INITIALIZING AURA
Harmonizing Robotics, IoT & Real-Time Intelligence
AURA automates ordering, kitchen communication, billing, and customer interaction — seamlessly reducing waiting times, elevating the experience, and maximizing operational efficiency.
AURA is an intelligent robotic dining assistant and integrated restaurant management platform designed to modernize the dine-in food service industry. It combines social robotics with IoT connectivity and a real-time software ecosystem.
Through AURA, guests can browse visual menus, customize and place orders instantly, track food preparation, and settle bills — all from their table. Orders transmit directly to the kitchen in real time, eliminating communication delays and human errors.
Robot physically turns toward the customer, fostering natural engagement
"Hey AURA, what are today's specials?" — hands-free ordering
AURA smiles for photos and provides branded digital frames
AURA goes beyond digital ordering — introducing advanced interactive hardware & software capabilities.
Advanced touch sensors make the robot physically turn toward the customer upon interaction, creating a natural and engaging dynamic.
Analyzes cart, time of day, and context to suggest high-margin add-ons — AURA acts as your restaurant's most effective salesperson.
"Hey AURA, can we get another round of drinks?" — natural language voice commands remove friction and encourage spontaneous ordering.
Integrated camera analyzes expressions in real-time — offering assistance for confusion or suggesting items if the customer appears undecided.
Fully localized visual menus in English, Sinhala, and Tamil — all guests navigate comfortably without language barriers.
Background music, interactive mini-games while food is prepared, and automated Birthday Celebration Mode with screen animations.
A look at the AURA platform — from concept to prototype.(will be added soon)
A three-layer IoT architecture — robot nodes, messaging broker, and central intelligence.
RPi 4 powered units at each table. Handles UI rendering, computer vision, servo control, and PIR detection autonomously.
Paho-MQTT pub/sub messaging over Wi-Fi. Real-time order events flow between all robot nodes and the central server.
AWS-hosted backend with PostgreSQL. Aggregates orders, powers kitchen display, owner dashboard, and exposes REST APIs.
From sit-down to kitchen notification — a seamless automated flow.
PIR motion sensor wakes AURA. Camera activates, OpenCV begins face detection, servos align toward the customer.
Touchscreen displays visual menus with categories and prices. Customers customize orders via touch or voice.
JSON-encoded order with table ID published to the MQTT broker instantly over Wi-Fi — zero manual steps.
Flask server receives, stores in SQLite, and pushes to the kitchen display. AURA confirms with lights & voice.
Every tool, framework, and component powering the AURA ecosystem.
Core Technologies
Robot / Embedded
Communication
Backend & Cloud
AI / Vision / Voice
Frontend
Software Environment
Hardware Components
Detailed component-level cost breakdown for one AURA robotic unit.
| # | Item | Qty | Unit Price (LKR) | Total (LKR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raspberry Pi 4B (4 GB) | 1 | 28,000 | 28,000 |
| 2 | 7-inch IPS Touch Display | 1 | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| 3 | Raspberry Pi Camera Module (V2) | 1 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 4 | Pan/Tilt Servo Mechanism | 1 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| 5 | Servo Motors (MG90S) | 2 | 1,500 | 3,000 |
| 6 | 2W Speaker (MIT M38) | 1 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 7 | Lithium-ion Battery (10,000 mAh) | 1 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| 8 | 18650 UPS Shield X703 | 1 | 6,500 | 6,500 |
| 9 | 0.9" TFT Display | 2 | 890 | 1,780 |
| 10 | MPR121 Capacitive Touch Controller | 1 | 540 | 540 |
| Grand Total | 68,520 | |||
Final-year Computer Engineering undergraduates, University of Peradeniya.
Lecturer, University of Peradeniya
Faculty of Engineering · University of Peradeniya · 2025 / 2026
