Kraft showed off a concept device as this week’s National Retail Federation Show that scans your face to determine your gender and age group and makes a corresponding menu recommendation. It’s called the “Meal Planning Solution.” Freaky deaky. No doubt that if this thing ever actually hits stores, it won’t be long before someone makes a video demonstrating how it’s racist. Just see what happened to HP’s webcam, and the Kinect…
Kraft Store Kiosk Scans Your Face Then Knows What to Feed It [Fast Company] (Thanks to GitEmSteveDave!)
More From Consumerist
-
FDA Says Writing Menu Labeling Regulations That Please Everyone Is A Tough Task
-
Kraft Suing Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, Claiming Rights To Cheese Since 1954
-
Baker’s Chocolate Shrink Rays Package From 8 Ounces To 4, Raises Price At Least 50%
-
Big Pizza: Calorie-Count Menu Boards Make No Sense For Our Product
-
Petition Asks Kraft To Stop Using Controversial Dyes In Its Macaroni & Cheese
So…if it scans your face and you’re obese does it recommend a salad with fat-free dressing? Or on the other hand you’re a bit boney (bony? not sure) does it recommend a chocolate cake?
Mmmmm I’m hungry….
Where can I find a doctor to change out my eyes/face?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNApKQLk_sg
Midwestern – bacon sammich on white bread with miracle whip, hold the tomatoes.
Hrm, I remember seeing this on Consumerist before, Japan is using them for drinks:
http://consumerist.com/2010/11/meet-the-vending-machine-that-recommends-drinks-based-on-facial-recognition.html
Interesting it found it’s way over here, for food no less.
The difference being that we Americans are more sensitive about race/gender stereotyping and are more litigious. This is gonna be fun…
From Boston – Chowdah and crackahs!
Its “chowderre!”
I am a skinny person, but I have a round face with full cheeks. If this thing tells me I can’t have any Oreos, someone’s going to get stabbed.
OMG I am the SAME way. I’ve had a slightly chubby face my entire life but I wear a size 0/1 in pants.
Yeah, I think you guys who predict people being offended when offered diet products and the like are way off the mark. It’s going to either suggest Kraft cheese with crackers for the big game, Kraft dip with chips, Kraft Cheez-In-A-Can with Pork Rinds or Kraft Oreos with more Kraft Oreos. I don’t think it’s going to be overly analytical.
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
How long before someone gets really, really angry at the machine because it scanned the face of a woman and displayed the results for man?
Umm… last time I checked food was gender neutral… correct me if I am wrong.
What do you mean I look like mac and cheese?
Me: “Yes I know, salad no dressing, again”
This sounds like a cool but ineffective concept. And highly likely to cause rage as you try to interpret the reasons why it suggested certain items.
That’s weird – the machine recommends I keep buying more Kraft products.
Even weirder – the machine recommended I shop at PetSmart instead…
Does it tell you the group it has decided that you’re in? Or do you infer that from its suggestions? I don’t want it to decide I look like a middle aged woman with children, even though I suppose that’s what I am. Is 30 middle age? My sister and I argue about that.
Stupid idea and I don’t buy Kraft anything..it’s the Walmart of cheese products..only worse.
How nice that you’re rich and can buy the very best and most
expensive! That will make you even more delicious in a few years
when *you* will be sample dropping from the machine
I was going to make a comment about how some racist would label the product as racist, but you beat me to it.
Why?
Given I’m white, it won’t have a clue that fried chicken and watermelon are two of my favorite foods.
wow. dont have times to list all the things wrong with this comment but WOW.
Sorry if you misinterpreted the comment. It was sarcasm based on the fact Kraft’s new “device” does nothing more than spit out a profile-based list on factors that likely include race.
BTW, I’m of Italian descent. Both fried chicken and watermelon were staple menu items in my Grandmother’s kitchen.
I was in line behind….. well, let me explain. They put 3 items on the checkout belt: a carton of milk, a package of cut-up chicken, and a huge watermelon. Let me just say, I think I had tears in my eyes trying to stop myself from laughing out loud behind them.
So…how practically does this work? Not every skinny woman in their 20s is a vegan. Not every balding overweight middle-age man is a steak lover.
Trying to judge a book by its cover, particularly with people, isn’t a good idea.
I think you all are giving it too much credit. My guess is it will be programmed with certain things or combos that Kraft or the store wants to move that week. “Oops, overstocked on Velveeta. Better have the face recognition kiosk suggest it for everyone.” Otherwise it will just pick things at random but use the “face recognition” as a gimmick.
As to suggesting things like salads to rotund people, my guess is it would go the other way and point them to the ice cream or pizza isle to have better odds of a purchase.
Kraft = Big Tobacco.
Used to be anyway..Not long ago either.
I wonder how these facial recognition machines would handle someone clad in zentai.
I heard that Philip Morris is selling off KRAFT Foods to an Israeli conglomerate. They will rename it to Cheeses of Nazarath.