Facial Recognition Vending Machine Debuts 172
Peter Hanami writes "Yesterday in Japan, a facial recognition vending machine went on sale that can tell the age of the buyer based on a range of features including number of wrinkles, bone structure and how the skin sits on the face. It was developed as a way to stop minors from buying cigarettes from vending machines. In Japan, cigarette vending machines are a common feature on the street and presently few safeguards exist to stop younger users from purchasing them. This new machine is seen as a positive step to reduce under age smoking. If the machine doesnt deem the buyer to be of suitable age, 20 years old, the buyer must provide further identification such as a drivers licence."
Re:wtf? (Score:1, Informative)
The original article is at yomiuri.co.jp [yomiuri.co.jp].
Re:Why not compare ID with face? (Score:3, Informative)
I guess you haven't figured out how to think like the Japanese yet.
Re:Why not just use the DL at first? (Score:3, Informative)
A lot of people in Japan don't have driver's licences.
Anyway, the whole idea is to make the transaction quick and not require the purchaser to find a card. It's an initiative by the cigarette machine makers to make their machines more acceptable, not by the government to reduce cigarette smoking by youngsters.
Re:Why not just use the DL at first? (Score:2, Informative)
Because a lot of people don't have driver's licenses here, and thus there is no standard ID card to read, nor is there any requirement that you actually own one. A fair amount of people will actually use their bankbook or similar document, and for signatures you'd use a hanko.