vending

A cigarette machine that recognizes faces

This "Child Check System" introduced by Japanese company Fujitaka uses facial recognition to determine if the person buying cigarettes is over the legal age limit, which is currently 20 in Japan. A camera embedded in the vending machine takes a picture, then compares it with its database of 100,000 faces.

The system even checks for lines and skin tones to estimate a person's age. It will be installed in about half a million vending machines in Japan from July this year.

Whether this actually works in stopping underaged consumers from smoking is still too early to … Read more

Singapore automates the dining experience

Forget the Slow Food movement. True geeks are in a rush to spend their cash on the latest electronics, not snobby epicure. So when we spotted a fast-food restaurant that's automated, our heart rates sped up accordingly.

Kitchen Mogu Mogu is a Singapore-based Japanese fast-food restaurant that styles itself after similar dining concepts in Japan. In fact, it feels like buying from a vending machine, only in this case it's hot Japanese grub, not sodas or candy bars.

The transaction is easy. Tap the touch screen for your orders and make your payment. You can choose to pay … Read more

Socks vending machine is quite a feat

As a wise woman once said, "Socks rock." Most people never leave home without a pair of socks, at least if they're wearing shoes.

But just in case, the Gallo stockings vending machine allows anyone to protect their feet from the inside of their shoes in a pinch.

The psychedelic Italian vending machine dispenses a wide array of absorbent footwear, perfect for yuletide emergencies, ad-hoc puppetry sessions, or avoiding fashion police busts.

Unfortunately, seeing and using the machine could lead to a frustrating infinite loop.

1. You see the machine.

2. It blows your socks off.

3. … Read more

Pizza vending machines? File this one under 'wildest fantasy'

I love pizza. I really do. I think "pizza" might have been my first word as a kid. No, I am not a Ninja Turtle. But goshdarnit, I think pizza is the greatest thing ever invented. Which is why I am slightly enamored with Wonderpizza, which is manufacturing a vending machine for pizzas. A combination of pizza and gadgets? That just makes me smile. A lot. With a Wonderpizza vending machine, you can order up a nine-inch tomato pie that will be hot and ready in just two minutes, and three different flavor options are available at any … Read more