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The Vending Machines of the Future
JoshuaInNippon writes "Not sure what you're thirsty for? New vending machines in Shinagawa Station in Tokyo will tell you based on your age and gender. The machines, controlled by a centralized server, come equipped with sensors that recognize basic costumer information, and then provide recommendations alongside the list of available drinks. A massive 47-inch touch panel display is used in place of the typical button system, allowing for an automatic digital advertising mode when no people are directly in front of the machine." A Massachusetts-based vending machine company has even come up with a line of biometric snack machines that tie your thumbprint to a credit card.
Unless this technology can tell the machine just by sensing me that I want a martini, it's worthless. But that's just my 2 bits.
I am not a crackpot.
Uhm, how do you make any money off your vending machine if it's a horrendously over-engineered piece of expensive technology?
It is a trick so they can get rid of their stocks of a drink that is almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea.
almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea
You call me a pedant? I prefer the term "correct"
...would like to know how they knew who my costumer was!
A massive 47-inch touch panel display is used in place of the typical button system,
I wonder how many of these machines are going to get stolen?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
how long before kids fake it and buy bear or smokes?
How about Refreshing Crack!
I've got your sig, right here.
They sell bears in vending machines these days? I feel old.
We've had a rash of underagers buying bear around here recently. They think they're cute and cuddly and the next thing you know some 14 year old is mauled. It's tragic.
Warning! Children, listen to me. Only responsible adults should be in the market to buy a bear. This is no kids game.
I tried telling the machine my age and gender, and it just kept trying to sell me used panties!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
...if you take your martinis at a certain time of day.
Even easier if you don't - it could just suggest it to you every time it notices you coming up to it.
I have a feeling it will eventually be right.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
...Welcome back to the GAP.
How'd those assorted tank tops work out for you?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Until just a couple years ago they still had unregulated cigarette vending machines in Japan. Now the cigarette vending machines require something called a "taspo." These cards are free of charge by mail order with proof of ID, and "The smoker's picture will be on the card, although the vending machines will not be able to read the images, so they won't be able to tell if the customer is legitimate." Perhaps somebody from Japan can comment on the difficulty of obtaining a false taspo, but it doesn't sound terribly secure to me.
"Not sure what you're thirsty for? New vending machines in Shinagawa Station in Tokyo will tell you based on your age and gender.
Really? For drinks? I think it would be a better fit for their famed used panties machines...
I could never figure out the marketing angle on that one myself. Here's the obligatory wikipedia explanation.
Here in the states, we only have the right to bear arms, not to entire bears!
(Yes, according to phonics, "bear" should be pronounced like "dear" or "ear". Which is why I never put much credence in phonic. I think you mean "beer", which IS pronounced like "deer")
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
The machines, controlled by a centralized server, come equipped with sensors that recognize basic costumer information, and then provide recommendations along side the list of available drinks.
So... it can tell what Anime a cosplayer is into?
The machines, controlled by a centralized server, come equipped with sensors that recognize basic costumer information
There's a guy that is frequently seen around town here wearing either a) a kilt and full medieval highland get-up or b) a full-on Jack Sparrow pirate outfit. Wonder what he'd get from these machines?
You make MILLIONS of them.
In this case, it really helps if you start in Japan.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
So it's not enough that billions of people have been conned into believing that drinking sugar water with artificial colors and flavors, at upwards of 140 calories per serving, is a perfectly legitimate practice. Now the public will happily rely on some moronic piece of code running on a vending machine's microcontroller to tell them what preposterous diabetes-inducing heart-disease-promoting obesity-cultivating beverage is best for a given moment. It's a safe bet that it will simply select an entry at random from the list of beverages currently in stock.
In case you were wondering, yes, I assert that the drinking of sugary soft drinks is not a legitimate practice that anyone should condone in their won lives or in those of their friends and loved ones. When is it OK to drink them? Easy to remember answer: Never. They are worthless inducers of disease that generally don't even quench your thirst particularly well. Do I favor making them illegal or otherwise prohibiting them? No. I favor freedom and liberty, but with those comes great personal responsibility. I do favor ending every single agricultural or industrial subsidy or tax break that directly or indirectly makes it easier or more profitable to produce and sell them. If you are stupid enough to drink them, you most certainly should be paying full price.
Wait 'till they start offering you the results of your Google searches.
On huge screens, in public, on your way to wherever...
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
"A Massachusetts based vending machine company has even come up with a line of biometric snack machines that tie your thumbprint to a credit card."
Oh great, now if a bad guy wants a free cup of coffee he can just cut off my thumb and use it for himself and his whole crew. I think giving a vending machine company both my CC info and my thumb print is just something I will have to opt out of, thanks anyway.
I've seen touchscreen coke machines, where the entire front of the machine is a vertically oriented touchscreen panel, here in the US in malls:
http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/touch_screen_coke_vending_machine_by_sapient.php
It doesn't try to guess what you want to drink, which is about as moronic a concept as those biofeedback quarter machines that tell you your love potential based on your heart rate.
