Author: Editoral Team

As everybody knows, Japan is the land of vending machines. Dozens and dozens of these things are standing in the street, offering everything from drinks, to cup noodles and fresh rice 24 hours a day. But we’ve never seen or heard of the Nail Art Machine, a manicure vending machine that (obviously) takes care of your nails – to some extent.

Pay $3.40 and it will beautify two of your nails for that price within about 5 minutes, meaning the manicure vending machine measures your nails and produces a fitting nail stamp based on that analysis.

You can choose between 15 different colors and it’s possible to combine up to four colors with a base color. The machine also lets you choose between different designs through a touch screen.

A reason for the machine being so rare is that it will also require humans to finish your nails and make sure they really look beautiful with what the machine produced.

Other Vending Machine Applications

A new books print vending machine has been released which can print any book within minutes.

The Espresso Book Machine has access to 500,000 different books – the same as 23.6 miles of shelf space – and can churn out a fresh copy of Crime and Punishment in just nine minutes.

Pages are printed at a rate of over 100 per minute and are then pressed, glued and cut to produce a pristine book.

Users simply pick the book they would like on a screen and wait for it to be printed … it certainly is a novel way of getting a new book.

There are currently only three of the £70,000 books print vending machine from On Demand Books and Lightning Source, with one in Blackwell’s Charing Cross Road branch in London.

“We see the Espresso Book Machine as an innovative and exciting way for publishers to get their books out into the market,” said David Taylor, President of Lightning Source.

“There is clearly a place for the in-store print on demand model in the emerging landscape of globally distributed print.”

“Working with On Demand Books allows the many thousands of publishers with whom we already work the chance to get their books into this new distribution channel with minimal effort.”

History (Wikipedia)

Jason Epstein gave a series of lectures in 1999 about his experiences in publishing. Epstein mentioned in his speech that a future was possible in which customers would be able to print an out-of-stock title on the spot, if a book-printing machine could be made that would fit in a store.

Ultimately Epstein, together with Dane Neller, former President and CEO of Dean and Deluca, licensed Marsh’s invention and founded On Demand Books.

The first Espresso Book Machine was installed and demonstrated June 21, 2007, at the New York Public Library’s Science, Industry and Business Library. For a month, the public was allowed to test the machine by printing free copies of public domain titles provided by the Open Content Alliance (OCA), a non-profit organization with a database of over 200,000 titles.

Other Vending Machine Applications

A rundown but functional old Buzzwords vending machine stands alone in the Viewpoint Gallery at Plymouth College of Art. Every now and again, without warning, it springs into life – spewing out free packets of crisps for gallery visitors.

The machine has been modified and no longer functions in the conventional way, finding itself in the control of outside forces…

Its new nervous system is a networked computer. Hidden out of view and running special software, it continually scans the news on the BBC News RSS feed – commanding the machine only to release snacks when words relating to the recession make the headlines.

Whilst seemingly an act of generosity – gifting free food at moments when further doom and gloom is reported – the Buzzwords Vending Machine also hints towards a time in the future when our access to food may literally be determined by wider political or environmental events. We may not be able to access what we want, when we want, at the touch of a button.

Other Vending Machine Applications

Among the more interesting relationships Cosmopolitan formed in its quest to be outlandishly unique is the one with Art-O-Mat, a Winston-Salem company that revamps cigarette machines into slick dispensers of $5 art.

Six Art-O-Mat machines will be selling original miniature works from around the globe — prints, painting, sculptures, jewelry, etc.

“This is going to test us in a good way,” says Art-O-Mat founder Clark Whittington, who refers to his company as a “garage/basement operation” (it’s just him and two part-time employees). “We’re not really set up for mass hysteria, and I have a feeling that these machines are going to be very active.”

Art-O-Mat machines already move nearly 25,000 works of art annually, vending in coffee shops, galleries and museums, including New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art.

Whittington says most machines feature as many as 132 artists apiece and are revamped with a high-end finish for a classic and beautiful look.

He’s hoping Las Vegas artists will want to include their art and help keep the machines filled. The machines, he says, serve as an introduction to artists’ larger works, contact information comes with the artwork.

An artist himself, Whittington says he’s never been a proponent of mixing art and money, but sees Art-O-Mat a good way to reach out to people normally not exposed to art:

We want you to have an experience and learn about a living artist.

Clark Whittington, Art-O-Mat founder

Other Vending Machine Applications

As economic fears drive gold prices to new highs, the creator is attracting attention around the globe for its gold vending machines.

