Japanese vending machine tells you what you should drink
A series of vending machines that use facial recognition technology to recommend to customers what they want to drink has been introduced in Japan.
The next-generation drinks dispensers identify consumers by gender and age.
"It is quite difficult to compare these new machines with regular drink vending machines because they are so new, but to date sales have been three times those of the old-style machines," said Youzou Tonaki, a spokesman for JR East Water Business Co.
The machines use 47-inch touchscreen monitors with embedded sensors that help it to determine details of anyone who approaches.
After identifying the customer, the smart machine will show images of "recommended" drinks, which will also alter according to the time of the day and the temperature.
The machine will suggest to a woman in her 20s, for example, a slightly sweeter beverage, based on the results of extensive market research, the company said.
The first machine was introduced at Tokyo's Shinagawa Station in August and the company now operates a total of seven machines. Within the next couple of years, it plans to introduce 500 of the next-generation models across the country.
Japanese advertisers are also making use of analytical software to identify viewers and provide a targeted message.
Electronics giant NEC Corp. recently unveiled PanelDirector, an interactive advertising system that is equipped with a small camera able to capture an image of anyone that looks at it.
That individual's face is then compared to more than 10,000 patterns stored in its database and the device is able to determine the gender and approximate age of the viewer. Armed with that information, PanelDirector can then display an image appropriate to that person.
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