Category: News

Sony is unveiling an automated kiosk that dispenses digital cameras, DVDs and MP3 players the same way a vending machine rolls out a can of soda — quickly and at all hours of the day. Sony has set up an automated kiosk for a test run at Santa Rosa Plaza that will carry about 50 Sony products, from a pack of batteries for about $5 to a PlayStation Portable for $249.

The electronics-maker hopes the Sony Vending Machine will make it easier for consumers to pick up its products.

In addition to Santa Rosa, it has set up similar kiosks at the Mall of Georgia in Atlanta and the Flatirons Mall in Boulder, Colo. , with plans for seven more in airports, malls and grocery stores this summer.

“The timing is absolutely right,” said Joe Stinziano, senior vice president of Sony Electronics. “Consumers more than ever before are starting to get comfortable with the self-shopping idea. When you come across a machine like this, you can learn more about the products you want. Within three clicks and two minutes and a swipe of your credit card, you’re in and out and done. You don’t have to worry about waiting for a sales clerk or if it’s in stock.”

After a customer selects a Sony product on a touch screen and pays for it with a credit card, a robotic arm in the kiosk pick up the product and delivers it. Sensors ensure the item reaches the shopper before the credit card is charged. The machine also includes security features to prevent would-be thieves from breaking into it.

The kiosks will also be designed in Sony’s signature style and carry the Sony brand. A 20-inch LCD display will run Sony promotions, such as trailers for Sony movies.

Other Vending Machine Applications

On a narrow Tokyo street, near a beef bowl restaurant and a pachinko parlor, Aya Tsukioka demonstrated Ninja Vending Machine that she hopes will ease Japan’s growing fears of crime.

Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers — by disguising herself as a vending machine.

These elaborate defenses are coming at a time when crime rates are actually declining in Japan. But the Japanese, sensitive to the slightest signs of social fraying, say they feel growing anxiety about safety, fanned by sensationalist news media. Instead of pepper spray, though, they are devising a variety of novel solutions reflecting a peculiarly Japanese sensibility.

While Americans want to protect themselves from criminals, or even strike back, the creators say many Japanese favor camouflage and deception, reflecting a culture that abhors self-assertion, even in self-defense.

It is just easier for Japanese to hide as making a scene would be too embarrassing.

Ms. Tsuioka

Ms. Tsuioka said her Ninja vending machine disguise was inspired by a trick used by the ancient ninja, who cloaked themselves in black blankets at night.

“Japanese society won’t just laugh, so inventors are not afraid to try new things,” said Takumi Hirai, chairman of Japan’s largest association of individual inventors, the 10,000-member Hatsumeigakkai.

Mr. Kawakami said that while some of Japan’s anticrime devices might not seem practical, they were valuable because they might lead to even better ideas.

“Even useless things can be useful,” he said. “The weird logic of these inventions helps us see the world in fresh ways.”

Ms. Tsukioka said she chose the vending-machine motif because the machines are so common on Japan’s streets.

Ms. Tsukioka said her disguises could be a bit impractical, “especially when your hands are shaking.” Still, she said she hoped the designs or some variation of them could be marketed widely. So far, she said, she has sold about 20 vending-machine skirts, printing and sewing each by hand.

She said she had never heard of a skirt’s actually preventing a crime. But on a recent afternoon in Tokyo, bystanders stared as she unfolded the sheet. But once she stood behind it next to a row of actual vending machines, the image proved persuasive enough camouflage that passers-by did not seem to notice her.

She said that while her ideas might be fanciful, Japan’s willingness to indulge the imagination was one of its cultural strengths.

These ideas might strike foreigners as far-fetched, but in Japan, they can become reality.

Ms. Tsukioka

Other Vending Machine Applications

Like chips and soda, now you can buy lottery tickets from lottery ticket vending machine.

The lottery began installing 500 machines statewide last week. The vending machines sell 24 games costing $1 to $10 each.

Many will go into supermarkets, said Alice Garland, lottery deputy executive director. Some will land in convenience stores with high ticket sales to free up clerks.

Lottery ticket vending machine is not new to state lotteries. Maryland has used them since 1998, while Virginia first installed machines in 1990.

States try to prevent players under 18 from using the anonymity of the machines to illegally buy tickets.

The state also “strongly recommends” that store owners place machines within sight of clerks, she said. Some states, including Maryland and Virginia, said they require stores to place the machines where workers can watch them.

Other Vending Machine Applications

Since technology is becoming increasingly commoditized I guess we shouldn’t be surprised to see computer memory vending machine.

Kingston, in conjunction with MyMemory, has unveiled the first mainstream computer memory vending machine. It is also located in about the most logical place for such a device: an airport.

Ann Keefe, Director of Sales UK & Ireland at Kingston Technology, was understandably chipper about the whole thing: “Our consumers are telling us they want greater storage capacity for their mobile phones, digital cameras and USB drives to store music, images, games, videos and personal data,” she said.

They want instant access to SD cards and USB drives as they need them 24/7, so vending machines in public spaces were the most obvious solution.

Ann Keefe, Director of Sales UK & Ireland at Kingston Technology

A memory selector will be integrated into all vending machines to give customers the confidence they are purchasing the correct memory card for their device.

