"Nannified" vending machines

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The vending machine of the future is here, and it knows who you are
The world's first vending machine with facial recognition technology has been unveiled, and it could refuse to vend a certain product based on a shopper’s age, medical record or dietary requirements

8 Dec

The vending machine brought an element of anonymity to snacking: you could scoff chocolate all day and no shopkeeper would know just how many bars -- or cigarettes, or ice creams, or lottery tickets -- you’d already gone through that day.

But that’s all about to change, because the vending machine of the future is here, and it knows who you are.

The Luce X2 Touch TV vending machine, which was debuted to industry professionals in Hertfordshire in October, is claimed to be the first in the world to use facial recognition technology.

The machines are able to identify and greet a user, remember a person’s preferences and even refuse to vend a certain product based on a shopper’s age, medical record, dietary requirements or purchase history.

For example, a school can link the Luce X2 with its database and tell the machine to refuse to sell certain products, such as cigarettes, to underage students.

A gym could program the machine with its membership database not to sell fattening snacks to a person who is on a diet, while a hospital could prevent a user with health conditions such as diabetes buying a sugary product.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11274179/The-vending-machine-of-the-future-is-here-and-it-knows-who-you-are.html