Azkoyen to unveil first coffee machine with Irisbond eye-tracking technology at NAMA Show

Spain’s Azkoyen Group, a maker of vending machines and payment systems, said it will display and demonstration a coffee machine controlled solely by eye gaze at the upcoming NAMA Show in New Orleans. The eye-tracking technology was developed by Irisbond, which will be exhibiting with Azkoyen at the trade show.

The two companies will demonstrate the technology in Azkoyen’s Vitro M5, a superautomatic coffee machine in the company's line of the same name. Vitro M5 is engineered to process fresh milk for coffee beverages. It features Azkoyen’s micro-injected air technology to produce a “perfect, silky and consistent milk froth that maximizes the quality of the drinks…”

Using infrared-based eye-tracking technology, the machine user's gaze is analyzed by the Irisbond system, which calculates the exact point the user is looking at to control the machine without the need for physical contact.

Azkoyen emphasized that the technology does not require any user information, so no personal information is collected or stored.

"We are very satisfied with the warm reception that this innovation has enjoyed in Spain, as it demonstrates the importance of improving the user experience, and we want to take it to the strategic market of the USA,” said Juanje Alberdi, chief executive of Azkoyen Group’s coffee, vending and payments technology divisions. “This partnership with Irisbond takes us a step further in providing more value to customers and users.”

Alberdi said that Azkoyen has patented the “distance selection” technology that is being demonstrated in its coffee machine.