Skip to main content

Next-generation Coke vending machines sport an Intel Core i7 processor

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Vending machines haven’t received a technological revamp in quite a while. We’ve seen interesting mods that require you either tackle, hug, or tweet to get a drink dispensed, but none of those integrations were revised from the root of the hardware. Intel is changing this up by introducing a next-generation of vending machines that will come with Intel Core i7 processors — making those tall machines typically found in gyms, school cafeterias, and airports run on the same chips that are supporting your average PC laptop.

Intel unveiled these next-gen vending machines yesterday at Intel Developer Forum 2012 in San Francisco, which completely changes the way these machines formerly looked. No more bulky buttons that display the drink options — everything will now be within a 46-inch touchscreen via a gallery style interface.

The new Coca-Cola machines also have a 1080p camera to snap pictures of the buyer so it can collect information about who is purchasing products from these vending machines and what they are buying. On the buyer’s side of interactivity, the built-in camera becomes a photo booth that allows customers to take pictures with their newly purchased product and send them off to friends. Can’t update anything these days without a social integration.

In addition to these specs, the next-gen vending machines also sport Wi-Fi connectivity, QR code reader, microphone, NFC, and a money slot. The option for NFC is great for those who are embracing mobile payment applications, and the QR Code reader is useful for the coupon clippers coming to claim their free or discounted drinks. 

The integration of large screen display is not only great for video interactiveness but also turns the average vending machine into an advertising space. We’re not sure if Coca-Cola plans to do anything with the information collected from the machine (other than the demographics market research) but you can be on a lookout for these next-gen Coke machines in the near future. The machines have reportedly started popping up in eight countries across South America so they should make their way up north shortly.

Image Credits: IT Pro Portal

Editors' Recommendations

Natt Garun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
An avid gadgets and Internet culture enthusiast, Natt Garun spends her days bringing you the funniest, coolest, and strangest…
Intel Core i9-13900K vs. Core i9-12900K: Is it worth the upgrade?
Intel Core i9-12900K in a motherboard.

Intel Raptor Lake is finally here, and although there's a handful of CPUs in this first wave of 13th-generation CPUs, it's hard not to focus on the flagship, the Intel Core i9-13900K. Equipped with a seemingly endless number of cores, capable of hitting those ultra-high clock speeds, and socket-compatible with Alder Lake, it checks most of the boxes as far as the top-shelf CPUs are concerned.

But the 13900K is mostly just a refinement of the 12900K with extra cores. Is getting a Core i9-13900K worth the splurge, or should you keep things more budget-friendly with a 12th-gen CPU? Below, we'll compare the two Intel flagships and help you choose a winner.
Pricing and availability

Read more
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs. Intel Core i9-13900K: a close battle
Intel Core i9-13900K held between fingertips.

Intel launched its 13th-generation Raptor Lake processors with the 24-core Core i9-13900K -- and on the same day that AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X hit store shelves. The Core i9-13900K and Ryzen 9 7950X are the flagship offerings of the next generation, and with both arriving so closely, PC builders have a tough choice between AMD or Intel.

Now that the Core i9-13900K is here, we can get an idea about how it holds up to the results we gathered in our Ryzen 9 7950X review. Our results show one thing: The journey to have the best processor of this generation is highly competitive.
Pricing and availability

Read more
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs. Intel Core i9-12900K: Two flagships face off
A hand holding the Ryzen 9 7950X in front of a green light.

When the Intel Core i9-12900K came out in late 2021, it was Intel's first true flagship CPU since its 2018 Core i9-9900K. It actually beat AMD's flagship Ryzen 9 5950X in both single- and multi-threaded performance, and the 12900K remains the fastest mainstream desktop CPU to this day and one of the best CPUs in general.

But AMD now has its Ryzen 9 7950X. It blows past AMD's previous-generation offerings, there's no doubt about that. Even against Intel's most powerful CPU to date, however, AMD's latest processor shows a big jump in performance.
Pricing and availability

Read more