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If you’re an adult with disabilities, what do you get when you combine a Cuban-American bakery chain known for its pastelitos and café Cubano, the latest augmented reality (AR) technology and a color-coded baking system?
A recipe for success — and a potential career.
That’s the formula Pinecrest Bakery (Pinecrestbakery.com), Florida’s largest 24-hour bakery chain — with 20 locations in the Florida Keys and South Florida — is counting on as it continues its expansion with a new, 2,500-square-foot training center geared to turning adults with disabilities into bakers.
“We’re in the midst of converting one of our bakeries into a training facility and school to assist adults with autism and others with disabilities begin a meaningful career as bakers,” said Gladys Valdes, who, along with husband Efrain, founded Pinecrest Bakery in 2012.
“One of the keys to success in the bakery business — or any business for that matter — is product consistency. By using technology such as augmented reality, we’ll be able to train all of our bakers to make certain our recipes are followed on a consistent basis.”
The training facility, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, could encompass up to 12 bakery “students” per class.
One of the key ingredients in the Pinecrest success recipe is San Francisco-based Scope AR (Scopear.com), a global leader in augmented reality solutions and a recognized pioneer in utilizing AR for industry support and training. Utilizing Scope AR’s WorkLink Platform, Pinecrest bakers will wear Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 (Microsoft.com) mixed reality device preloaded with all of Pinecrest’s mouth-watering recipes.
Then, with a color-coded baking system that Miami-based non-profit Piece of Cake Bakers (Pieceofcakebakers.com) — another part of the success recipe — has used to train people with disabilities, Pinecrest’s bakers will be able to visualize each step in creating the wide range of pastries and other foods for which the family-owned bakery is famous.
“Our platform, while not built for this purpose, is able to serve a revolutionary solution for what Pinecrest Bakery is trying to accomplish,” said Scott Montgomerie, Scope AR co-founder and CEO. “We’re delighted that AR can help bakers, including those with disabilities, to easily follow the step-by-step recipes and achieve outstanding quality throughout the entire process.”
According to Edwin Rivera, president of CG1(Cg1solutions.com), a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and a Scope AR Systems Integration Partner heading up the project, the Pinecrest application has far-reaching implications.
“This proof of concept will go a long way to showing the many benefits of AR in training across a variety of industries, not just food prep,” said Rivera, a recognized AR expert whose more than a decade in Augmented Reality includes projects for Walmart, Marvel and Disney. “Using Scope AR’s platform and Microsoft’s HoloLens is ideal because it provides employers with a training tool that allows their people to learn and operate in a hands-free environment. No manuals to print, update and so forth. You simply put the HoloLens on and everything you need is right there in front of you.”
For more information, visit https://www.scopear.com/partner-charliegolfone/.
