Published
The firm that manages vending machines for drinks, snacks and other consumer goods of all kinds says it wants to exploit the potential of connected technologies to develop.
A distributor at Bern station who knows that you bought a soda a week ago in Zurich and immediately offers you to buy a packet of crisps, this is how Selecta sees the future of its business . The firm’s technical manager, Patrick Stirnimann, opened the company’s doors to «Bern newspaper» to show his ambitions.
In the more or less near future, the idea would be to equip vending machines with a camera and facial recognition software to detect customers, without registering their identity. People would be listed under a number – customer 15,354 for example – without recording their name or contact details, the manager promises.
If this project reminiscent of George Orwell’s “Big Brother” is possible from a technical point of view, can we read in the “Berner Zeitung”, it is not for all that close to being realized in Switzerland for reasons data protection. But for the manager, the important thing is to reduce as much as possible all the obstacles that could exist between the customer and the product.
The stock of automatons in real time
For now, the company is focusing on more realistic connected technologies. For example, it has already set up a centralized computer system for its approximately 3,500 distributors. It is possible to see, almost in real time (updated every 10 minutes) which products are purchased in the four corners of Switzerland. A way to optimize the filling of vending machines out of stock, but also to see what are the consumption habits depending on the location. For example, we learn that energy drinks are very popular at the Inselspital in Bern.
Selecta also focuses on so-called “intelligent” food distributors, particularly intended for businesses. These devices allow employees to help themselves to a salad and a drink from a fridge. The latter, by means of an integrated scale system, “knows”, by weight, what has been removed and directly displays the price of purchases that can be paid for by means of a badge. Patrick Stirnimann says he is convinced that these automatic distribution systems “are the future” of the branch.
(jba)