Other Vending Machine Applications

Now here’s an invention with a lot of potential – anger release vending machines full of plates, glasses and porcelain figurines that you can break to calm yourself down.

If you haven’t done it yourself, I’m sure you’ve seen it in movies – breaking stuff to calm the nerves. Most housewives prefer kitchen items, like plates or glasses, but porcelain decorations work just as well. Pick them up, smash them into the floor/wall and feel yourself calm down almost instantly. It’s called destruction therapy, or destructotherapy. The only problem is you can’t really practice it wherever you are, unless you fancy carrying a bunch of plates with you wherever you go.

Luckily, designers Ronnie Yarisal and Katja Kublitz at Yarisal & Kublitz have come up with an ingenious solution – anger release vending machines filled with whatever item you feel like smashing to calm down and release the pressure. Just like other dispensers, all you have to do is punch in the product code, pay, and there you have it – instant anger management session.

Brilliant idea, finally someone actually starts producing these things.

Other Vending Machine Applications

In Japan, the legal smoking and purchasing age is 20. To prevent underage access, cigarette vending machines (known as jidōhanbaiki for tobacco) require a Taspo card (タスポ), an RFID-enabled IC card that verifies the user’s age.

Introduced in 2008, the Taspo system is mandatory for all such machines nationwide.

What is Taspo and how does it work?

Taspo is the name that’s been given to the IC card (combining “tobacco,” “access” and “passport”) and is issued by the Tobacco Institute of Japan. Without this card, it will be impossible to buy cigarettes from a vending machine.

Smokers will need to place Taspo on a card reader on the front of the Cigarette vending machine, which will access information stored in the card and verify that the purchaser is at least 20 years old — the legal smoking age.

The card also has a prepaid electronic money function, allowing people to deposit up to ¥20,000 for cigarette purchases.

When used as a debit card, age verification and payment will take place simultaneously.

Why is Taspo being introduced?

The institute’s Web site says,

Taspo is the ultimate way of rigorously conducting age verification checks and is expected to be a highly effective way of preventing underage smoking.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has conducted studies showing that 70 percent to 80 percent of underage smokers get their cigarettes from vending machines. By introducing taspo, the institute hopes to cut this phenomenon off.

Are there loopholes in the new system?

Yes. A taspo card is not required when purchasing cigarettes at a shop. Even though employees are supposed to check the age of purchasers who they suspect are minors, this doesn’t always prevent underage smoking.

Also, a minor could sneak their parent’s card or borrow one from any legitimate card holder to use in a cigarette machine.

We can never prevent adults from purchasing alcohol and tobacco for children, we hope cardholders behave like responsible adults.

Hitomichi Tanaka, Institute spokesman

Note on 2026 Changes:

Taspo service is set to end in 2026, with machines upgrading to scan driver’s licenses or My Number cards directly. This won’t affect current use.

Other Vending Machine Applications

It is now possible to get your kicks from the crafty trainers vending machine, created by Japanese sports fashion brand, Onitsuka Tiger.

It will be as easy as getting hold of a chocolate bar or a can of coke, as well as being the most convenient way to ensure your feet look good at all times. The latest advance in sneaker shopping comes after months of arduous design work by the Onitsuka Tiger team. The machine can vend 24 pairs of trainers at any one time, in any of 6 sizes.

The trainer vending machine will be stationed just off Carnaby Street for three days only at the Onitsuka Tiger store. All trainers from the vending machine will be given away – so you don’t need to put your hand in your pocket at all.

After making a star appearance in London, the vending machine will then embark on a national tour, starting in Manchester.

Penny Keen, Onitsuka Tiger Brand Manager commented: “We hope trainer fans love our latest creation as much as we do and enjoy the latest and most innovative way to buy their Tiger Feet. Onitsuka Tiger prides itself on its heritage, so taking inspiration from modern day Japanese vending machines (which vend anything from eggs to loo rolls) seemed like the perfect next step for the brand. It’s satisfying knowing that we’re the first in the world to do it and we can’t wait to take it to Onitsuka Tiger fans across the UK.”

Some facts from Onitsuka Tiger:

• Each postcard entitles the winner to one token to use in the vending machine.
• Winning postcards must be exchanged for an Onitsuka Tiger token at store counter.
• The vending machine only vends trainers in the following sizes: UK 5 – 10.

Store Address: Onitsuka Tiger, 15 Newburgh Street, London

Other Vending Machine Applications

Fifty-seven methadone vending machines have been installed in British prisons in an effort to help opiate-addicted prisoners manage their drug addictions without resorting to illegal heroin supplies available behind bars.

The machines dispense individualized doses of methadone to registered prisoners after a fingerprint or iris scan. A total of about 70 machines are expected to be installed at a cost of approximately $6.5 million, roughly 10% of the British prison system’s drug treatment budget.

‘Methadone Vending Machines are a safe and secure method for providing a prescribed treatment,’ said a prison spokesperson.

‘They can only be accessed by the person who has been clinically assessed as needing methadone and that person is recognized by a biometric marker, such as their iris.’

Other Vending Machine Applications

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