Better known as 318230.
And for the lady... the teriyaki meat salad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFzCEfNoTCM
And, since the machine offers multiple choices I'm guessing whiskey and rum.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Back in graduate school I made a proof of concept vending machine whose goal was to be able to vend beer within the local council's licensing laws.
It was a combination of the early smartcards (8k), biometrics and micropayments.
The idea is a person would register showing proof of age, have their thumb print scanned, and purchase electronic 'tokens' which were then loaded into the smartcard with the user's print. To buy a beer, the user would insert the card, validate the print - the server would then authorise beer dispension based on time/day (local licensing laws) and if the user had a token (a digital hash value).
We did a proof of concept, but my lasting regret is a) i never published and b) i didn't get sponsorship from Guinness.
A mixed blessing I suspect.
"Omnis tuus capsa sunt inesse nos"
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
That should be WHISKY and rum.
Unless he also goes around town dressed as a leprechaun.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
There are plenty of vending machines in Japan that sell beer and cigarettes. Nothing stopping the kids from using those -- faking not required.
Now the vending machine just needs face recognition so it can base recommendations off of previous purchases...and who your facebook friends are.
And I want a badge saying I'm the "mayor" of a vending machine if I buy more sodas there than anyone else.
I want a virtual pet that I can buy virtual sodas for. He will gain experience points and armor and will battle other pets.
The original article is correct in using the word "sex". Gender is the attribute of a word and not a person. Political correctness is killing the English language.
I hope it isn't on wheels...
The vending machine chases you to make a sale.
I was recently at a Kohl's Department Store (similar to Ross, JC Penny, and Sears) and was impressed by the rather large in-store kiosk they had.
It was very modern looking with a giant 27" touch display, portrait orientation, with a barcode scanner, credit card reader, and even cash taker like an ATM machine.
For software, it was basically just a custom browser over their in-store catalog, and they did a pretty decent job of making it a good experience.
In the end though, some glitch kept coming up that would foul the touch screen and cause input when there was none. And, I was rather upset that in order to place an order for homem delivery I had to give them my email address.
But aside from those two errors, the rest of the experience and the look of the kiosk was very quite cool.
-David
I'd like to be able to get a 7up without being profiled by a machine, thank you very much.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
They need to make one that just has extra rows of mountain dew instead of coke/pepsi.
Funny thing is there is a Rum and Cola drink sold in cans in Australia called "Bare". The advertising signs have a polar bear holding the drink.
Firstly, I remember a miss-spent youth in which I and my friends would do all sorts of mean things to vending machines. Can you imagine what could be done to a machine with a 42" touchscreen lcd in just a few seconds? Secondly, a thumbprint payment system? Don't they know it's already been proven that thumbprint systems are incredibly easy to hack? (as in a photocopy of your thumb works on them) Just about every company that's attempted something similar has been sued into bankruptcy almost immediately after attempting to use the devices in the real world.
i think it sells google and verizon ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkgQFOOr7ug
I'm pretty sure DoD will want a few.
Info about people that make/sell Halloween costumes?
What the heck does that mean, "I'm thirty". Years old?
It would make a LOT more sense if the machine said "I'm thirsty" instead.
Locally it's known as "Bundy and coke". Bundy = Bundaberg rum.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
I find the same to be true about parcel delivery in the United States. Although I'm sure delivered goods -do- get stolen off of doorsteps all the time.. it appears to be relatively safe enough that people do have things delivered to their doorstep and just dropped off there left in clear view until they get home.. and most of the time apparently not have them stolen.
I wouldn't try such a thing in The Netherlands - It's not even an option, for that matter.. they just hold it back at the nearest post office (or sub-office; usually run out of other stores) if they found nobody at the address in 2 attempts to deliver - it would disappear in no time.
That said.. I don't see much vandalism of such display types here either. There's tons sprinkled throughout the more touristy cities either as commercial displays or information displays. Then there's the hundreds of displays used by real estate agents behind thin slivers of glass, etc.
A regular ol' bus stop, with no fancy technology at all, however.. those get vandalized with some regularity.
And a great big faggot penguin on the side.
You look like you need a dwarven brew...
The FBI knows about guys who build that!
Brawndo's Got Electrolytes!
Some privacy policy Slashdot.
I wonder how long it will be before it is illegal to cook food you've grown in your garden/farm (from "genetically-modified" seeds or eggs).....
-Oz
Only to costumers dressed up as Goldilocks (Harajuku would seem a more appropriate location for such a machine than Shinagawa though).
-years.
Beer is in vending machines all over japan. Has been for a long time. About 300 yen and off you go with your Sapporo Ichiban or Kirin or Asahi Dry. No ID, no hacking, no elaborate physical or mental contortions.
Tobacco is more difficult. But I don't know how secure the rfid (I think?) cards are. Probably not very. I'd guess, although I have no proof, that its more a feel-good thing than an actual attempt to quash underage smoking.
