Vending Machines Of The Future

[Spartaaaaa]

Published : Wednesday, 11 Aug 2010, 7:03 AM EDT

BY LUKE FUNK

MYFOXNY.COM - Your thumbprint might soon be the key to an afternoon candy bar. A Massachusetts based vending machine company is joinng the growing ranks of companies that are field-testing new technologies.

Next Generation Vending and Food Service is experimenting with biometric vending machines that would allow a user to tie a credit card to their thumbprint.

"For a certain demographic that is pretty cool," says company president John S. Ioannou.

Next Generation is currently testing about 60 of the biometric machines in various locations in the northeast.

The company is also testing other technologies. Ioannou says the key to the transforming the vending machine business is making the consumer feel more engaged.

The days might be numbered where a consumer watches a bag of chips roll through the machine and drop. Next Generation is also testing a machine that includes a 46" touch-screen display that acts similarly to an iPhone display. The user can click on an item, flip the image and even see the nutrional information on the back of the packaging.

Ioannou says initial results are good saying, "The feedback is extraordinary."

The machines include internally mounted cameras to monitor what is going on outside of the machine.

The tests are scheduled to run through the end of 2010. After that, Next Generation will decide if it is worth rolling out across its sales region in the northeast and Pennsylvania.

The company is also installing wireless or Ethernet connections on all of its current machines so there will be real-time reporting of the amount of goods in the machine for restocking purposes. Monitors will even be able to report when a coin is stuck in the machine. All of the current machines will be upgraded by the end of 2011.

There are other innovations that are being tested outside of the United States, including machines that use retinal scans to identify and charge consumers for their purchases.



Link to article: Vending Machines Of The Future (http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/your_money/consumer/vending-machines-of-the-future-20100807-lgf)

Is anyone else thinking that this is a stepping stone to the Mark of the Beast? Or is it just me? "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." -Revelation 13:17

[Chihaya]

That's just stupid, worthless, and not worth the time and money for investment
Credit cards are credit cards for a reason, to carry "money" while not having the money physically.
If it's so hard carrying around a piece of plastic in your wallet, you're lazier than my friend's cat who does nothing but sit around and gain weight.

[Chillax]

Criminals won't be robbing people of their wallets; they'll be cutting off their thumbs.

[Compass]

Hey I live in Massachusetts!
But using credit cards on public areas....Not my type of business.
I still like the button ones I hate how everything is becoming touch-screen now.
:stress:

[UnNormal]

Reading this reminds me of those octopus cards in Hong Kong. You can use it to buy gachapon :lol:

[Cucurbita]

Putting my thumb where every other disgusting trash put their thumbs*
Not happening.

As I found out after working in service, most of America don't know what "washing hands" means.

[Juno]

Is anyone else thinking that this is a stepping stone to the Mark of the Beast? Or is it just me? "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." -Revelation 13:17

No, not even remotely possible. Read the rest of Revelation if you want to know why .-.

Sorry if that was a joke and I missed it~

[Kazuni]

It's really unnecessary ._.

[Tarvos]

Just another step towards our robot overlords rising up. Seriously though, the technology might seem just a waste of time, but whatever the vending machine companies want to shell out for, I really don't care. I agree with the whole people and their dirty fingers though... That's unsanitary... Oh well we use door knobs everyday in public places, same thing really.

[Spartaaaaa]

No, not even remotely possible. Read the rest of Revelation if you want to know why .-.

Sorry if that was a joke and I missed it~

Of course I'm not saying that it is the mark of the beast, however, what I do consider a possibility, is that this kind of technology could be precursor to the actual mark. I have yet to see anything in Revelation (or the whole bible for that matter) that would completely remove this possibility. Could you point me to a specific verse or passage?

[Axx]

See a soda can laying on the ground? Lift a print off of it and get free junk food! May have to hide your face from the external cameras though.

[Aikuna]

Somehow I don't like the idea of using a credit card to buy things like candy bars. It'd probably get too easy to say, "Oh hey, I could use one of those...eh I'll just charge it." And then not only is it harder to resist getting said junk food but it goes on a credit card. o.o So it's bad both in the sense it may make you eat more than you should and end up potentially spending lots of money due to interest and such. It'd be fine in moderation I'm sure but I can see how this could easily be overused as well...

I like my technology but here I'm thinking I prefer the ones where you have to fight to get it to accept your dollar and push buttons to get the right thing. XD

[Serathx]

This...really isn't needed, but okay.

[paladin]

I go up to a guy who i saw use the machine with a friend
Ask him to help me and friend take a pic with my camera
*removes thumbprint from camera*
Free junk food
So no

[Chillax]

Reading this reminds me of those octopus cards in Hong Kong. You can use it to buy gachapon :lol:

I like those Octopus cards and how you can easily get new ones in grocery stores.

[Tatsu]

They do know how easy it is to use someone else's fingerprints for stuff like this, right?

[Enoshima Smoothie]

Aww...this takes all the fun out of vending machines.

Using the button combos to get two for the price of one, tricking it into giving your money back, the eternal struggle of getting that one dollar bill that you ran through the wash to go into the machine, etc.

Howabout we put this effort into curing some diseases?

[Spartaaaaa]

Aww...this takes all the fun out of vending machines.

Using the button combos to get two for the price of one, tricking it into giving your money back, the eternal struggle of getting that one dollar bill that you ran through the wash to go into the machine, etc.

Howabout we put this effort into curing some diseases?

Curing diseases??!! Who needs that when we can have fancy vending machines? Not only does it divert funding from medical research, it also sells the junk food that causes the diseases!