Coke+RFID=OMG!

If you think that the soft drink dispenser would be the same forever, than you’re totally wrong. A new revolution, made by Coca-Cola, may shock the world of soft drinks. No more employee would be required to check the amount of syrup contained in the machine, the machine will do it by itself!

With the new Coke Freestyle, RFID are taking control of the machine. In more specific terms, the use of RFID by Coca-Cola is for warning the operator of the machine when stocks are low, it could be the employee of Coca-Cola or the owner of the restaurant or the convenient store.   Also, informations is sent to the responsable of the machine to see which brand sells the most.

What is RFID?

RFID is an abbreviation of  Radio Frequency IDentifcation. According to  Academia RFID, this technology is, in more simple words, a chip that is linked to an antenna. At this point , the antenna is tranmetting all the informations that are included within the chip by a wi-fi system which are transformed into numerical data. Those chips are directly put on stickers for products that we want to monitor.

How the Coke Freestyle Works :

How the machine works is very simple. When the customer wants a cold beverage, he can see all the beverages that are available in the machine. Usually, the Coke Freestyle machine has 106 brands of beverage. For example, if I want a Coke, I just have to touch the Coke sign on the touch screen. By clicking on the sign, a new screen appears with all the kinds of Coke that they have. For example, there is Vanilla Coke or Cherry Coke. Finally, I just press on the screen for the product that I want and I press “POUR”. Then, I can taste my glass of Coke!

Advantages :

By being a huge fan of Coke products, this machine would be a great idea for customers. There is a lot of advantages that we can take a look at. First, do you know how many brands of beverages this vending machine has? The Coke Freestyle has more than 100 flavors. There is so many flavors that i do not know in that list. For example, do you know there is a Orange flavored Coke? It is unbelievable!

Some convenience stores, like 7-Eleven, could use this concept for having new customer. For example, fans of the  Big Gulp, the biggest size of glass ever imagined would be pleased by this vending machine. However, too much flavors is the same thing as not enough flavors. There is a chance that some flavors will not sell much because they’re not popular or not well known.

Other avenues :

The Coke Freestyle vending machine could be used for rental during family parties or during events such as fairs. Also, those machines could replace those at McDonald’s. Could you imagine the number of people that would go there during the promotion every glass for just 1$. I’ll guarantee you that there might be some waiting lines during heatwaves in those restaurants. Moreover, some people that are addict to Coke products, like me could have this machine at home and enjoy a cold glass of Coke!

I would love to have this vending machine, because i’m an addict of Coca-Cola! Also, my friends and my family would be happy because all their favorite brands are in this machine, for example Sprite or Dasani water with flavors. However, it is under test in some parts of the United States, like in Georgia or California. When there will be a Coke Freestyle machine at the Université de Sherbrooke? I would like to know what do you think about this new innovation.