their meal and choose to pick it up, or have it served to them. Restaurants like kiosks because consumers tend to place bigger orders when using touchscreens. In some places kiosks are so popular that restaurants are experimenting with touchscreen ordering at the drive-thru.

2. Why wait?

In the national study, Gen Zers said kids should receive a smartphone at an earlier age than any previous generation. Some 18% said middle schoolers should have one. It’s a trend that could be used to drive down wait times. Mobile apps with ordering, payment and tracking capabilities so a patron can see where their order is in the prep process, and arrive when it’s ready, are driving down wait times and bolstering sales. Ditto for tablets that are lightweight, rugged (protected against drops and spills) and take payments anywhere the consumer happens to be standing.

3. Forecasting their iced coffee, before they order

Restaurants use a secret sauce to guide data collection and analysis to make sure patrons receive what they want, when they want it. Clearview by Panasonic is a highly flexible and scalable web-based solution for financial, supply and labor management. It collects data on everything from workforce scheduling to food orders, which is mixed with social data and info search activity – like when someone uses a handheld to find the closest cafe. (Word of caution – more than half of Gen Z is concerned about web and mobile privacy, according to the study.) To the data mix, operators add a pinch of AI to figure out how much milk, coffee and sugar to have on hand so that busy Gen Zer can get a cup of coffee, even if they pull up behind buses carrying a baseball team.