DailyDirt: Robots That Ask, 'Would You Like Fries With That?'

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Robots are poised to take over a LOT of repetitive tasks that people are still doing because it's been hard to get computer vision and robot arms to replicate some kinds of detailed work. Machines are getting a better quickly, though, and plenty of manual labor jobs could be eliminated in the near future. Automation isn't quite ready to take over a huge fraction of the labor market just yet, but it might not be too long before no one will be able to joke about young kids looking for an unskilled job and upselling fries with a fast food order.

• A home-cooked meal could be made from scratch by a $15,000 robot in 2018 (brought to you by Moley Robotics). Do not get in this robot's way... or else "to serve man" may have an undesired meaning. [url]
• Fast food might be prepared faster with a burger-flipping robot from Momentum Machines. A burger robot can churn out 360 burgers per hour and never ask for a raise. (But can it serve breakfast after 10:30am?) [url]
• McDonald's is installing a few self-ordering kiosks to automate some of the ordering process at its restaurants. This isn't exactly a new trend for retail establishments, but this might get a tad less appetizing when all fast food comes out of fancy vending machines. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: ai, artificial intelligence, automation, chef, fast food, food, kiosks, robots, vending machines
Companies: mcdonald's, moley robotics, momentum machines

DailyDirt: Smarter Soda Machines

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Water fountains have improved somewhat over the years, but soda machines are really getting quite advanced. Not just limited to refrigerating sugary beverages, these vending machines are going to start tracking consumer behavior and offering some entertainment along with a frosty refreshment. Here are just a few examples of high-tech vending machines trying to connect with customers to sell more soft drinks.

• A Coca-Cola vending machine in South Korea will dispense free Cokes if you dance for your drink. The machine uses a Kinect controller and promises not to make fun of your Gangnam-style moves. [url]
• Intel has demoed a Coke machine that uses one of its Core i7 processors so that it can handle a giant touchscreen interface with interactive videos. Hopefully, the blue screen of death won't inconvenience too many thirsty patrons. [url]
• Vending machines are going to start telling you how many calories are in the beverages they sell. Pretty soon, these machines will also start guessing your BMI and suggesting diet sodas... [url]
• The Coca-Cola Hug Machine was dispensing free drinks to people who hugged the vending machine. Getting to first base with the soda machine didn't offer any additional benefits. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: beverages, kinect, pop, soda, vending machines
Companies: coca cola, intel

DailyDirt: I'd Like My Drink Sonicated, Not Stirred...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Chemists routinely use equipment like rotary evaporators, centrifuges, and ultrasonicators to extract, separate, and mix various chemicals in the lab. But, the same equipment can also be used to prepare unique and tasty drinks. Why settle for ordinary? Classic beverages are getting a makeover thanks to the creative use of modern technology. Here are a few examples.

• Manhattan bar Booker & Dax uses molecular gastronomy techniques to give cocktails the "mad scientist" treatment. The bartenders are known to light drinks on fire with a 1,500-degree Fahrenheit red hot poker, extract essences from herbs with a rotary evaporator, clarify fruit juices with a centrifuge, and age wine or whiskey with ultrasonic waves. [url]
• In 2009, Coca-Cola introduced the Freestyle soda fountain, which features a touchscreen interface and more than 100 different flavor options that can be mixed however the user wants. The machines use "PurePour" technology -- originally designed for measuring exact amounts of dialysis and cancer drugs -- and they send data about beverage consumption, peak times, and popular locations to Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters, which can order the machines to stop serving drinks immediately in case a flavor is discontinued or recalled. [url]
• In 2011, Pepsi unveiled their Social Vending System, which features a touchscreen interface and allows users to gift a Pepsi drink to a friend, along with a recorded video message. The machine will send a text message to the friend with a special code that they can use to redeem their gift at the nearest Pepsi Social Vending System. [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: beverages, chemistry equipment, drinks, food, molecular gastronomy, vending machines
Companies: coca-cola, pepsi

DailyDirt: New Year's Diets...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Maybe you've noticed your favorite gym is a bit more crowded recently. There are a lot of new year's resolutions for changing unhealthy habits, and eating better should be pretty high on that list. Here are just a few interesting articles on some dietary changes.

• If you can't avoid the call of edible products from convenient vending machines, you can at least try to pick some of the more healthy options from these food dispensers. B-7 will sink your battleship, but the granola bars aren't too bad. [url]
• Taste aversion works on wild predators, preventing lions from devouring domesticated cattle. Trying something similar on people probably isn't a good idea, though... [url]
• Weight Watchers is recalculating some of the formulas for its food program -- so that not all calories are equal. Not surprisingly, the company has filed a patent application on its new method. (NB: PointsPlus is not another social network.) [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: calories, edible, food, taste aversion, unhealthy, vending machines
Companies: weight watchers

DailyDirt: Robots To Help Feed Everyone

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Robots are supposed to help people do all sorts of jobs -- dangerous jobs, repetitive jobs, etc. And one really important job that robots could be really useful for... would be to help feed us humans. Here are some robots that are already pitching in.

• What could be more fun than a pancake-making robot made out of Lego... A Disney lawsuit story over the Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes? [url]
• Autonomous robot farmers will help harvest and cultivate all sorts of crops. As long as humans aren't turned into Coppertops... [url]
• Maybe grocery stores could just be giant vending machines. But somebody still needs to mind the store because it looks like roughly half of the population might try to walk out without paying. [url]
• To discover more interesting robotics-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: farming, food, pancakes, robots, vending machines

Face Scanning Vending Machine Fooled By Photos

from the like-we-couldn't-see-that-coming dept

Last year, we wrote about how cigarette vending machines in Japan were using facial recognition software to make sure the buyer was of an appropriate age. As we noted at the time, it seemed unlikely that such a system would work very well, and, indeed, The Raw Feed lets us know that it's easily fooled by a magazine photo of an older person. Not too surprising, of course, but you would think that someone would have tested for such things before putting the machines into practice. Unless, of course, they really don't care about the age of the buyers.

Filed Under: facial recognition, japan, vending machines