Coke Freestyle machine
Don M
Posts: 1,653
If any of you have seen or used this new machine- http://www.coca-colafreestyle.com/ it is rather unique in that it uses a cartridge system for its different flavors.
The other day I was in a local restaurant and they were changing out one of the cartridges. The cartridge has an RFID tag on it that is used to unlock/open the lower compartment door. The user holds the cartridge up next to the door and it unlocks and the large touchscreen goes into a diagnostic mode.
He threw out the old cartridge so I nabbed it for a little "investigative research".
Attached are some photos of the cartridge.
I'm curious if anyone might be able to guess what frequency the RFID operates at by looking at the size of the antenna.
The other day I was in a local restaurant and they were changing out one of the cartridges. The cartridge has an RFID tag on it that is used to unlock/open the lower compartment door. The user holds the cartridge up next to the door and it unlocks and the large touchscreen goes into a diagnostic mode.
He threw out the old cartridge so I nabbed it for a little "investigative research".
Attached are some photos of the cartridge.
I'm curious if anyone might be able to guess what frequency the RFID operates at by looking at the size of the antenna.
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Comments
He's not supposed to. One of the selling points of the machine is that all the consummables are recyclable, unlike traditional syrup boxes which get thrown out in the trash and attract rats (because of the sugar).
I don't know what they use for the RFID frequency but the tags have a very low signal when interrogated. Anyway, I think you'll find plenty has been written up on these machines. The same (or similar) technology is or will be used to verify the drink cups. The machine will only dispense if the cup is A) the proper type and
SoCal was one of the test markets for these, and we've had them a couple of years. I remember some of the first dispensings I tried were really vile -- calibration was off, or something. All those kinks seemed to have been worked out. It's a fine product. I love playing Soda Jerk with it and mixing and matching. That's what it was designed for, after all!
An interesting side note is that it's said the machine stores the combinations people use, and makes a report of the most popular. Coke gets free market research.
-- Gordon
...and the machine copied your personal information from your driver's license for "future reference" and your debit card was charged for the amount dispensed.....not to worry!!
There's also the ability to track consumption per cup, for auditing purposes, and I'm guessing when you buy a drink they'll wave it over something to "register" it, so it will expire after a set period of time.
I can see the value in people sneaking a glass of Coke when they've only paid for a water cup. Naughty them, but I think the bigger loss to any restaurant is the drink sharing. You see that all the time. Even with the control, there's nothing stopping someone from buying one large drink, and then manually pouring it into the water cups. I think instead the technology is more worthwhile to track customer habits. Exactly how many refills does the average lunchtime eater use? Mickey D's doesn't seem to concerned when they sell a 32 oz drink for only 69 cents, and a guy like me refills (ice tea, no less, which is more expensive) a couple times.
-- Gordon