Posted 07.21.2009 at 3:58 pm
17 Comments
Coca-Cola Freestyle
The machine is able to mix up to 100 different drinks on the fly, with a touchscreen-based ordering system.
Fast Company
If you never thought that soda machines would adapt to the high-tech world, think again. Coca-Cola's Freestyle fountain comes equipped with a touchscreen that is able to mix flavors on the spot, using precise machinery originally developed for dialysis and cancer treatments.
There are over 100 flavors available, across an array of drink brands, including Coke, Fanta, energy drinks, flavored waters, and more. When you select a drink, you're able to select from a variety of flavors, some of which are unfamiliar (Raspberry Coke?! Peach Fanta?!).
Instead of large, five-gallon bags of pre-mixed syrup, the Freestyle PurePour system uses ultra-concentrated 46-ounce cartridges to mix drinks and allow for a greater array of flavors, all coming from one spout. There are also RFID tags to keep track of all the different flavors held inside the cabinet and their current status.
And like any piece of 21st-century equipment, the Freestyle has the ability to send back all sort of data metrics to Coke HQ, including what the popular flavors were, when and how much people were buying, and what locations were most favorable. Coke HQ even has a kill switch for any flavors they need to stop offering ASAP.
Machines are popping up in California, Georgia, and Utah currently, and there will be 60 of them across the U.S. by the end of summer. The only downside to this thing is that it doesn't let you mix up mind-bending suicide cocktails, like a Peach-Grape Fanta with a touch of Sprite. One can only hope.
[via Bsquare via Fast Company]
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This looks awesome.
WOW!!!!!!!!!
Wow... I can see the masses now, all running for their custom flavored high fructose corn syrup. God, I hope they don't stick these things in high schools!
I'm sure the corn lobby is pleased... =P
Wow, aren't you clever with your condescending tone simplecj.
Why don't we just see this for what it is, technology that's improving the user experience, along side the ability to create on the spot the exact drink someone chooses based on common ingredient.
Not only is it a great deal for beverage drinkers (aka everyone) but also from a production point of view. Why create vast quantities of lime cola if it doesn't sell, now you make exactly what people want and no more.
Save the food industry conspiracy for the hipster blogs.
I didn't see simplec's comment as condescending, but yours came across that way...
Christmas list:
oven with touchscreen controls
refrigerator with touchscreen controls
toaster oven with touchscreen conrols
sink with touchscreen temperature control
tv with touchscreen remote and rf instead of infrared.
dishwasher with touchscreen controls
washing machine and dryer all in one package with touchscreen controls
(one machine to both wash and dry)
microwave with touchscreen controls
the list goes on fore just about everything there is today.
i mean come on. now they have maps with touchscreen controls.
AND TELL U WHERE U ARE AT THE SAME TIME!!!!
Next, we are going to have professional robot bartenders and countertops touchscreens that will make you the perfect Pina Colada Martini!
I don't drink Coca Cola. I don't drink soda pops. Am I crazy that I am not that excited?
Mira @ www.teeth-diseases.com
cool. i want carbonated strawberry flavored milk.
Wow. Lots of Debbie Downers on technology. I do agree with absurd6's POV on consumer choice. Innovation there is the key to success. If consumers decide against corn syrup product, that's a easy fix. Props to the techies that made this possible.
Wow thats classic! I love it, but does that mean no more buying cooldrink from retail outlets?
yes finally not haveing to buy overpriced drinks thank the lord
If there's one brand to be conquered by other brands it's no other than Coca Cola Company. It is the largest distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates - believe it or not. Coke won the Pepsi challenge, or rather – Pepsi has dismally failed the Coke challenge - miserably. The next biggest brands, under the Coca Cola Corporation, are, in order, IBM, Microsoft, GE or General Electric for those out of the loop, then Nokia. Coke has been around over 120 years, starting in the latter half of the 19th century in Atlanta, Georgia, and still remains the largest bottler worldwide, and ships more bottles than anything else – including Guinness. Further reading is on http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/09/19/cash-flowing-worlds-valuable-brand/
This technology is awesome.
I don't see simplecj as condescending...simplecj is totally right about corn syrup. Has anyone ever compared a drink that is sweetened with exclusively sugar vs. a drink sweetened with sugar and corn syrup? Down here in Texas we have a drink made in Mexico called Jarritos. It has many different flavors. My fav is the mandarin orange and the strawberry. I buy these because they are sweetened with sugar exclusively. A 13.5 oz bottle has 29 grams of carbs. A 12 ounce can of coke has 50 grams of carbs-almost twice as much with less drink.
The competition will answer. See Sept 07 issue.
The video in this post doesn't work. It says it's private. I was hoping for something showing the inside of the machine and how it all works.