Everyone likes a free tasty snack, just check out how people circle like buzzards around those sample tables at Costco. A lot of kids don't even try to hide their greed, and would stuff themselves if the server didn't shoo them off. Now Jell-O wants to add that intimidation factor to a sample vending machine, by using a face scanner that determines your age and won't serve up a free treat if it thinks you're just a pesky kid.

Two years of work for Carnegie Mellon University's Paul Rybski and his team of students, the combined minds of 17 other faculty members, and a $20,000 cocktail including a laser navigation system, sonar sensors and stereo camera-eyes all led to...

On first glance, this amazing burger vending machine in Japan should be a novelty that dispenses horrifying burgers. After all, who would want a burger that's been sitting there for hours? But in actuality, it's backed up to a kitchen,...

Let's play some word association. If I say "pizza vending machine," what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Fast, maybe, but probably not delicious or fresh. Claudio Torghele, inventor of the "Let's Pizza" vending machine, wants his automated...