Domino's launches high-tech solution to common pizza gripe

Domino's will soon start using AI to access if your pizza is up to scratch. Photo / Bloomberg

Are you tired of opening a pizza box to discover a meagre serving of your favourite topping? Do you hate when the best bits are all on one slice, or worst of all, when it's cold?

Domino's believes it has the answer, with new technology that is set to ensure every pizza has the correct toppings and an even spread of ingredients.

It will also assess whether your Margherita or Supreme is the right temperature and looks exactly how it's supposed to look.

The Pizza Checker takes a photo with a camera that sits above the cutting board in Domino's stores and uses artificial intelligence to assess whether it's up to scratch.

The results are sent to the store manager, and a photo of a pizza can also be sent to the customer, along with a notification if their pizza has failed the quality test and needs to be remade.

The system designed to appease the picky pizza lover is being trialled at one store as the first step in a project to automate quality control.

Domino's plans to start rolling out the system across Australia in 2018, and has struck a 12-month global exclusivity agreement with the developer of the technology, Dragontail Systems, to roll it out at stores overseas.

Chief executive Don Meij said Pizza Checker is a "virtual trainer" which will lift standards and lead to a reduction in customers rejecting their pizza, or being disappointed with their purchase.

"It will dramatically improve the quality and consistency of handmade pizzas - cooked and cut to perfection," he said.

ASX-listed Dragontail Systems will use Google AI software to enhance the machine's capability.

"Dragontail is the pioneer but it has been a joint collaboration," Mr Meij said. "The other partner in this is Google AI software which allows companies like Dragontail and Domino's to develop products more cost effectively rather than having a machine learning from scratch."

Domino's is Dragontail's first large-scale customer, after it tested its technology with a stand-alone pizza business in 2016. The Israeli based technology group wants to automate quality control at restaurants, starting with pizza chains.

The news emerged at Domino's annual general meeting, when it also revealed it would be rolling out new menus before the end of the year, featuring new ingredients and desserts.

An increase in staff wages is set to eat into Domino's revenue but the pizza maker has knocked back claims it will lead to more loss-making stores. Chief executive Don Meij said union claims that Domino's has been saving $35 million to $50 million a year on wages by sticking to an expired 2009 enterprise agreement were false.

The Fair Work Commission last week ordered the old agreement be terminated by January 24 next year and for workers to be paid award penalty rates and casual loadings.

The company reaffirmed expectations that underlying net profit would grow about 20 per cent in this fiscal year, Dow Jones reported.

Domino's said same-store sales had grown 4.5 per cent in its main Australia and New Zealand unit, 0.1 per cent in Japan and 8.5 per cent in Europe. It predicted that same-store sales would rise between 7 per cent and 9 per cent in Australia and New Zealand in the full fiscal year.

Despite the numbers, the company's shares have fallen more than 25 per cent this year to $48.10, reflecting concerns that it will be difficult for Domino's to continue its previous brisk pace of growth.