Japan to start counting crow`s feet
Before you will be able to get any cigarettes out of the vending machines in Japan, you better make sure you have plenty of wrinkles, crow`s feet, and skin sags so that the machine can tell if you are old enough to smoke.
Seems to me that if you have that many wrinkles and crow`s feet, you are not only old enough to smoke, but you are a seasoned smoker!
The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20 and as the country's 570,000 tobacco vending machines prepare for a July regulation requiring them to ensure buyers are not underage, a company has developed a system to identify age by studying facial features.
By having the customer look into a digital camera attached to the machine, Fujitaka Co's system will compare facial characteristics, such as wrinkles surrounding the eyes, bone structure and skin sags, to the facial data of over 100,000 people, Hajime Yamamoto, a company spokesman said.
"With face recognition, so long as you've got some change and you are an adult, you can buy cigarettes like before. The problem of minors borrowing (identification) cards to purchase cigarettes could be avoided as well," Yamamoto said.
Japan's finance ministry has already given permission to an age-identifying smart card called "taspo" and a system that can read the age from driving licenses.
It has yet to approve the facial identification method due to concerns about its accuracy.
Yamamoto said the system could correctly identify about 90 percent of the users, with the remaining 10 percent sent to a "grey zone" for "minors that look older, and baby-faced adults," where they would be asked to insert their driving license.
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May 13, 2008 at 12:34 pm by amyjudd, 1424 views, 40 comments
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Comments (40)
at 15:03 on May 14th, 2008
I never smoke, but this was definitely a "bad habit" caught on camera
Charlene.Marie.Barretto has contributed a photo to this story.
at 16:34 on May 14th, 2008
thats one cool vending machine!
at 16:35 on May 14th, 2008
thats one cool vending machine!
at 17:27 on May 14th, 2008
Unfortunately I don't think I'd pass that one...
at 17:37 on May 14th, 2008
This photo is copyright Dustin Fenstemacher at Wonderful Machine, Inc. Styling by myself, Sarah Beaver. Taken at Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum in Orrtanna, Pa. The cigarette is candy.
sherbet tone has contributed a photo to this story.
at 17:42 on May 14th, 2008
cigarette vending machine from the london underground platforms. the machine is now displayed at the North Greenwich Old station museum.
lauramardon has contributed a photo to this story.
at 18:01 on May 14th, 2008
There's a gradual move, here in Tokyo, to vending machines that require driver's licenses or state IDs for cigarette purchases. I've seen a few of these. I haven't heard anything about wrinkle-detecting facial recognition software. Seems a long way off.
at 18:33 on May 14th, 2008
Hmm...I wonder if that will really work! It sounds kind of cool, though. I want to know if it thinks I am over 20 or if I would be considered a baby-faced adult.
jpre86 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 18:44 on May 14th, 2008
Barney and Trinigal are dress up for a cigar at SOHO, NY- it was a nice spring day in Manhattan, when I pass by at the cigar store to buy some for myself to join in with these guys. I have learn that it is very traditional for them to dress up and enjoy the cigar and a good conversation after the end of the day.. (Oliver M.)
el_filibooze has contributed a photo to this story.
at 19:13 on May 14th, 2008
Cigarette vending machine at Stool Pigeons in Richmond, VA. Currently used. After all, Richmond is home to one of the biggest tobacco companies in the US.
hoyden has contributed a photo to this story.
at 19:27 on May 14th, 2008
Taken at Buckets Pub in Racine, WI. I just thought it was a neat looking machine.
As for the Japanese vending machines -- I am not surprised to hear about this, knowing about how huge vending machines are in Japan, and for things we'd never think of here in the US.
empire74 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 21:07 on May 14th, 2008
I am surprised to find there are still so many kinds of cigarettes sold regardless of the quitting smoking trend for about last 2 decades.
There's also a lot of vending machines for beer, juice, tea etc everywhere in Japan.
But, the introduction of high tech machine like this is a big surprise. I wonder if they work properly.
Monbetsu Hokkaido has contributed a photo to this story.
at 21:39 on May 14th, 2008
Muck Monsterson has contributed a photo to this story. It's a classic cigarette machine found in a Chinese restaurant/lounge in Nashua, NH.
at 22:34 on May 14th, 2008
Copyright zipp0san in http://www.zipp0san.com
Taken in Shibuya, Tokyo (JP)
zipp0san has contributed a photo to this story.
at 23:25 on May 14th, 2008
This was inside the Hyatt hotel in Tokyo. How convenient.
moonstarpunx has contributed a photo to this story.
at 00:39 on May 15th, 2008
I love the texture of this photo, from the time I captured it to the day it was printed. It's still one of my favorite photos to this day.
Nick Rau has contributed a photo to this story.
at 00:51 on May 15th, 2008
The photo of a 50-year-old man taken in the barangay of Pantoc, town of Zaragoza, Province of Nueva Ecija …the “Rice Bowl” of the Philippines during my Lenten retreat.
You could see from his face the hardship that dictates clearly the lines and wrinkles he needs to overcome each day…having at least one meal a day…the rest is smoking and drinking alcohol to forget his problem which brings more to his physical incapability to work…that deprive him to improve the quality of life. Often than not, he became a parasite to his neighbors – depending on them to give him daily bread.
Photo coverage by: VIC DE VERA
vicdv888 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 02:41 on May 15th, 2008
Shot with manual lens - Helios 58mm f/2. It's some grandpa watching at his grandson. Oldsquare, Poznan, Poland.
Sakuto has contributed a photo to this story.
at 03:41 on May 15th, 2008
Marlboro machine
Artashes has contributed a photo to this story.
at 03:44 on May 15th, 2008
I'm not a smoker. In fact, I've spent the better part of my adolescence trying to convince my parents to quit. This photo was in essence nothing more than trial and error with light and smoke.
This facial ID method seems a little far-fetched. If Japan was really concerned with making sure under-aged citizens weren't smoking they wouldn't be putting cigarettes in vending machines.
seksistephie has contributed a photo to this story.
at 03:53 on May 15th, 2008
On the topic of cigarette machines with no age verification, this repurposed arcade grabber provides fun for the whole family. It is not likely that the company is intending to entice children to smoke, like many things in third world countries, they are probably just using the first available and cheapest machine for the job. It is probably just an added financial benefit that smokers in desperate need of a cigarette, probably can't keep their hands steady enough to score the goods.
chadwickmeyer has contributed a photo to this story.
at 05:54 on May 15th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 06:47 on May 15th, 2008
Sounds like interesting technology, but will it work?
hollesdottir has contributed a photo to this story.
at 06:57 on May 15th, 2008
Commoner28th has contributed a photo to this story.
at 08:12 on May 15th, 2008
Although this is not an age detector, the battery powered e-cigarette is really on to something –it actually saves you from killing yourself (filters the tar) while still allowing you that delicious cigarette pleasure…which is why this trend is bound to spread.
We spotted this creation by Ruyan at engadget.
Trendlover has contributed a photo to this story.
at 08:45 on May 15th, 2008
Smoking is bad, mmkay.
geekynat has contributed a photo to this story.
at 11:05 on May 15th, 2008
It's a good thing smoking CAUSES crows feet and wrinkles...gives the kids an edge to beat the system. ;)
at 13:45 on May 15th, 2008
Stefan Barth has contributed a photo to this story.
at 14:58 on May 15th, 2008
They still have cigarette machines in Europe... why?
Bill Sauro has contributed a photo to this story.
at 15:08 on May 15th, 2008
self portrait
Jaci Berkopec has contributed a photo to this story.