The future of vending machines.
You may remember Japan's high-tech Acure vending machine that we covered earlier this year, with its intelligent marketing strategy and massive 47-inch touchscreen display. Well just when we though vending machines couldn't get anymore advanced, Japan's vending machine manufacturer Sanden has surprised us again with its next-generation vending machine.
Working closely with Okaya Electronics and Intel, Sanden has created a futuristic vending machine concept with intelligent marketing and a glorious 65-inch high definition transparent display. Equipped with a Sandy Bridge processor and Intel's Audience Impression Metric (AIM), this may be the smartest vending machine yet.
With Intel's AIM Suite, the vending machine is capable of recognizing and analyzing the customer's gender and age, while appropriately advertising products that are relevant to the customer's demographic. When there aren't any customers in front of it, the vending machine displays beautiful HD animations along with a large digital clock to attract the attention of potential customers.
Sanden hopes to separate this machine from other vending machines by introducing products and functions that aren't typically found in conventional vending machines. One possibility that the company hopes to explore is the sale of luxury products such as cosmetics and wines. In that case, let's hope the machine comes with an equally impressive security system.
Another function the company hopes to explore is the machine's use as an emergency guide, displaying important emergency information such as evacuation routes and emergency exits. Unfortunately no information was given on when and where the machine would be launched, but we'll definitely keep our eyes out for giant see-through vending machines in the future.
