This post is part of our review of the 1000 or so products that were awarded a good design award. You can read all the posts HERE or if you want to learn more about the awards you can read our preface HERE.
Next Century Vending Machine
Amongst the winners in the consumer services category, in my opinion, there’s really only one design that deserves a mention. And that is the next-century vending machine.
Designed by Fumie Shibata, these state-of-the-art machines were first installed in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station last year. They boast a 47-inch touch panel, facial recognition technology (so it can recommend drinks based on age and gender) and electric money capability, which I assume means you can use your phone to buy your morning coffee. JR East is slowly rolling out these units over the next year or so and plans to have 500 of them around Tokyo by 2012.
The image below is from the Good Design Awards exhibition. I absolutely love the train-shaped benches!
October 11, 2011 at 11:24 pm
I saw this when they were first installed. It was amazing—we were able to pay electronically using a Suica card. Graphics were mesmerizing!