Skip to main content

Kraft and Intel make age-checking vending machine that doesn't serve children

Kraft and Intel make age-checking vending machine that doesn't serve children

/

Kraft and Intel built a vending machine that dispenses samples of Jell-O's Temptations desserts, and it won't serve to children.

Share this story

Kraft Intel vending machine
Kraft Intel vending machine

We'd never have guessed that vending machines were ripe for innovation, but apparently there are plenty of high-tech ways to get your snacks. We saw a 65-inch transparent display handling the task last week, and now Kraft and Intel are showing off a vending machine in Chicago that screens your age before dispensing Jell-O Temptations samples. The machine uses a special camera and Intel-designed software to determine your age, and if it spots a child it refuses to hand out the tasty treat. Sure, it's little more than a marketing stunt, and we're curious to know how the machine actually works (what's the age cutoff? And what would it do with Justin Bieber and Zac Efron?), but it's a pretty cool trick, and if it works, age-recognition could actually have some interesting (and more practical) implications.