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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

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.

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.

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.

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?’ said 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

For over ten years, IKEA has recognized the need to collect used light bulbs and batteries and provided a manual collection service for customers to return them.

To further increase recycling rates, the Light Bulb Reverse Vending Recycling Machines are sited in prominent positions for the Public to see the initiative in action to encourage recycling.

Low energy bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and we need to stop them going into people’s dustbins and landfill.

The recycler is guided through the simple process by an exciting touch screen menu, the user will receive a reward incentive voucher, automatically dispensed by the machine.

The touch screen enables the user to choose from a large selection of different rewards or donation to charity. (UNICEF, WWF, Save the Children and the Woodland Trust)

Fun facts about light bulb

• The first practical commercial light bulb was created by Thomas Edison in 1879.
• The filament used in Thomas Edison’s first practical commercial light bulb came from his observation of a bamboo fishing line while observing a total solar eclipse.
• The average lifetime of a household light bulb is around 1,000 hours.
• LED lights have a lifetime between 20,000 and 30,000 hours, and that is 20 times longer than an incandescent light bulb.
• The red LED was discovered in 1962 but the blue LED – vital in creating the white lights used in so much of today’s technology – was to elude scientists for another 30 years!
• Brazilian football legend Pele was named after light bulb pioneer Thomas Edison. The name Pele was actually a childhood nickname and his real name was Edson Arantes (his parents dropped the ‘i’).
• The world’s biggest blackout occurred in India in 2012, when a power grid broke down. About 620m people were left in the dark for days, sweltering due to the lack of air conditioning, whilst failed traffic lights led to chaos on the roads and hospitals had to rely on generators.

Source

• Socketstore
• Facts just for kids

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.

Interesting fact about cupcake:

An interesting fact about cupcakes is that they were originally known as “number cakes” or “1234 cakes,” because the traditional recipe called for one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs—making them easy to remember and measure. This simple formula contributed to their popularity, especially among home bakers in the 19th century.

Another fascinating aspect of cupcakes is their innovative role in the baking industry. The early 2000s saw a significant boom in gourmet and specialty cupcake bakeries, largely thanks to shows like “Sex and the City,” which featured the iconic Magnolia Bakery in New York City. This trend helped transform cupcakes from a humble homemade treat into an artisanal dessert option, complete with creative flavors, intricate decorations, and premium pricing.

Cupcakes also offer a practical advantage: portion control. Unlike larger cakes, cupcakes allow for individual servings without the need for slicing, making them convenient for parties, events, and even as personal indulgences. Their single-serving size has made them popular not only at children’s birthday parties but also at weddings, where they provide guests with a charming and manageable dessert option.

Moreover, the artistry involved in decorating cupcakes has turned into a form of edible art. From simple frosting swirls to elaborate fondant creations, cupcake decorating has become a celebrated craft, with competitions and classes dedicated to perfecting the skill. This blend of creativity and confectionery delights continues to captivate both bakers and consumers alike.

Other Vending Machine Applications

Coca-Cola (Japan), together with Fuji Electric Retail Systems have succeeded in developing the “A011”peak-shift vending machine. This vending machine, developed as part of the Apollo ultra-energy-saving vending machine development project, can operate without using power for cooling up to 16 hours per day.

The successfully developed peak-shift vending machine shifts use of power for cooling from the usual peak mid-day to the night time, when there is a relative surplus power capacity.

In conventional vending machines, the temperature in the machine would rise slowly if cooling was stopped for long periods of time since only a portion of the products stored inside of it were cooled in response to sales in order to limit electricity consumed. However, in the peak-shift vending machine, all products stored are cooled during night time when there is relatively more power available.

In addition, by using more vacuum insulation materials, insulation has improved and the machine is not affected as much by outside temperature.

In preparation for full-fledged market launch, the peak-shift vending machine will be field tested until the end of August in Saitama Prefecture’s Kumagaya City and Gifu Prefecture’s Tajimi City, the hottest regions in Japan.

After verifying the new model’s performance, Coca-Cola said it will work to maximize their peak-shift functionality, extending the amount of time they can go without using power for cooling during time slots when power is generally in short supply.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Coca-Cola Japan has been implementing specific round-robin cooling suspension measures in its vending machines in all areas except Okinawa Prefecture, cutting power usage by 15%.

