Basically, someday, wall posters (or maybe even vending machines!) will detect your presence and try to sell you something.
‘Pssst! hey, you! Yeah, you! C’mere! Thirsty? Yes you are, don’t deny it. It’s hot and humid today and you haven’t had anything to drink in 2 hours and 14 minutes. Well, there’s a nice, frosty Coke in here with your name on it. That’s right, whip out your credit card and - thank you, have a nice day!’
Oh, the joy. :eek:
“…and your date there? She’ll play hard-to-get for a half-hour or so, but she’s really quite the tramp. Don’t you worry, you’ll be gettin’ some tonight. Better buy some o’ these Trojans, Bub”.
And serve up something almost, but not entirely unlike tea.
From the article
Yeah right.
I have a loyalty card to a supermarket where basically all I buy is booze. I do practically all of my other shopping at friendlier stores. Consequently the profile the have of my puchasing habits is totally wonky. They reward you for using the card by sending you coupons for the things they think you buy there, and the selection of coupons I get (that aren’t for booze) are often based on a single purchase. They already have screens showing ad’s in the aisles which make me feel like I’ve stepped into Blade Runner, I certainly don’t want that crap “personalised”.
Yeah, isn’t part of the joy of the vending machine that you get to make a totally anonymous transaction without any sort of human interaction?
I love going to the self-checkout lane when I have just a few things to avoid the possiblity of a chatty cashier. Even so, the fact that it gives you directions out loud (REALLY LOUD) bugs me. If the self-checkout lane had a mute button, that would be ideal. Sometimes I press the button for Español, just so I’m less distracted by it.
So, vending machines talking to me as I walk by? Uhhh, no.
I guess y’all missed a little movie called Minority Report .
Tom Cruise’s charater walks through a lobby where the video screen ads scan his retinas to id him as he walks by then call out “John Anderton! You need a vacation in the Bahamas.”,“You sure would look good in a new Lexus John Anderton.”, “Hey John! Check ot these new Nikes!”
I detect a significant amount of bullshit in that article.
They have no problem making the big jump between detecting your presence and ‘personalizing’ the message, but in reality that is a hell of a jump.
Detecting your presence is easy and has been done for years. For Pete’s sake, the tap in the bathroom detects my presence and turns on when I put my hands under it. Turns off about 2 seconds later too. Damn things never seem to work right, which gives you an idea of how far away we are from anything that could detect AND recognize me with any kind of reliability.
‘Detect moods from facial expressions’? Please. Give me a break. I’ll save them the trouble. The answer is that everyone looks pissed off.
“Hello. I see that you are pissed off. Would you like an anti-depressant?”
“I’m not pissed off, I’m just thinking.”
“Hello. I see that you are tense. Would you like a muscle relaxer?”
“I don’t need a muscle relaxer!!! Would you just shut up and leave me alone???”
“Hello. I see that you are pissed off. Would you-”
“AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!” {BANG!!!..SMASH!!!..CLINK}
“Hello, I see that your knuckles are bleeding! Please choose from my wide selection of antiseptic sprays and ointments. Would you like a Band-Aid Brand Bandage?”
Ohhh, yes. That’s just exactly what I want to see when it’s been three hours since my meager lunch, and I’ve got another two hours before dinner. I really need popup ads in my real freaking life that can tell that I’m starving and give me pictures of fat-enhanced hamburgers and french fries.
Next thing you know, they’ll be embedding spyware in their ads so they can track your movements around town and figure out where you go for lunch, what you ordered…
I started to make a joke about street-corner hooker jobs being outsourced to machines. Then my computer said, “Forget it, bub. It’s a lame joke, and it’s disrespectful to your electronic brothers.” :eek:
The article is a load of crap. Mood recognition is years away. Think of the variety in the shape, size and precise position of eyes, noses, and lips. Think of the variety of colors. Think of the variety of cosmetics, glasses, and facial hair.
The detection sensors won’t work well. They’ll be triggered by birds, stray pets, large trucks, etc. The cameras and such won’t last for another reason-People will hate them and destroy them. Nobody does that to the cameras on ATM’s for several reasons. The ATM doesn’t use the camera to identify you, annoying ads are minimal, consumers realize that the camera is there for their protection, and banks and police take vandalism of ATMs rather seriously. But, smash the camera an motion senors on the talking billboard and locals will celebrate you.
I wouldn’t say the article is crap - it says right in the article that mood recognition is still years away - this is basically just fancy motion detection at the moment. They’re not claiming to have done anything too astonishing yet, just saying that their initial work has potential in the future.
