Friday, August 13, 2010

Japanese Make Orson Welles' Big Brother Predictions Come True



On August 10, the Japanese installed a 47" touch screen vending machine at Tokyo's Shinagawa Station. This new vending machine is equipped with an embedded camera which is designed to recognize the buyer's gender and age, allowing the machine to recommend a beverage it thinks you will like.

Here's where the "Big Brother" stuff comes in. It stores your purchase history in its data banks. Then, the next time you visit, it customizes the ads you will see. Amazing technology - just how does it store all that information? Will it still work if you wear sunglasses or change your hair?

500 more vending machines will be installed in and around Tokyo over the next two years, with operating company JR East expecting them to tally up 30 percent more sales than their analog brethren.

Creepy or cool? I vote ccol, with a twist of creepy.

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Sue Northey - Find me on Bloggers.com