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Japanese Vending Machine Only Needs A Finger

by Caleb Johnson on July 30, 2009 at 03:34 PM

Hitachi employees don't have to worry about vending machines spitting out wrinkled cash or swallowing coins. In another addition to Japan's long line of unique vending machines that will never make it to U.S. shores, new soft drink machines allow employees to pay by swiping their finger instead of feeding in money.

According to Crunch Gear, the machine uses a proprietary finger vein biometric authentication system. Essentially, you hold your finger to the machine, it identifies who you are, and charges the purchase to the credit card of your choice. There's also an LCD screen that displays advertisements and other information. Hitachi says it isn't sure if the machine will be mass produced yet, but prototypes will appear in a few company offices by the end of the year.

As wonderful as it'd be to never have to deal with trying to smooth-out a wrinkled bill on a corner, don't expect this technology to appear in your break room at the office anytime soon. America obviously lags behind on the vending innovation front -- we've only recently seen ice-cream dispensers here. Fortunately, the States can lay claim to live-bait machines, and that has to count for something, right? [From Crunch Gear, via DVICE]

Tags: biometric, hitachi, japan, novelty, shopping, top, vending machines, VendingMachines, weird

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