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| The T1 Connection Booth is a durable interactive table integrated with a touch screen tabletop, audio system and high-definition video screen, designed for use in restaurants, bars and nightclubs. |
T1 Visions LLC, a technology company that specializes in interactive touch screen solutions for restaurants, recently exhibited at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show in Chicago, where Mike Feldman, company president and inventor of the T1 Connection Booth, discussed what’s new in technology for restaurants at the kick-off panel discussion titled “Fresh Approaches in Foodservice IT.”
Formed in 2007 in Huntersville, N.C., T1 Visions is the latest venture for Feldman, a successful information technology entrepreneur. Along with his former partner, Jim Morris, Feldman invented The Connection Booth, a durable interactive table integrated with a touch screen tabletop, audio system and high-definition video screen, designed for use in restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
The patent-pending T1 Connection Booth has a large, multi-user touch screen seamlessly incorporated into a dining table that fits into a standard restaurant booth. Interactive electronic menus are programmed into the touch-surface computer, giving customers detailed information about food, drinks and pricing. Built into the wall at the end of the booth are a full 1080p HD screen and a port box equipped with plug-in hardware to accommodate a variety of personal electronic devices, including iPods, iPhones and MP3 players. Audio speakers are built into the high-backed booth seats.
Patrons seated in a T1 Connection Booth can each customize their environment by choosing individual audio and visual settings. They can listen to music, view photos or videos directly from their own personal electronic devices or play a series of engaging interactive games. Libraries of music, photographs, YouTube videos and music videos also are stored in the booth’s computer, offering additional audio and visual entertainment. Business customers can connect their laptops to give presentations to clients on the large HD wall monitor.
“There have been many innovations in personal media technology that isolate people, but few encourage people to spend time together,” said Feldman. “Our T1 Connection Booth technology brings all the fun and excitement of cutting-edge personal electronic devices to a social setting where people can connect with each other while also enjoying food and drink.”
T1 Visions’ surface computing technology, which is based on Apple’s Mac Computer products, has considerable size and cost advantages over other comparable technologies, such as Microsoft’s Surface, according to the company. Its products have the industry’s thinnest form factor at less than 2 inches thick and cost 50 percent less than comparable technologies, the company added.
The Connection Booth is currently in use at T1 Visions’ T1 Tapas restaurant in Huntersville, N.C., which serves as a showcase and market research lab for T1 Visions’ products.
The T1 Connection Booth also is in use at Harper’s Restaurants’ South Park location in Charlotte, N.C., and is currently being installed at Cowfish, a new restaurant in Charlotte. T1 Visions also designed and built the digital signs and displays for Charlotte’s just-opened NASCAR Hall of Fame museum and the Charlotte Convention Center.