Coffee drinkers, prepare for what might be the biggest innovation ever—a coffee machine that serves up fresh brew when it sees you yawn.
This Douwe Egberts coffee vending machine, located at O.R Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa, comes equipped with a camera and facial recognition software that detects when a passer-by yawns. This prompts the machine—which is part of the brand's "Bye Bye Red Eye" ad campaign—to make a cup of coffee for the weary traveller, stat. While there are plenty of concerns surrounding facial recognition, I think this is one use of the nascent technology that we can all get behind.
OK, it might not the biggest technological advance in this history of coffee, but with any luck, maybe a gifted tinkerer figure out how to add this to home coffee makers—please?!
[YouTube via Ubergizmo]
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