Chinese companies collaborate on facial recognition vending refrigerator

Global telecom infrastructure provider UTStarcom has launched a 5G-powered smart commercial refrigerator with biometric facial recognition to enable convenient automated customer payments. The launch is the result of collaboration with China Mobile Group Zhejiang Company Limited (Hangzhou), according to the announcement.

The new goBox smart vending machine enhances the buyer experience and drives greater consumption per transaction, the company says. Customers are identified biometrically without use of a mobile phone, and closing the door to fridge after removing a product completes the payment process. The system is supported by 5G, mobile cloud, and artificial intelligence technologies.

The goBox’s facial recognition system uses ultra-high-definition dynamic 3D facial data, with a peak data volume of 500Mb. UTStarcom says the high bandwidth 5G connection enables transmission and recognition in less than a second for “no hassle payment.” Various cameras and sensors collect real-time data and perform deep image recognition, and product recognition can take only milliseconds.

UTStarcom and China Mobile Group Zhejiang Company Limited are creating goBox applications for high-speed rail stations, hospitals, shopping malls, hotels, and other fields.

Automated retail systems with built-in biometrics are becoming increasingly popular, with Singapore estimated to have as many as one thousand biometric vending machines in the near future.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  China  |  facial recognition  |  retail biometrics  |  vending machine