The University Of Waterloo has booted some vending machines off of campus after a student figured out that the machines were using facial recognition. The student tried using one to get some M&Ms, but got an error code that had the words “Facial Recognition.APP.exe”. The kid thought what the heck and shared a picture on social media. That got enough attention that the company who owns the machines released a statement saying, “”The machines do not take or store any photos or images, and an individual person cannot be identified using the technology in the machines. The technology acts as a motion sensor that detects faces, so the machine knows when to activate the purchasing interface.”
Sooooo, it needs to know that someone has a face in order to sell overpriced candy? Has there been a problem with headless bandits stealing 2 ounce bags of Doritos? How about a regular old motion sensor or how about a machine that simply takes my money and gives me a soda? Why can’t that work anymore instead of a lame excuse that no one believes.
Also, if I were a parent of the students, I’d be really creeped out about this. Luckily the University has asked for all the vending machines to be removed pronto.