Put in a dollar and get a can of Coke - how boring. New vending machines are dispensing pizza, 3D-printing prototypes, and more varieties of soda than you've ever seen before.
1. Dream Vendor: A 3D-Printing Vending Machine
We know that 3D printing is making it easier for inventors everywhere to create prototypes of their designs. At Virginia Tech, students can even get a prototype the same way they'd buy a can of Coke. The campus is now home to the Dream Vendor, a one-of-a-kind vending machine made up of four Makerbot Thing-O-Matic 3D printers, each one loaded with a different-colour plastic. Users insert a personal SD card loaded with a file of their CAD-drawn 3D model into one of the machine's four interface boards. The selected printer then builds the 3D model layer by layer in cross-sections.
2. Dance Reward Coca Cola Machine
A cross between Dance Dance Revolution and a 1980s soda commercial, this vending machine in a South Korean mall will give a free Coke to anyone with enough dancing skill. Players begin by standing on a red circle in front of the machine and watching the built-in multi-panel video display. On the screen, members of local boy band 2PM start to groove. You're supposed to emulate their steps, and the better you do, the better your chances of nabbing the prize. The vending machine/video game uses Microsoft's Kinect, a motion-sensing input device that tracks a user's moves with an infrared projector, to decide whether you've got the moves.
3. Starbucks Vending Machine
Hoping to dispense vending machine java that's actually drinkable, Starbucks first rolled out its “heat on demand” machines several years ago. They rely on a process developed by Pepsi that uses super-cooled liquid, a mixture that can be reduced below its freezing point without solidifying. When you order a cup of joe, a button triggers nucleation, which causes the mixture to crystallize immediately, creating ample heat in the process. The company's newest machines, Starbucks on the Go, are stocked with espresso that is freshly ground when you order, and milk that is individually steamed for each drink. The machines (introduced in the U.K. last fall) feature a touchscreen interface from which you can choose 280 drink combos. The first four machines rolled out in the U.S. this fall, with thousands more expected throughout the country at gas stations and office buildings.
4. Let's Pizza Vending Machine
It's not delivery - it's a vending machine. With Netherlands-based A1 Concepts' Let's Pizza, choose from one of four pies. The machine kneads the dough - a combination of flour and mineral water designed just for this machine - then works it into a crust, layers it with tomato sauce and cheese, adds toppings, and pops the pie it into an infrared oven to bake. Voilà - a 10.5-inch pizza in about 2-1/2 minutes. Each Let's Pizza machine is connected to the Internet so it can automatically send an alert for replenishments when ingredients run low. The machines are popular in the U.K. and throughout Europe and might come to the U.S.
5. Wine Vending Machines
Self-serve wine-dispensing systems have been pouring into restaurants and bars nationwide over the last few years. One example is Napa Technologies' WineStation, which holds 28 bottles of wine simultaneously. It keeps open bottles fresh for up to 60 days by replacing oxygen with argon gas as wine is dispensed. Bottles stay chilled, thanks to a thermoelectric cooling system, eliminating the need for circulating liquid. To order, you insert a wine card purchased from the establishment (the cards prevent minors from using the machine). The wine card is embedded with a chip that keeps track of how much money is on the card, wine preferences, and purchases. You then use a built-in touch panel to select vino and pour size. The WineStation can be found in more than 30 U.S. airports, as well as in hotels, supermarkets, and even cruise ships.
6. Espresso Book Vending Machine
An entire book printed, bound, and delivered within 5 minutes - that's the idea behind the Espresso Book Machine, a literary vending machine that can choose from among more than 3.3 million titles to be turned into a paperback on the spot. EBM uses custom software called EspressNet to connect to and retrieve titles from a variety of global sources, including traditional and self-publishers, before transmitting them to the machine's Xerox 4112 copier/printer. The EBM then prints up to 500 pages at approximately 100 pages per minute, trims them to the correct size, and uses a hot (350 F) glue to bind the compilation, with a full-colour cover that's identical to the original print. Dozens of these are located at bookstores and universities throughout the U.S.
7. Coca-Cola Freestyle Vending Machine
Introduced in the U.S. in 2009, this 21st-century soda fountain can create more than 125 base drinks and custom-flavour combos. Orange Coke, Grape Powerade, and Fruit Punch Fanta can all be yours with a few touches of the screen. The machine's PurePour system foregoes the 5-gallon bags of premixed syrup like you'd find behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant for a series of concentrated 46-ounce cartridges containing soft-drink syrups and other flavoured syrups.
8. Pharmaceutical Vending Machines
Found mostly in emergency rooms and urgent care centres throughout the U.S. and Canada, these ATM-style vending machines allow patients - equipped with a code from their doctor - to access prescription meds such as pain relievers and cold remedies 24 hours a day. Using a touchscreen monitor, a person enters a prescription code, answers a few questions, and makes a payment by debit or credit card. The machine triple-checks the request against a barcode before labelling and delivering the meds via a chute. The machines are also equipped with a direct-dial phone that connects with real live pharmacists on the other end.
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