Stage Precision powers AI-inspired restaurant, Woohoo

Stage Precision, a software and hardware platform developer that bridges the gap between technology and creativity, has supplied its SP Grid control platform to Woohoo, a restaurant concept driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

The restaurant in Downtown Dubai is based on the concept of humans and AI working together, and has been delivered by content creation, system design and integration specialists Vivid Studio.

Woohoo's menu is developed by the AI-powered Chef Aiman, then prepared by highly trained chefs and delivered by serving staff in an AI-inspired dining room with AI-generated visual content.

Yuri Stranyov, lead engineer at Vivid Studio, says: "The owner of the restaurant and the owner of Vivid Studio collaborated on this idea of an AI chef and restaurant and played around with ideas of how the concept might work.

"We had already been using SP, and more recently SP Grid, in our own virtual production studio, so when it came to thinking about the ‘brain’ that would be in the middle of all the lighting, audio and video, I knew SP Grid was the best data management solution available."

Powering parallel universes

The concept, which includes lighting components, large-scale LED visuals, and spatial audio, was to create a restaurant in which these experiential elements are controlled by AI.

"The restaurant’s AI agent does the set-up for the day, choosing the order and timing of the different visual and audio elements, which we refer to as ‘parallel universes’," says Stranyov.

"Together with the Stage Precision team, we wrote a custom plug-in with SP Grid’s Python-scripting features to connect the AI-agent to the AVLM workflow, allowing it to manage the day-to-day running of the restaurant system."

The system comprises eight media servers that deliver bespoke content, large LED screens, lighting elements, and a network of 46 loudspeakers, with TiMax spatial audio processing for an immersive audio experience.

The AI agent maintains a ‘uniqueness’ to the order of the day’s content, and generates its own content while the restaurant is closed. This content is then reviewed by the team before being added to the catalogue of visuals and audio that the AI agent can choose from.

Although AI runs the systems, the robust server infrastructure and the integration of hardware and software have been delivered by the Vivid Studio team, using SP Grid as their foundation.

Low-code/no-code platform

Stranyov used SP Grid from the initial ideation and experimentation phase.

"The whole logic was created in Grid Studio initially, where we built the workflows and set up state machine calendars.

"It is convenient, and the user experience for me setting it up is very much based on human logic. You connect things together, and it works. If it doesn’t work, it’s easy to change things, and if you need to make something work together, programming is much easier than you would expect."

SP Grid’s low-code/no-code platform facilitated the integration of the AI agent and the ChamSys lighting system, enabling the creation of bespoke plug-ins to bring these AVLM elements into the master control system.

"For people who can’t code, there is the possibility of building real custom solutions easily with SP Grid," says Stranyov.

Although predominantly AI-controlled, Woohoo is staffed by humans. Vivid Studio used the custom UI creation tools in SP Grid to create a human-friendly interface that enables straightforward control of the AVLM system.

"This was my first time building any kind of UI, and SP Grid made it easier than I could have imagined.

"Custom variables can be dragged across and appear as UIs. Sliders, triggers and buttons just look great and work perfectly. It’s really user-friendly to create these in Grid Viewer iPad app, which we could do in advance in the studio before moving on-site."

A large touchscreen displays the UI and allows team members to turn the system on or override the AI-powered sequence for DJ nights and special events.

Versatile licensing system

A standout feature for the team at Vivid Studio is SP Grid’s unique licensing system. By allowing users to add credits as projects grow in complexity, the platform offers a more equitable way to create AVLM environments.

"It’s one of the best things I’ve seen in our industry," says Stranyov.

"You pay for exactly the connections and devices you need to use, and this kind of licensing is very attractive both to and to our customers. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in the multimedia world, and it’s definitely the way forward."

SP Grid makes experience building more intuitive, user-friendly and cost-efficient.

Other key features that cement the tool's fail-safe reputation include remote monitoring, which keeps users informed of system stats and performance. Additionally, the Stage Precision Slack support channel allows real-time troubleshooting, with near-immediate responses from the Stage Precision team.

A project that started with a single AI character, Chef Aiman, has now become a complete dining experience and will continue to evolve.

As the lighting, sound and visuals cycle through various ‘parallel universes’ selected by the restaurant’s own AI agent, SP Grid serves as the single point of control and automation for the AVLM system, receiving commands from the AI agent to trigger different sequences.

Looking ahead, Woohoo and Vivid Studio will continue to explore the possibilities of AI agent automation and SP Grid, with upcoming innovations including different user interfaces, for example, tailored to DJs, facilities staff and cleaners.

"SP Grid touches every element of the Woohoo project," says Stranyov.

"From the restaurant experience control, to using SP in our VR studio to create podcast episodes with Chef Aiman, it plays a crucial role at Woohoo. It’s flexible, and it can pretty much handle anything you want it to. There’s nothing better than SP Grid for building these experiences."

Earlier this year, Stage Precision showcased SP Grid at ISE 2026 in Barcelona.