Germany-based GOLD to go is churning out 50 machines a month to meet a recent jump in demand, after launching its first ATM in Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace Hotel and its second in Germany.

The golden ATM’s next destinations are the Bergamo Airport in Milan, Italy; all major airports in Malaysia; one of Russia’s biggest banks and an undetermined location in Turkey.

By making gold investing as easy as buying a candy bar from a vending machine, “GOLD to go” hopes to attract average buyers to the gold market.

“We are going to make gold public with these machines,” said Thomas Geissler, CEO of Ex Oriente Lux AG, which owns GOLD to go. “The prices are so easy to control that we’re going to de-mystify gold and make it easier for anyone to buy it.”

GOLD to go’s ATM looks like a vending machine and dispenses gold coins and bars weighing up to one ounce at prices updated every 10 minutes based on the real-time spot price of gold.

ATM-owners can choose from a variety of other gold items, such as gold Canadian maple leaf coins, South African Krugerrands, and even some custom designs. For example, the special edition gold medallion it engraved with the Palace Hotel’s logo was created for the United Arab Emirate debut.

Earlier this month, gold prices hit an all time high of nearly $1,250 per ounce, and the precious metal has continued to climb as euro zone countries struggle with debt and investors worry that the region’s problems could spread globally.

Until this uncertainty in the market eases, the demand for gold will only grow, said Carlos Sanchez, a precious metals analyst at CPM Group.

“[The ATM] is just a reflection of the demand from consumers and investors for exposure to gold,” he said. “As long as prices continue to trend upward and investors remain concerned over economic and political conditions, I think we’ll keep seeing strong demand for safe-haven assets like gold.”

Next stop, Italy: Patrizio Locatelli, owner of SE 6, a small company in Italy that pays customers for gold, flew to GOLD to go’s factory in Germany to check out the prototype when it was first unveiled.

Locatelli was having a hard time keeping up with the costs of rent and hiring employees, so when he came across the GOLD to go ATM online, he saw it as a golden ticket to an efficient way to expand his business.

“When you see exchange rates going up and down every day with the euro under so much pressure and stocks decreasing, this gold machine seemed like a very sound idea,” he said. “In times like these you must think of somewhere else to put your money, and physical gold still has great appeal for everyone.”

Locatelli is now launching a GOLD to go ATM in Milan’s Bergamo Airport, which he says is one of Italy’s fastest growing airports.

“[Bergamo] is a great place for it, because serious international business travelers will stop over here a few times a month at least,” he said. “In general you tend to spend more when you’re traveling and in a good mood, so you can now use a vending machine to get a present for someone or buy some bullions as an investment.”

After a three-month testing period at Bergamo Airport, Locatelli said he hopes to introduce gold ATMs in every airport in Italy as well as major community centers and banks.

Other Vending Machine Applications

The Ultimate Challenge

VENDING MACHINES. WHO doesn’t love them? And the undisputed world champion of the vending machine is Japan, where you can buy pretty much anything with the drop of a coin or mobile payment. But whilst you can buy anything from iPods to marijuana to umbrellas, can you actually survive without buying from another human being?

That’s what reporter Tom Edwards wanted to find out, so he set out with two friends to spend 24 hours buying anything they needed from vending machines.

Spoiler: It Wasn’t Even Hard

What won’t surprise you is that the challenge wasn’t really a challenge. If you want something in Japan, you can get it from a vending machine. What is interesting is the breadth of choice, and some of the gimmicks.

Sure, you can buy cheesecake, ice-cream, miso soup and the horrifying-sounding cheese curry, but you can also buy gold (real gold) and even a hotel room for the night.

Favorite machine is selling beverages, where it uses a camera to take a picture of you, combines it with temperature, perceived age and time of the day to suggest a drink for you.

Interesting Trivia

Perhaps the best part of this entire escapade is a little bit of trivia Tom learned from Takashi Kurosaki, the boss of the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association.

He explains that vending machines in Japan took of in 1967, when expensive ¥100 coins using silver alloy were replaced with a new alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. This meant there were a lot more ¥100 coins around, and vending machines switched to allowing ¥100 coins instead of requiring multiple ¥10 coins. This made them a lot more convenient.

The one thing they couldn’t find

Lastly, there was one essential thing Tom and team couldn’t find in a machine: Beer. This final point surely marks the whole endeavor as a failure.

Other Vending Machine Applications

For diners in a rush, there’s a new option besides the drive-through window: They can stop by the Smart Butcher’s Meat vending machine to pick up dinner with the push of a button.

