Order burgers with your face with this restaurant's facial recognition kiosk
Why bother trying to describe your perfect, nitpicky burger over the counter when you could just order one with your face?
Caliburger launched a new point-of-sale system on Tuesday that lets customers order using facial recognition technology. (This isn't the first time the American fast food chain has gone high tech -- it previously welcomed a burger-flipping robot called Flippy.)
The first time customers order using the in-store kiosks, they’ll be prompted to attach their face to their account using NeoFace biometric facial recognition software.
By recording your face in the system, you'll be able to automatically bring up a past order next time with a simple face scan, and earn points (or Calicoins) toward free food down the track. You still have to use your credit card for now, but the company hopes to replace this with face-only payment by 2018.
The machines are being tested at one store in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, but the company is keen to expand the technology across the U.S. and internationally, if customers enjoy the new service.
"Facial recognition is part of our broader strategy to enable the restaurant and retail industries to provide the same kinds of benefits and conveniences in the built world that customers experience with retailers like Amazon in the digital world," said John Miller, chairman and CEO of Cali Group, in a press statement.
It may be a first for the U.S., but facial recognition point-of-sale kiosks have been up and running in China since September. A KFC restaurant in Hangzhou has been testing a "smile to pay" facial recognition payment system, developed by third-party mobile and online payment platform Alipay.
What a time to be alive and order a cheeseburger with no ketchup and extra pickles on a gluten-free bun.
Topics Facial Recognition
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