All newly purchased can and PET vending machines have been HFC-free since 2011, and LED lighting is being used in all vending machines since 2012.

Other Vending Machine Applications

A pioneering partnership between Warwickshire County Council and the hospital is making library books available around the clock for patients, visitors and staff.

Warwickshire Libraries have installed a library book vending machine by the pathology unit, an area of high footfall, effectively taking the library to those who are unable to get to a library building.

The vending machine holds around 400 books, operates 24 hours a day and is available for use by any members of Warwickshire Libraries. It is the first vending machine of its kind in the UK to be placed in a community venue.

George Eliot Hospital has a workforce of 1,800 staff and around 245,000 patients a year.  Many of them will have difficulties going to a library building whilst working or staying in the hospital.

Similar schemes have been set up in Sweden, the Netherlands and in California but these are primarily at shopping centres and railway stations. The only other example in the UK is housed outside Newcastle Library.

The machine is activated by scanning a library card and scrolling down the touch screen using simple commands to choose and borrow a book and take a receipt.  Books can also be returned and, like borrowing, the process takes a matter of seconds.

Each partner has had different roles to fill.  The county council purchased the machine and oversaw its installation.  It will provide stock and membership cards.  George Eliot Hospital provided the suitable location and access to network links in the building.  Its volunteers will undertake the day to day operations alongside library staff.

The machine was custom-built for the hospital and had to be linked to the library management system and borrower records, requiring a dedicated high-speed internet link.

Cllr Colin Hayfield, portfolio holder for customers, access and physical assets, said:  ‘There is a growing evidence that reading can play an integral part not only in well-being but also in recovering from illness.  This partnership will make books available to people who need this benefit but would not be able to get them.’

George Eliot Hospital’s Chief Executive, Kevin McGee, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Warwickshire County Council to bring this innovative new service to our patients, visitors and staff. It will be especially beneficial to our patients, helping to make their stay in hospital more comfortable.”

Other Vending Machine Applications

The Energy Conservation Center, Japan, announced on January 22, 2014, the winners of the 2013 Energy Conservation Awards.

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize was awarded to a peak-shift vending machine developed by Coca-Cola Japan Co.

By using vacuum insulation material and improving air-tightness, the peak-shift vending machine is capable of operating solely on standby electricity for up to 16 hours from 7am to 11pm, when electricity use peaks in Japan. The company’s efforts to make consumers aware of this feature for shifting electricity use to off-peak times when launching the 28,000 new machines nationwide was also rated highly.

Other Vending Machine Applications

A vending machine in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol that is supposed to sell coffee was jerry-rigged to dispense shots of vodka instead —- at about $1 a pop, and also sold an array of fruit juice mixers.

While this may seem amusing to some, authorities don’t find the tricked-out Vodka Vending machine funny. Ukrainian tax collectors are reportedly looking for the person or people behind the “wonder machine” — as it has been called — on suspicion of illegally trading in alcohol.

Interfax-Ukraine noted that illegal alcohol trade in Ukraine is a serious problem, with an estimated 35 percent of vodka sold in the country in 2012 being unlawfully produced. This means “every second glass and every second bottle” according to Anatoliy Viyevsky, Director of the Ukrainian National Alcohol and Drug Observatory.

About Vodka

Vodka is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage from Europe. It has different varieties originating in Poland, Russia and Sweden. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol, but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally it is made by distilling the liquid from cereal grains that have been fermented, with potatoes arising as a substitute in more recent times, and some modern brands using fruits, honey, or maple sap as the base.

Since the 1890s, standard vodkas have been 40% alcohol by volume. The European Union has established a minimum alcohol content of 37.5% for vodka. Vodka in the United States must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%.

Vodka is traditionally drunk “neat” (not mixed with water, ice, or other mixers), and it is often served freezer chilled in the vodka belt of Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine. It is also used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the vodka martini, Cosmopolitan, vodka tonic, screwdriver, greyhound, Black or White Russian, Moscow mule, Bloody Mary, and Caesar.

Other Vending Machine Applications