Seen here wearing shoes so pointy my butt is cringing at the very thought of a kick from one, a woman demonstra– “Dammit GW, that was definitely a fart.” IT WAS A CRINGE. You still might want to pull your shirt up over your nose though. This is a video of a woman demonstrating the Let’s Pizza (you know, because pizza is a verb — like, Let’s Nacho) vending machine. The machine kneads dough, pours sauce and adds up to three toppings, all in less than 3-minutes. 10.5″ pizzas are expected to cost around $ 6 as the machine starts rolling out across the country this fall. The concept has actually been out for awhile (read: this Geekologie post from 2007), but is just now coming to the US after extensive test-marketing in other (presumably fat and sweatpants-wearing) populations. I dunno, would you eat a vending machine pizza? (That was meant to be rhetorical, I really don’t care)
Hit the jump for the video of this woman’s lips not moving to the words that are being said.
This is a Salta brand beer vending machine modded by creative agency Ogilvy to only dispense a beer if it gets hit hard enough from the side (as gauged by the light-up meter on the front). The concept was that rugby fans would be more inclined to buy the beer if there was a…physical aspect involved. Me? I’m cool just asking the bartender for a freshie. The machine took a tour of bars in northern Argentina, where it allegedly increased beer sales by 25% from people wanting to beat on the thing. I dunno, I prefer my bar visits as violence-free as possible. Because I used to go to a pub that had one of those robotic punching bags you could hit as hard as you wanted for $ 1, but one time I missed and accidentally nailed a guy coming out of the bathroom. He died instantly. So did another guy on the shitter who only heard the punch and had a heart attack. I was gonna check his wallet to notify his next of kin but the bathroom smelled like he’s just had the hot wings so I didn’t.
Hit the jump for a commercial demoing the thing.
QR codes and RFID tags aren’t uncommon when it comes to automated payment applications, and now Colorado-based ShelfX has purposed them for its new wireless-equipped Vending Fridges. Eliminating the need for a cashier — or cash, for that matter — each unit allows you to purchase any items packed inside by scanning a QR code with your phone (using the company’s app) or an RFID badge. Upon presenting either method to the machine, it’s able to tell who you are and unlocks its door. From there, you can grab whatever you’d like, while ShelfX automatically pulls funds your account for what’s been removed. The system is also smart enough to know when goods are put back, so you won’t have to worry about being charged while making up your mind. All of the money goes through ShelfX, allowing it to take “a small percentage” for itself before sending a monthly payment to owners. The Vending Fridge is currently on sale for $ 600, and a retrofitting kit for your own fridge is also available for half that amount — no word on whether it has kid-blocking or crab-proofing options, though. You’ll find more information in the press release just after the break.
Continue reading ShelfX’s Vending Fridge nixes the cashier, uses QR codes, RFID to ‘know what you took’
ShelfX’s Vending Fridge nixes the cashier, uses QR codes, RFID to ‘know what you took’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
ShelfX | Email this | Comments
It’s no secret that Japan is the country of vending machines (they even have models like this one now), but this is new: Tokyo-based beverage company Asahi Soft Drinks took the wraps off a vending machine [JP] that not only offers drinks but also sends out Wi-Fi signals within a 50m radius.
The Wi-Fi will be available for free, is accessible with multiple devices, without registration, and for anyone to use (meaning users won’t have to buy any drinks to go online through the machine). It’s possible to use the web for about 30 minutes before the machine cuts you off (re-connecting is possible, however).
After logging in, users will see various location-specific information on the home screen, for example on local stores, or sightseeing spots.
Starting in 2012, Asahi will set up 1,000 of the vending machines in five different regions in Japan (Tokyo, Sendai, Chubu, Kinki, and Fukuoka) in the first year. The plan is to roll out a total of 10,000 units in the next five years.
Asahi is currently operating 250,000 vending machines all over Japan.
It looks as if facial scans for snack-dispensing purposes isn’t the only mind-blowing feature on the whiz-bang generation of vending machines. Japanese company Asahi has just unveiled an advanced dispenser that’s capable of doubling as a WiFi hotspot, so good luck getting through the mobs of leechers just to buy a soda. The machine sends out the internet waves free of charge and covers about 164 feet around it; of note, there’s a 30-minute limit on each session — but it’s nothing that a fresh login can’t solve. Asahi is planning on rolling out 1,000 of these in the upcoming year, but if you don’t call the Land of the Rising Sun your home, you won’t be able to experience the smart vendors anytime soon. Now, if only this same magic would slide over to park benches, blades of grass and molecules of oxygen, we’d be content.
