It's a future imagined in the 2002 movie, Minority Report. Cameras capture and read Tom Cruise's face, and then customized ads for his character pop up.
"John Anderson, you could use a Guinness right about now."
That future is now. This billboard sees you, scans your face, and then pulls up an ad you'll like.
Here's how it works. When you walk up to the ad, a camera captures your image. The computer figures out if you're a man or a woman and your age. Meanwhile, an age and gender specific ad rolls.
This shows I'm in my 30's and I'll like seasonal pasta.
The computer then determines how interested you are, how long you stay. That data is then recorded for the company."
NEC engineer Junko Amagai says the facial recognition technology is accurate to within 10 years of your actual age.
And the next-gen system they're testing out is even more age-accurate. This is a new age of advertising, says Amagai.
We can learn something we never knew for marketing… the new ads give real time reactions to street signs, so marketing can be more targeted, and more effective.
NEC believes the use of this technology in advertising is just the next step.
