In a land of high-tech toilet and strange robots, a regular ol' vending machine just won't do. So behold, the vending machine in subway stations in Tokyo that uses 47-inch touchscreen panel to sell you drinks:
A 47-inch touchscreen panel dominates the front of this beast,
which shows two tall eyes when in sleep mode and switches to the storefront mode, which displays available drinks (and hides ones that are sold out, so that no ugly red “Sold out” buttons appear). Payment can be made in the traditional hard money method, as well as with a Suica or a FeliCa on a cell phone.What makes this vending machine even more interesting is that there is a camera above the screen that determines the age and gender of a person standing in front of it, which the machine uses to “subtly” offer demographically-targeted drink selections, as well as collect marketing data based on customer’s actual choices – no identifiable images or information are stored.
Akihabara News has the story (and video clip): Link - via Core77
Previously on Neatorama: Strange and Wonderful Vending Machines