Douwe Egberts Coffee Creates Yawn-Activated Vending Machine

Coffee Company, Douwe Egberts has gotten some press around their “Bye Bye Red Eye” campaign which places smart coffee machines in airports that dispense a free cup of coffee when travelers yawn.  The vending machine employs facial coding technology which identifies yawns and other facial gestures to create a fun campaign that remedies tiredness. Tech like this can be used to trigger media and real world actions based on a variety of emotions using webcam software. While they have only served 210 passengers so far, this is more of a PR stunt for the Dutch coffee producer.

TaxiTreats becomes Vengo, Gets $1M in Investments

New investments hope to launch Vengo, the mini vending machine distributor, into the mainstream.  The startup began as TaxiTreats, aiming to install vending machines in the backs of cabs, but has since expanded to target bars, offices, and other locations where small vending machines offering a variety of convenience products could be desirable.  Payments are currently all by credit card, and operation is entirely by touch screen, and once the mobile arm of the company clears its technology to be installed in cabs, brands could be clamoring to get involved, offering their products on the go, possibly with some form of smart advertising.