There are no marijuana vending machines yet in the U.S. and this is because there’s no way to do age authentication or cap people from getting too much. Imagine if this were possible though.
A company called American Green Machine is trying to figure this out. The company is attempting to make a smart vending machine that with a biometric sensor, can identify unique veins in a person’s finger that would verify that they have an account with the company.
By using infrared lights, the sensor can view patterns underneath a person’s palm that are different in everyone. Even twins have different patterns underneath their palms. This technology could insure that those using the vending machine are old enough and that the person is matched to the account.
The Arizona-based company is hoping that this technology could open the door for many things that right now cannot be sold in a vending machine.
COO Stephan Shearin commented, “Having an account tied to your unique identity has its benefits. A smart vending machine would also be able to track how much you’re buying and cut you off based on the venue’s preferences.”
“It’s not like being cut off from drinks at one tap and then heading to another section where the bartender doesn’t recognize you. These smart vending machines remember customers based on their accounts, and if they get banned on one machine, they get banned on all of them,” Shearin said.
“It tracks everything, because smart vending does this. Tracking who has purchased it, how much they’ve purchased, which of course, leads you to think of predictive marketing or sales.”
American Green Machines expects the smart machine to be available in the next two months and is already in talks with sports stadiums, dispensaries and casinos near New York, California and Las Vegas.
