Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

Spy Mannequins May Collect Your Data This Christmas

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A few months ago, one “Ad agency by day, invention lab by night” announced a new product which paired facial recognition and Facebook to check customers in to a location as soon as that customer walked through the doors. Now, some luxury stores in Europe and the U.S. will be bringing in their own eye-level cameras and hiding them in the most obvious of places: the mannequins.

While these ever-watching mannequins won’t be used to check-in customers on social networks, they will be used to watch the customers closely, take note of some basic demographic data and log it away, creating a profile of what kind of customer most frequently visits the stores. For the retailers, this is a brilliant, if not somewhat obvious move. For customers and campaigners, the gaze of these just-realistic-enough models can be a little creepy.

Italian mannequin maker Almax SpA is the company behind EyeSee, the voyeuristic mannequins in question. Just as it is in real life, these models don’t come cheaply, costing retailers just over $5,000. However, those shops that do buy an EyeSee are already reconfiguring their layouts and promoting big sales to bring in more customers, thereby giving the EyeSee models even more people to look at. Luca Solca, head of luxury goods research at Exane BNP Paribas in London told Bloomberg, “It’s spooky. You wouldn’t expect a mannequin to be observing you.”

Customers are already quite accustomed to having cameras in retail stores, of course, but the Almax EyeSee mannequins bring a new level of creepy to the table, placing these cameras directly at eye-level.

Max Cantanese, chief executive at Almax, insists that these mannequins are “blind,” meaning they only collect the data about a person’s face as opposed to recording the images of a specific person.

“Let’s say I pass in front of the mannequin. Nobody will know that “Max Cantanese” passed in front of it,” said Mr. Cantanese in an emailed statement to MailOnline. “The retailer will have the information that a male adult Caucasian passed in front of the mannequin at 6:25pm and spent 3 minutes in front of it. No sensible/private data, nor image is collected.”

So far, it appears as if the EyeSee mannequins are doing their job, sending plenty of useful information back to the retailer. According to Almax, one retailer noticed that men who shopped in the first 2 days of a sale spent more money than women in the same time frame. This data spurred this retailer to make some changes to their window displays to bring in more men.

Another store noticed a significant amount of children in their store during the mid-morning hours, sending them to create a special children’s line.

In a particularly unsettling and somewhat controversial instance, one retailer noticed that a third of the customers entering through a specific door after 4 PM were Asian. This store decided to plant some Chinese-speaking staff by that door to greet these Asian customers.

As expected, some groups are cyring ‘foul’, saying these mannequins go too far by not allowing customers to opt-out of having their data, even their broad demographic data, collected.

“If you go on Facebook, before you start the registration process, you can see exactly what information they are going to collect and what they’re going to do with it,” said Christopher Mesnooh, a partner at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse in Paris. “If you’re walking into a store, where’s the choice?”

These concerns haven’t slowed down sales of the EyeSee mannequins, according to Mr. Cantanese. In the future, these models may even be able to eavesdrop on our conversations as they’re looking at us, listening for words about specific products.

redOrbit.com
offers Science, Space, Technology, Health news, videos, images and
reference information. For the latest science news, space news,
technology news, health news visit redOrbit.com frequently. Learn
something new every day.\”


Source:


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world. Anyone can join. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can become informed about their world. "United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.


LION'S MANE PRODUCT


Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules


Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, but it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.



Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity. Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins. Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system. Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function. Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.


Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.