You may never lose a dollar to the vending machine again.
Massachusetts-based Next Generation Vending and Food Service has begun testing cash-free, biometric technology, linking the customer’s thumbprint to his or her credit card, reports MyFoxNY.com.
Another device in the works is designed with an iPod-like touchscreen — the customer can rotate the product’s image, allowing him to view the nutritional information before buying.
The company president, John Ioannou, told MyFoxNY.com that the machines were receiving strong positive feedback.
The company could begin selling the machines in the Northeast and Pennsylvania sometime next year.
In the meantime, the company is equipping all of its current machines with Internet connections to ensure products are kept in stock and cameras to alert a repairperson when a coin is jammed.
Next Generation also is trying out machines that use retinal scans to identify and charge customers for their vending machine purchases – but not in the United States — yet