I don't expect morality, equality, consistency, or justice from the law. I expect only legality.
Of course they don't sell bears cans in vending machines... they are just too expensive.
Also, why bothering with vending machines?
you can just buy it online: http://item.rakuten.co.jp/foodsmate/kumacurry_01
Mu
Hmmm ..."I see you're dressed like a vampire. Would you like a bottle of fresh blood?"
I am anarch of all I survey.
I cynically expect that whatever drinks/snacks are approaching their "best by" dates will be grossly over-represented in the vending machine's recommendations.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
I'd like to know how you can fool a soft drink vending machine into selling you beer. Really. That would make my day.
(and as mentioned in another comment, we used to have unregulated cigarette vending machines here, and we still can find beer vending machines too, but alas those are becoming rare.)
To always wanting to find a vending machine that responded to sex.
For the beer vending machines you need a drivers license and for the Cigarettes you need a TASPO card. Not that easy anymore.
"Freiheit ist immer auch die Freiheit des Andersdenkenden" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1871 - 1919
Great! So instead of stealing my wallet, they'll cut off my fingers!
(I was the victim in that case, someone slashed the top of my car [ Geo Metro convertible ])...
Your insurence company "totaled" it, as the replacement cost of the soft-top was more than the value of the car, right?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
machine: "Young, black male... Loading... Purple drank."
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot! for you! 0_O
Only to dragons named Joe. It's a light snack, typically cured, and spiced with powdered eagle talons.
Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
nt
Now when I get my arm stuck in a vending machine while trying to reach for a snack that I, uhhh, paid for but the stupid thing got stuck, now I can watch 47-inch digital advertising display tv until that guy with the snacks (what's that snack guy called?) comes along and frees me. Woohoo! In your FACE, stupid vending machine!
--Homer S.
Only one type of a bear, however.
4chan lobbyists have been hard at work.
This being Japan, though... Perfect product placement.
A few years back when I was in Japan there was this kind of mini-scandal about face-reading vending machines who were supposed to determine if the customer was of legal age (can't remember if it was for beer or cigarettes). Anyway the machines had to be taken down as they could be fooled by simply putting a full-size picture of someone's face (from the cover of a magazine for instance) in front of the sensor.
You have to apply in person, and there's apparently some form of biometric data as well that is checked when you try to use the card (I don't smoke so I've never checked the details). I doubt many underage smokers would bother; it's probably easier to buy your smokes from some sleepy convenience store clerk who doesn't care if you're underage or not.
And as far as I've heard, only a fraction of smokers have bothered with the cards at all. Again, as there's a convenience store nearby almost wherever you are, it's just easier to buy it there.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
I live in Tokyo. Shinagawa Station is my home station.
I'm watching people use the machine as I type on my iPhone.
The machine does what the article describes.
For 40 something men they are suggested a can of coffee or water.
30ish men are suggested water or vita drink.
Women tea or water.
Pre teens water or a sweet milk like drink (Calpis for those who know.)
People are treating it like a novelty.
After a male makes his purchase a large screen displays "Thank You" in English. Everytime women see a character in the shape of the machine, a big red heart and "U", yes the machine loves her for buying product.
That's my report from the field.
I wonder how long before they show me a picture of me enjoying the Big Mac? I truly believe we'll get there, and it won't take that long!
With the age of 3D TVs capable of streaming several video streams visible only from a certain angle - there will be no reason to pay attention to "privacy concerns".
You will be the only one seeing yourself eating a Big Mac.
So, probably pretty soon. Tech is already there.
All we need now is couple of millions for a start-up and we could buy out Google in about a decade or so.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I switched off the sugar cola (to be honest i weaned myself off it with diet cola, thanks Aspartame). I lost 3 Kg in nearly 6 months, not changing any other habits. I have now to do a bit more sport to go around my ideal weight of 80 Kg (I am 85 kg now). But stopping sugar cola is a big deal of a first step.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
Pittsburgh just installed two wine vending machines and plans to install several more in grocery stores (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10223/1079061-454.stm [post-gazette.com]) which I think takes the prize for classiest vending machine.
The "water business" company name curiously translates into "mizu shobai", which means, well - Yakuza. In a country sensitive to such nuances, where "shinju" (pearl) is often taken for allusion to Pearl Harbour that company surely holds a particular name...
Funny thing is there is a Rum and Cola drink sold in cans in Australia called "Bare". The advertising signs have a polar bear holding the drink.
it's named after what it makes underage girls. here we have boone's farm "strawberry hill", draw your own conclusions
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
They already DO sell beer and smokes. My boyfriend was 19 when he visited Japan as a tourist and he said one of his favorite things was to buy beer out of vending machines. No need to fake anything.
Or did you mean something else..?
Especially tied to a credit card. After all, it's not like I leave thumbprints everywhere I go. Oh, wait....
You're too fat. All you get is Diet Coke and Carrot Sticks.
recognize basic costumer information
Costumers? Prolly is consumers. But, if it only works on costumers, that is a way cooler invention...
K.