Touchscreen Vending Machine Serving Up Drinks in Tokyo

If you live in an urbanized city where the culture of technology continues to spread, then you’ve probably noticed that it’s been evolving and expanding as well. This includes every day appliances such as TV’s, computers, and yes, that’s right, even vending machines.

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There are new vending machines operating in a couple of train stations in Tokyo, which are developed by JR East Water Business, and they hope to have about eight more by October. The concept behind these machines is simple; it needs to serve as many functions as possible.

Basically, the vending machines make the standard drinks and accept payment like a normal vending machine. However, these machines also function as billboards when no one is looking to buy a drink from them. This is made possible by touchscreen technology and motion sensors. The screen changes to the item select screen when a customer is directly in front of the machine.

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But wait! There’s more. The vending machines are supposed to function as beverage statisticians as well. That is, the three motion sensors and built in camera will try to figure out your age and gender. At this point, it will try to guess which beverage you are likely to purchase, at the same time will record what you actually purchased, topping off the package of functions that these machines have. It’s certainly a cool concept, but is it really necessary for any vending machine? I would be somewhat frightened if a vending machine told me what I’m supposed to drink.

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There are currently two machines in Tokyo, one of them located at the Shinagawa Train station, with plans to have around eight across Tokyo by October. You can check out the demonstration video below.


You can also read about these cool vending machine designs or the cigarette vending machine that can determine if you’re old enough to smoke.

Via Gizmowatch Via: Fast Co