Japanese vending machine doubles as WiFi hotspot — no purchase required originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
TechCrunch | Asahi | Email this | Comments
Sure, it’s one thing to hit up the vending machine at work to get your Doritos fix, but free gifts? That’s exactly what Nokia’s doing at the Skypark in Glasgow for the city’s Social Media Week with the help of 1000heads. Dubbed the “Nokia Gift Machine,” it allows event attendees to obtain one free gift per day including candy from the US of A, Nokia accessories and even smartphones for a lucky few. All it takes is a quick FourSquare check-in with #NokiaConnects followed by a share over Twitter, and a goodie-filled tube will be yours for the taking. It’ll only be in place until the 23rd, so if you’re there and haven’t given it whirl, consider this a quick heads-up from your friends at Engadget. Plus, who doesn’t love getting awesome stuff for free? Exactly. Full details in the PR past the break.
Continue reading Nokia’s FourSquare-enabled vending machine offers free smartphones, Butterfingers (video)
Nokia’s FourSquare-enabled vending machine offers free smartphones, Butterfingers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Related Posts:
It’s no secret the Japanese love their vending machines, but this is extreme: a man from Sapporo has been taking pictures of the same vending machine (almost) every day since August 2005. The man, a person called Ikeda, is still uploading each picture on a blog he set up more than five years ago just for his strange hobby – just for fun.
I first thought this is either fake, a case of objectophilia or a viral marketing campaign by Coca Cola (the machine sells drinks), but it’s well documented in Japan’s blogosphere that Ikeda is a regular person (here‘s his Flickr account).
When drinks or prices change overnight, Ikeda makes an effort to highlight every single change, as you can see below:
What you see on top of this post is the original vending machine from August 2005. Pictured below is the new version (the machine has been replaced once).
Via Asiajin [ENG]
Last year, we’ve shown you Yahoo Japan’s digital signage system that scans passersbys to put up personalized content (ads, news, and other information). And today, railway operator JR EAST showed a very similar device that’s actually a mix between digital signage system and vending machine.
The new system is larger than the Yahoo Japan model and can detect one’s sex and age, too. All that customers need to do is to stand in front of the system, wait for it to work its magic through a camera, and then choose the drink that the system recommends by pushing the drink’s icon on a 47-inch touch panel.
The recommended drinks are highlighted with a red star (see above). Customers can pay in cash, with their cell phones, or with one of three common IC cards.
If there’s no one around, the machine displays information like the current time or temperature, but it also can show ads or videos it downloads via Wimax. The first machine was put up at Shinagawa station in central Tokyo today, with 500 more systems to follow in the next two years.
Via Keitai Watch [JP] / hat tip to Akky
Props to CrunchGear
Related Posts:
The Japanese put everything in vending machines. I’m surprised they don’t have prostitutes in them, where you can pay and the door opens. Now they even have fresh bananas thanks to Dole’s new machines which are installed in an underground connection at the Shibuya subway station.
Bananas are a hot commodity too. The vending machine was sold out on its first day. A single banana is about $1.50 (130 yen) and a bunch of five or six is almost $4.50. (390 yen) I guess people are willing to pay for a healthier snack.
It’s bananas.
[2dayblog]
Props to SlipperyBrick.com
Related Posts:
We thought the Let’s Pizza machine was wild, but this next item is downright scary… and delicious! The brainchild of Unilever (the company that owns Ben & Jerry’s, Good Humor, Breyers, Klondike, and Wall’s), Share Happy is a $20,000 Sapient-built ice cream vending machine that takes your picture, using facial recognition to determine if you’re smiling and Photo Booth-esque features (superimposing “funny hats, a mustache, glasses, bow tie, afro hair, things like that,” on your mug) to coax you into smiling. And once it determines that you are smiling, it gives you a free ice cream treat — but not before collecting valuable demographic information by analyzing the image for things like gender and approximate age and asking you to sign away your likeness for promotional use. The images are sent to Unilever HQ a few times an hour, using either Ethernet, WiFi, or 3G. Camera shy? Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to pay for your junk food the old fashioned way. Currently being tested in Singapore, Lisbon, and Paris, with a UK test planned “soonish.” Check the thing out on video by hitting the source link.
Share Happy vending machine dispenses ice cream for a smile (and your soul) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink The Raw Feed, Switched | Sapient | Email this | Comments
Props to Engadget
Related Posts: