French Leisure Park “Futuroscope” endorses AURES POS technologies and deploys over 220 YUNO touch point of sale systems
Opened in 1987 near Poitiers in France, “Futuroscope” is the first of France’s major theme & leisure parks. With more than forty attractions focused on technology, science and space – and nearly two million visitors each year, the site is continuing to develop and is looking ahead to the coming years with an ambitious expansion plan called “Vision 2025”.
To support its projects, the Park’s IT Department has chosen AURES’ YUNO point-of-sale touch systems, of which over 220 units have already been deployed in all of the site’s restaurants, shops and ticketing points.
75 operational YUNO touch systems with integrated RFID readers in the “Space Loop” Restaurant and the “Pilots’ Bar”
Opened last spring, the “Space Loop” is the only “rollercoaster” restaurant in France; with 208 seats, its hi-tech, interplanetary and futuristic themed atmosphere offers its customers much more than a gustatory experience!
The « Space Loop » Concept
Helder FERNANDES LEITAO, Head of Catering and Shops at the Park, explains the exclusive positioning and operation of the “Space Loop”:
“After placing your order on the touch screen of the YUNO (AURES) system in front of you, on your table, using a dedicated RFID card which allows you to select the dishes (and records them for payment at the cash desk at the end of the meal), you then witness the incredible and spectacular spectacle of the dishes flying through the restaurant at full speed, via a system of sprawling “rollercoaster-like” rails. The food literally flies through the air, looping in all directions, before arriving safely on your table, right in front of your plate; all you have to do is grab the dish intended for you, open it and enjoy! There is no risk of your plate being “upside down” after such an aerial journey, because these special cases are hermetically sealed and protected, so that the contents arrive at their destination perfectly presentable.
Whether it’s our exclusive rail system for transporting the dishes or the IT solutions for taking orders, we had to operate this new catering concept from A to Z as early as 2021, by means of tests in a remote laboratory; as we serve up to 1,000 and even 1,100 guests a day (in summer, for example), we had to secure the entire system before opening to the public,” he concludes.
A customised POS order-taking solution
“Finding the ideal POS IT solution for taking orders at the table at the “Space Loop” was not easy”, explains Fabrice GAGNAIRE, in charge of the project within the “Futuroscope” IT department.
“We needed a customised touch solution that could be perfectly integrated into the restaurant’s specific rollercoaster system, with an RFID reader on each screen. Initially, we considered a tablet system (mobile POS), but this proved to be unsuitable for our needs and objectives.
Reliability and durability in a harsh environment
“In the hospitality and food service industry, with thousands of customers passing through the “Space Loop”, we required POS systems that were very hardened (and durable), reliable over time – with highly responsive touch screens that were also resistant to splashes of liquids, grease – and possible food waste. This is the case with the YUNO from AURES, which provides us with all the guarantees in this respect.
A screen format that adapts to the ergonomics of the restaurant’s tables and of its rollercoaster system
In addition, the screens of these POS systems had to be neither too wide nor too high, so that we could integrate them into our huge food transport system; if they were too high, they would not have fitted easily under the rails of our rollercoaster food transport system; if they were too wide, we would not have been able to place enough of them around each table. For this reason, we selected the AURES YUNO systems in a 4:3 format (16:9 was not suitable for our application for the reasons mentioned above).
Integrated and invisible RFID reader on the front
“In addition to the reliability and robustness of the equipment we wanted to deploy, we were looking for POS solutions with integrated RFID readers, which are necessary for reading the cards that allow us to take orders on the screen; most POS system manufacturers offer external RFID readers or devices that are attached to the screen; For several ergonomic and aesthetic reasons, we did not want bulky or protruding external peripherals, nor unsightly boxes that produce a “wart” effect on the edges of the system; on the one hand, this would not have been aesthetically pleasing, and on the other hand, our technical constraints and our imperatives in terms of use and ergonomics (little space available around the screens on the tables) did not allow us to accommodate such… “protuberances”.
At “Futuroscope”, we are very attentive to all the details that can affect our customer experience, in the park and its attractions, in the restaurants and in the shops; our POS IT projects also do not allow for any ad hoc solutions; we therefore did everything possible to find the right POS manufacturer who could respond precisely to all the points in our specifications; the meticulous design and the ergonomic and aesthetic appearance of the AURES terminals, with their integrated RFID readers that are invisible on the front of the screens, corresponded perfectly to our needs and expectations.
“We are very satisfied with our partnership with AURES Technologies” concludes Jérôme NEVEUX, Head of Press and Public Relations at “Futuroscope”. “POS IT project management is one of the key elements in our infrastructure challenges and one of the major elements to take into account in order to perfect our customer experience and to project ourselves into the future with our current expansion projects.”
The “Futuroscope” ‘s commercial spaces equipped with YUNO POS systems are as follows:
- The “Space Loop” restaurant and the “Pilots’ Bar”, (both adjacent and part of the new “Cosmos Hotel”) (approximately 75 POS terminals deployed);
- All the other restaurants and food service outlets in the park (approximately 80 outlets);
- The 13 shops in the park (i.e. 45 YUNO systems) as well as the 25 ticketing points;
The AURES systems deployed are operational thanks to different vertical software versions of the X GIL Group’s REST’OFFICE platform (catering, retail applications, etc.) as well as Vivaticket’s Vision platform for the ticketing part.
