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But you might be surprised by the second-leading source of the expected surge in traffic. It won't come from people, but from machine-to-machine communications, or "M2M." Think of sensors in cars and in appliances, surveillance cameras, smart electric meters, and devices still to come, monitoring the world and reporting to each other and to centralized computers what they're detecting. The chart below, reprinted from the Cisco report, shows just how extreme the jump in machine-to-machine communications could be. It is expected to grow, on average, 86 percent a year, and by 2016 it is expected to reach 508 petabytes a month, or half a billion gigabytes.

The vending machine, which employs video streaming technology, will allow those aiming to enjoy a Coke, to view buyers on other machines around the world. The two thirsty friends must work together to draw a heart and earn a Coke.

daily 10.5

users can download an app, sign up for an account and load their account with money from a different account to make mobile purchases on this vending machine. it only has one button- the rest is mobile. users get credits for a few cans of soda and a discount for using the vending machine and app to incentivize use

Isis is expanding a program that lets mobile users pay for vending machine purchases via their smartphones with a loyalty tie-in that rewards repeat users. The new program provides free products based on points earned by smartphone users who pay at participating vending machines with the Isis Mobile Wallet.

Hmmm, machine creativity may be the tipping point to superiority: https://qz.com/1205270/art-made-homo-sapiens-smarter-than-neanderthals-and-better-equipped-to-survive/

It appears that vending machines for cabs may be the next frontier for the market, with both TaxiTreats and New Orleans Carriage Cab developing ways for passengers to buy products on the move. Vending machines appear to be a platform ripe for new innovation, and Springwise has seen numerous twists on the concept - from beer and wifi dispensers to machines that work only for adults.

"An absolute beginner's guide to machine learning, deep learning, and AI"

"Human: What do you like to talk about? Machine: Nothing."

 accept mobile payments form NFC-enabled phones by tapping the phone on the vending machine. A small display on the vending machine lets the customer "spin the bottle" to see nutritional information while a larger display can display videos and advertisements.

This is old (2 weeks), but I like the idea of unconventional vending machines to raise brand awareness.

Have you seen the hot dog vending machines? They grill the dog and toast the bun inside the machine. Brilliant.

samppling vending machine that tests people to see how far they would actually go to get a sample

Uniform, a British brand communications agency, has rigged up a crazy gumball machine that gets activated whenever anyone follows them on Twitter-sending a gumball careening down a long and winding chute, coming to rest in the agency's studio, where workers presumably fight over it (or maybe not). In the meantime, the agency @replies you with a link to a video of the machine in action (though not, sadly, featuring footage of your particular gumball).

text your coffee order to the machine and it will brew it for you and mark it with edible ink to mark your specific cup

Users scan a QR code then create a profile to check-in for badges. The vending machine will recognize the user and talk to you about things like the weather and your birthday. 

Does the future need us? Last year 1/3 on new energy in the US was solar. The internet of things takes an extraordinary amount of power to run. Will energy producing machine merge with computing machines to a self sustaining system?

They outfitted a claw machine with equipment to allow people to control it remotely from their desktops and filled it with Nestea.

Using a smartphone, enter likepepsi.com, then connect with your Facebook account, like the Pepsi Facebook page and get a free Pepsi. The vending machine also uses the phone's location settings to make sure that only those in the vicinity receive a free sample for their 'like'. Those without smartphones use the 42" built-in touchscreen to log into Facebook to receive a free drink. Once the sample was given, a timer ensured everyone was logged out of their accounts. This new method of sampling provides real-time feedback on who has liked, tasted and enjoyed the beverage.

cool execution by raxorfish -- "gumball" machine that gives you digital goods like coupons, games, videos books, movies, etc for 25 cents

In LA, Activate drinks has set up what it calls a human-powered vending machine. Angelenos can hop on, peddle for 30 seconds (way too short if you ask us but we're sure Activate doesn't want to cause any fat, lazy Americans a heart attack) and get a free drink.