Not my first Mac of course, as that was consigned to a skip somewhere in Cambridge over 20 years ago. I paused to consider that, with hindsight, I should have kept it. After all, I had decided to keep several colours of the Jonathan-Ive-designed iconic transparent iMac, purchased in 1998. That was the year the project that was to eventually become FoodBev Media began.
From a scalpel and glue ‘commercial artist’ in the late 70s, Apple enabled and defined my career development to graphic designer. A neat combination of the internet and the iMac fuelled change which eventually took us to you reading this blog on FoodBev.com.
And did we see change coming? Not really, and not as fast as it has happened. It’s true that we simply do not know what is around the corner, what new – and I mean genuinely new technology innovations will shape our world tomorrow, and maybe even today.
So all that memory lane and future gazing takes me to the latest thing to shock me with a ‘surely that’s not possible’ innovation.
Facebanx software has been launched. It allows your face and voice to replace your passwords.
While each step in my personal 30-year technological journey has been partly defined by the need to remember countless passwords, Facebanx has developed the world’s first ‘log in’ using just your face and voice. By using your personal biometrics in this way, it will not only avert the problem of forgotten passwords but also help to prevent ID theft and account takeovers from taking place.
Facebanx’s CEO Matthew Silverstone said: “By simply pointing a devices’ camera and taking a selfie and then repeating out loud four randomly generated numbers, customers will be able to log into their account within seconds. This technology is incredibly accurate as it combines two different biometrics into one seamless experience.”
One of the first businesses to trial the software is a global telecoms company that is freeing its customers from the need to remember their passwords and in the process saving tens of millions of dollars by reducing call centre costs.
Other trials due later this month include multinational banks who are seeking to improve security by adding Facebanx’s voice and face biometrics to customer accounts, reducing the scope for criminals to access them. As well as reducing fraud, the new Facebanx service can help banks meet demanding compliance requirements and provide them with a safeguard that customers are in fact who they say they are.
And why am I personally interested in this development? We’ve recently announced the reimagining of our Cooler Innovation magazine to become Cooler Plus – with an accent on vending. To my mind, one of the most fascinating developments in the vending industry is cash-less vending and the advent of machines that interact with consumers through facial recognition software. Facebanx – and other technologies that are doubtless just around the corner – potentially add a new and exciting dimension.
I can only close by thinking ‘what will they think of next?’. It’s so exciting that we don’t actually know, but you can be sure that if a new technology will prove useful in the food and beverage industry, you’ll read about it here.
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