Futuretail: The Retail Technology Weblog

Isn't this the coolest thing ever!

Wow, I really like  thyis.

An ATM for prescription drugs

A sexy half-step in the right direction: consumers in California and Virginia can now refill their prescriptions using an ATM-like kiosk machine rather than interacting with a pharmacist. Sounds great, but it really isn't that big a step forward. It's basically a lock-box for filled prescriptions, and pharmacists still have to put the drugs into pill bottles, so it really only makes it so consumers can pick up their prescriptions after hours when the pharmacy is closed. What would really make this interesting (albeit challenging for regulators) would be to combine this technology with the machines pharmacists already use to dispense controlled narcotics. But for now, I guess the big shiny box will attract some shoppers and turn off others.

Cell phone payments coming to the US

Well, in addition to being able to use their cell phones to order things from Amazon with the camera and summon Godzilla, Japanese consumers have been able to make purchases using their phones as a contactless credit card. Well, the technology must be past ready for prime time now, because we're about to get it here in the US. Mastercard is piloting a cell phone version of its RFID-based payment system that will allow consumers to make purchases here in the US.

Digital advertising screens communicating with Bluetooth

OK, so the real question here is... what constitutes "opting in?" If your Bluetooth enabled phone is set to "discoverable mode," when you pass by these plasma display screens at Heathrow airport, you will receive a message asking if you'd like to download the video content to your phone. One of the big drawbacks of the system is that currently, the content you download is a Volvo ad... not something I would want cluttering up the scarce memory inside my cell phone. A similar project, where infrared technology was used to beam a coupon for a Nintendo Pokemon game, apparently resulted in 10% of the coupon recipients redeeming the coupon. An impressive stat, no doubt, but perhaps if the video clip of the new Volvo included a $1000 off coupon, it might make me want to download it.

Radically cool display solves "want fries with that?" question

This is way too cool to be an academic project, right? I mean, this has to be something from a truly innovative high-tech company's lab... but alas, it was a graduate student who built this incredibly cool application that combines an over-table digital projector with a pressure sensitive surface on the table to make the area around a diner's plate fully interactive. Click here to watch the system in action (Warning: QuickTime video).

A biometric alternative to RFID: vein scanning

Retailers considering technologies to allow customers to identify themselves (note that I did not say to identify customers...) should take a look at new technology from Fujitsu that uses the unique pattern of veins in every human being as a way to identify an individual when they pass their hand over a scanner. This is already wildly cool from an access control perspective, but think of all the applications we are considering customer-owned RFID tags for. If identifying myself simply requires passing my hand over a scanner (as opposed to keying in my telephone number then pressing my finger on a fingerprint device), there are countless applications to create an experience with customers without embedding an RFID chip surgically (ewwww......)

Biometrics once again not-quite-ready-for-prime-time

One of the biometric apps I've often thought would work well in retail is signature verification. Unlike iris scanning (too "Minority Report" and also a dangerous place for enemy assassins to hide needles and poke your eyeball) and fingerprinting (face it, if you have to key your phone number in, why not just add four secret digits, call it a PIN, and save the cost of the fingerprint scanner?), people are accustomed to signing their name on checks and credit card receipts. Unfortunately, when put to the test, signature biometrics don't work as well as one would hope. Oh well, IBM's been working on it for years. Hopefully someone will finally make it work.

Ethernet-powered computer debuts

UK computer company DSP Design has just released a new flat-panel, touch-screen based PC that is powered by Ethernet (PoE) rather than a traditional power source. So what does this mean for retailers? Well, first, it means that the device can be placed anywhere in a store, and being low-voltage, Ethernet cable is both easier to run than power cabling and has the bonus of not being subject to local building codes. Second, as the linked article points out, Ethernet is a global standard... so the devices work everywhere. The same cannot be said for traditional power supplies that need dozens of adapters to work everywhere. This means that multi-national retailers could deploy a single device to multiple countries. It should come as no surprise that this device originated in Britain, home of the world's clunkiest three-prong power plugs. But alas, I doubt even they will give me a PoE tea kettle and electric razor.

Next from the land of the Rising Sun... HyperSonic Sound vending machines

So I'm sure by now some of you think I should rename this "Japan Futuretail" but I swear, if we only had these cool devices here I would write about them. Apparently thousands of Japanese soda machines are now going to woo passersby with the sound of soda pouring using a new technology called HyperSonic Sound (sounds like an oxymoron to me, but then again, I'm not a scientist...) It looks like the company that created it (oh-so-cleverly-named American Technologies) also makes some "industrial/military grade" noise cancelling gear... I'll be first in line to buy a "Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)"  if the FCC unwisely decides to allow the obnoxious guy next to me on an airline flight to loudly use his cell phone.

Target on drugs... seriously!

Already known for bringing style to the masses with the Mossimo, Michael Graves and Phillipe Starke, Target will begin offering a stylistic (and hopefully practical) treat to prescription customers when it switches over to a new prescription pill bottle designed by Deborah Adler, a graduate of the New York School of Visual Arts. While it isn't quite the RFID-enabled pillbox we've all been lusting after, it certainly looks more legible than the old pill containers. And it even looks cool, which is a bonus if the medicine you're taking makes you feel a bit dorky.