NFC Gumball Machine Sells Digital Content Instead Of Candy

Marketing agency Razorfish has taken the idea of a regular gumball machine and transformed it into an NFC-enabled prototype that takes quarters and spits out digital content for smartphones instead of gum. Once you've inserted the coins and twist the handle, you can hold your smartphone where the gumball chute is supposed to be to have that digital content delivered to your device.

Apps, movies, songs, ebooks and location-based coupons are offered from the prototype, which is probably a whole lot better than gum that loses its flavor after about 5 seconds of chewing it. The prototype uses a Galaxy tab for a display with two Arduino microcontrollers and an NFC reader that has been embedded in the front of an original gum machine metal base.

Razorfish technical director Heiko Schweickhardt said the machine brings "the best of both worlds together" between physical and digital content. While it only took about two days to create, it's definitely a great little idea that gets us excited about all the possibilities of how NFC technology can be used.

[via Verge]