Electronic display instantly identifies customer's sex, age range
Technology ( 20 )
TOKYO —
NEC Corp says it has developed a new plasma display that can instantly identify people’s sex or age range and target them with advertisements to suit them. The 50-inch (127-cm) display is being demonstrated at an annual festival in Tokyo run by Fuji Television network. The event, which runs through Aug 31, drew more than four million visitors last summer.
A camera on top of the display recognizes on-the-spot the age and sex of viewers who are standing in front of it.
If the device finds viewers are predominantly female in their 20s, it will show cute miscellaneous items sold by Fuji Television for young women or an NEC cell phone designed for the demographic.
“Conventional advertisements may show cell phones for young women to men over 60,” said Hiroshi Takahashi at NEC’s solution business promotion division.
“Changing advertising products in accordance with the viewer would bring advertising closer to the purchaser,” he said.
The system is presented as entertainment at the Fuji event, with visitors knowing they are being watched, Takahashi said.
But the system is seen as having growth potential as companies struggle to win the attention of customers who are increasingly bombarded by advertisements throughout the day.
Those who are interested in what is being advertised can hold their cell phones over a special device, which feeds them a URL link, coupons and other information on the products.
Advertisers can tell whether the promotion has been effective by checking whether viewers visited their stores or made purchases.
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20 Comments
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0
Badsey
the possibilities are endless here, but what does it mean if you keep getting the ads of an opposite gender or someone 20yrs older than you. There are some harsh realities with a device like this.
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tkoind2
Does anyone else find this tech trend disturbing? Already you are targeted by adds on TV, radio, signs everywhere, images and video on trains etc... etc... etc...
In a world with declining resources, increasing polution and diminishing oil availability we should be thinking of less ways to consume. But the corporations are looking for more and more ways to make us spend. How can we continue this unsustainable approach to the contemporary world?
I wish they would invent more things to help people. If we humans put 50% of the same effort we use to find new ways to sell and market things into making the world better, we could truly be proud.
Another invention we don't need!
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bamboohat
What they really need is an X-ray device that can check your wallet for cash, and target whoever has the most cash.
Of course if I walked in front of a screen like that, it would just laugh and say "move along, move along..."
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gogogo
Can't people just be anonymous on the street!? Japan the land of minimal / no privacy laws.
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Altria
I'm a bit worried about some robot looking inside my pants.
What if it displays an ad for penis enlargement or a venereal disease clinic?
0
electric2004
One comment: I think I have seen this already in a Movie. Was it "Total recall" or was it about the police (with Tom Cruise) who can foresee crime in the future.
On another aspect.
Bamboohat:
Unfortunately, this already exists. It is called RFID, and this is small chips that are embedded in banknotes. So with the right scanner, you know how much money the people around you have.
The idea of these RFID chips was to prevent fake banknotes. But it can be abused as mentioned above.
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thepro
Umm, I don't really care about ads, NEC. Try again.
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hoserfella
Ha! I'd like to see how it fares with most of the Shibuya boys/girls on the street these days.
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niku
Can it scan for large double edged knives too??
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stanoue
I reckon it would struggle with gaijin faces/bodies too.
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Farmboy
A moron paid 800 yen an hour can do the same thing. Technology is nice, but I sometimes wonder if people think things through...
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NuckinFutz
I know a few American women from Alabama that'd confuse the heck out of this thing! Unless of course it was programmed to accept women with burger king guts, hairy fat legs and mustaches!
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haytkayokomiya
Can technology br anymore intrusive?
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blvtzpk
Ooohhh...very Minority Report, ne?
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Sarge
I'll be impressed when it can guess my weight within 3 kilos.
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Nessie
An error of only plus or minus 1% is asking a lot, Sarge. ;)
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sf2k
This would just be more annoying. why not reduce advertising instead of increase it? less would be more.
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sf2k
yes, very minority report-esque
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