Digital Lifescapes

The latest self-service technologies are gradually revolutionizing the process of human interaction with a variety of devices placed in public places, deployed to create improved levels of customer access or convenience. The global self-service market is technology driven and involves the use of automated teller machines (ATM), self-service vending machines and interactive kiosks within retail stores and other commercial environments. Self-service technologies offer human interfaces that enable customers to purchase a product or avail a service independent of direct involvement from a sales or service employee. Over time, many of these interactive devices may become an integral part of the Internet of Things , via enabling wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) cellular technologies. The prominent factors impacting the self-service technology market include, the rising adoption of self-service machines by consumer goods and service sector industries -- such as banking, healthcare, r...

Vending in its earliest known form dates back to 215 BC in ancient Egypt, where a device has been identified that dispensed holy water at places of worship when a coin was deposited. In the U.S. market, vending is generally conceded to have begun in 1888 with the Adams Gum company and their penny gum dispensing machines. Today, the vending machine industry is a global phenomena, and it is now part of the growing Internet of Things (IoT) connected device market opportunity. There are more than 17 million vending machines worldwide. The world's vending operators have either installed or are now considering adding Internet connectivity. The global installed base of connected vending machines grew by 18.4 percent to 1.16 million units in 2014, according to the latest market study by Berg Insight. Around 0.56 million of these machines have been installed in North America, whereas 0.15 million of the machines were located in Europe. The number of connected vending machines in ot...