Developed by Rob Harrison and Chase Evans of Birmingham, Ala., the Smart Butcher vending machine doesn’t offer soda or candy but instead specially packaged cuts of meat.

Harrison came up with the idea while driving home through rural Alabama and seeing a small meat market on the side of the road. After considering the amount of overhead necessary to start a meat market, Harrison got the idea for using vending machine as a way to offer easy-to-find cheap meat in rural areas.

It really just snapped on me — what if we could vend it?

Harrison

Manager Amir Sagani said he was thrilled to be the first to try out the machine. ‘I was excited about it,’ said Sagani.  ‘I said, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you could have a vending machine that could have a steak on it.’

Sagani’s wife, Anna Sagani, says the machine has become a draw for the market, with people driving in specifically to see the machine in action.

‘First people’s reactions [were], ‘Oh no!’ and then they started using it,”said Anna Sagani.

She said that the machine appealed to customers who wanted to avoid long lines at the grocery store. “For movie night you get a steak, and you’re good to go,” said Anna Sagani.

Currently, the Smart Butcher offers a range of meat products, including pork chops, sausages and rib-eye steaks, none costing more than $7.95.

Evans said the reaction to the Smart Butcher has been split about 50-50 between positive and negative.

We’ve had everything from, “Wow, that’s a crazy idea” to “I wish I had thought of that.”

Other Vending Machine Applications

Electric car charging vending machine: Ten Japanese companies said they plan to install electric vehicle chargers at the sites of beverage vending machines across Japan in a cost-cutting tie-up.

Charging machines will be installed where beverage vending machines already exist or together with new ones.

SoftBank Telecom and SoftBank Mobile are due to provide telecom services to connect the charging systems, the group said in a press release.

Automakers such as Nissan, which launched its all-electric Leaf last year, are gambling that electric cars with zero tailpipe emissions will catch on and, some time in the future, start to drive traditional gas-guzzlers off the road.

But many consider the lack of a charging network as the key obstacle to the proliferation of electric vehicles, prompting consumer concerns such as “range-anxiety”, or the fear that their cars will run out of juice between charging points.

Other Vending Machine Applications

Since 2020, IKEA has rolled out “Light Recycling Points” in >80% of its EU stores.

Partnered with Recipo and LightRec (European lighting recycling consortia).

In Malmö, Sweden, IKEA tested a smart kiosk that displayed real-time CO₂ savings from bulb recycling on a screen.

All collected bulbs are sent to certified recyclers like Boliden (for metal recovery) or Veolia.

📈 Why This Matters

• CFLs contain 3–5 mg of mercury—recycling prevents soil/water contamination.
• LEDs contain rare earth metals (e.g., gallium, indium)—recycling reduces mining demand.
• The EU aims to recycle 85% of e-waste by 2025—retail take-back is critical.

By embedding recycling into the shopping journey, IKEA turn a regulatory obligation into a visible sustainability statement—making it as easy to return a bulb as it is to buy one.

The Future: Toward Full Automation?

Pilot projects are exploring:

• Barcode scanning of bulb packaging to auto-sort
• In-store credit (e.g., €0.30 off next LED pack)
• Integration with circular economy apps (e.g., scan bulb, get recycling proof for ESG reporting)

For now, the semi-automated kiosk remains the practical, safe, and scalable solution—proving that even small acts of recycling can be engineered with care, one light bulb at a time. 💡♻️

Other Vending Machine Applications

For anyone who’s ever had a sugar craving at a bad time — Sprinkles Cupcakes has a solution.

Beverly Hills shop owner Candace Nelson has invented a vending machine that dispenses her baked creations after store hours.

Nelson said she thought of the idea one night during her second pregnancy.

” I thought, ‘I’m the owner of a cupcake bakery and even I can’t get a cupcake in the middle of the night,’” she recalled.

“It’s high-tech. It’s really the wave of the future,” Nelson added. “It’s a robotic arm that finds your cupcake and delivers it to you. You can see it working behind the scene on our touch screen.”

Nelson stocks the machine with fresh selections every night.

“You don’t know how many times we sped down here to try to make it before the store closed,” frequent Sprinkles customer Karson Langenfelder said.

“I think it is a great idea,” added customer Patrick Swope. “You can never have too much access to your cupcakes.”

The individually boxed and dispensed cakes cost $4 each. Similar machines will be installed in New York this summer.

Other Vending Machine Applications