Articles have been circulating in the media regarding privacy concerns with new M&M Intelligent vending machines at post-secondary institutions. You may have noticed the large bright yellow, interactive M&M vending machines throughout Progress Campus. Mars, the supplier, has provided these machines, which feature smart vending technologies with facial analysis capabilities to a few post-secondary institutions throughout North America.
As part of smart vending technologies, these machines feature an optical sensor to detect the presence of a human to activate the purchase mode on the machine. The sensor is also used for statistical purposes to gather anonymized, aggregated demographic data. However, the sensor does not collect any details that can identify an individual. Still, some members of neighbouring college communities have expressed discomfort around vending machines with the ability to collect this sort of data.
To address any potential concerns, Centennial College has ensured that the sensors have been disabled and covered, and all previous data collected has been deleted. In addition, a graphic will soon be added to the touchscreen stating the vendor does NOT track any personal information.