Japanese company JR East Water Business Co. in partnership with the Fujitsu Electric Retail Systems Co. has developed a vending machine which has dispensed with the usual transparent window, and replaced it with a 47â€, touch enabled, LCD panel.
The machine receives still images and video via WiMAX wireless broadband -- a capability now being used to show promotional content appropriate to the season and time of day, such as cold water in the summer and coffee in the morning. Commercials may be played in the future.
When a customer stands in front of the machine, the screen shows the bottled and canned beverages inside. Touching a product enlarges its image and brings up detailed information.
A built-in face recognition system determines the customer's gender and age, with the machine displaying products likely to hold appeal. Customer data, including items bought, will be used for marketing purposes in the future.
The first pair of units has been deployed at Tokyo’s Shinagawa station, and the company aims to roll out a total of 500 of the devices over the next two years.