Retail

Vending
Machine
IoT Makeovers
Retrofit Kit Modernizes Operations and Extends Equipment Life
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T
he next generation of intelligent vending machines offers tremendous opportunities
for business transformation through the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based tech-
nologies. Vending machine owners and operators can look forward to more effective
ways to engage customers, increase sales, and save money through remote manage-
ment and predictive maintenance. Advanced data analytics will help them better match
machines and stock to each location, as well as obtain valuable insights on the effective-
ness of promotions, pricing, location, weather, season, and other factors.

While this is great news for purchasers of the latest vending machine
designs, many operators have large vending machine fleets with
years of life left in them. These operators need ways to update these
machines now to profit from IoT advantages (Figure 1).
This article examines the challenges of retrofitting IoT technology into
legacy vending machines. We consider a distributed intelligent vending
retrofit solution engineered by Bsquare in collaboration with AAEON.
We look at how this solution uses Bsquare DataV* – a complete IoT
software stack – to address device enablement, business logic pro-
cessing, and data analytics. We discuss how this solution enables
operators to extract data from field equipment and integrate the data
into business processes and workflows to achieve new operational
efficiencies and business insights. We then explore the solution’s
innovative, cost-effective hardware platform that combines an UP
board based on the Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8350 processor with a vending
machine expansion board based on the Intel® Reference Design for
Intelligent Vending.

44 | 2016 | 14 th Edition | Embedded Innovator | intel.com/embedded-innovator

The Winds of Change in Vending Obviously a solution is needed that can monitor machines in real-time
Businesses of all types are recognizing the importance of devel- for accurate data on inventory, sales, and machine health. The solution
oping and implementing an IoT strategy. For some, this imple- must then deliver that information to operators. That solution is the IoT.
mentation takes root in product development as they create new
IoT-connected offerings. Others are faced with finding a way to IoT Challenges for Vending
extend the benefits of the IoT to legacy assets developed in an Vending machines frequently operate in areas where bandwidth is
unconnected world. inconsistent or expensive, such as public transit platforms, stadiums,
freeway rest stops, or corridors in shopping malls. These types of loca-
Good examples of the latter group are vending machine operators. tions pose problems for IoT solutions solely dependent on the cloud for
Vending machines continue to be a growing segment in retail as data processing.
people in today’s busy world seek fast, tasty snacks, meals, and bever-
ages. Vending machines are also increasingly used to peddle non-food Adding intelligence to a machine also increases complexity. While the
items. Businesses seeking new ways to expand sales with minimum cost of sensors continues to drop, it is not trivial to outfit an entire
distribution and labor costs are turning to vending machines to sell cabinet with sensors on every shelf, slot, or spiral. In addition, software
everything from disposable diapers and medicines to headphones and versions and configurations require periodic updates. These consider-
other electronics. ations raise the stakes for retailers seeking to retrofit existing vending
machines for today’s connected world.
To drive down operating costs and improve sales and profits, vending
machine operators are seeking a better understanding of their oper- A Vending Machine Makeover
ations. To gather, analyze, and interpret the necessary data for such Working with AAEON, Bsquare developed an innovative retrofit kit for
business insight, they are looking into IoT solutions. a global vending machine owner. Bsquare also served as the system
integrator for the solution targeted for an initial deployment that could
Where the IoT Can Help potentially number in the tens of thousands across Europe.
With traditional vending machines, information is collected when
machines are restocked and serviced. This creates a serious delay The retrofit kit uses Bsquare DataV*, an end-to-end IoT solution that
in inventory monitoring. It also impacts sales reporting compliance in handles distributed processing and analysis of data both on the machine
jurisdictions requiring vending machine operators to report taxes on and in the cloud. In addition, DataV enables remote device management.
sales on a timely basis. Infrequent visits also make it hard to know
when a machine is malfunctioning and losing sales. DataV collects raw device data at the network edge, applies rules and
logic to make the data meaningful and actionable, and then delivers it
Traditional vending machines require service visits to update prices to the cloud, applications, and everywhere else it needs to go. Taking a
or begin a promotion, such as two-for-one deals. Since many vending modular software approach, DataV includes five product components
machine owners rely on third parties to stock machines, there is no to bridge the gap between data-generating sensors and the business.
safeguard to prevent the vending of unauthorized products. Each component is named for the task it does: connect, monitor,
automate, predict, or optimize
(Figure 2, page 46).
PRODUCT PLATFORM
PAYMENT DELIVERY REFRIGERATION SENSORS
Analytics at Work
CLOUD-BASED
VENDING SERVICES AND To eliminate the time and
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
expense of equipping each
machine with multiple shelf,
VENDING slot, or spiral sensors, Bsquare
MACHINE I/O
came up with a unique alter-
IoT GATEWAY
OPERATIONS INVENTORY CUSTOMER
MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYTICS native – using a camera and
software to count and iden-
tify vended products. DataV’s
data analytics determines the
TOUCH ADVERTISING
SENSORS SCREEN TRANSACTION DIGITAL ADVERTISING SOFTWARE AND unique characteristics of each
MANAGEMENT AND CONTENT PLATFORM MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM item and stores it as a pattern.
As products are vended, a pic-
ture is taken and compared
against a library of product
patterns. This product recog-
nition enables accurate inven-
tory reporting and identifies
Vending machine operators are looking for ways to connect legacy machines to the IoT to
Figure 1. unauthorized and incorrectly
profit from its many advantages.
stocked products.

intel.com/embedded-innovator | Embedded Innovator | 14 th Edition | 2016 | 45

 Retail

Given the bandwidth constraints of vending machines, DataV per- on practically any connected device, such as a smartphone, tablet
forms image recognition directly on the machine itself, sending computer, or desktop PC.
only information about the image to the cloud. By minimizing data
uploads, the retrofit kit avoids the transmission and storage costs of Through DataV’s capabilities, the retrofit kit can also enable
large image files (Figure 3). As new products are introduced and pat- vending machines to report on inventory levels and maintenance
terns developed, DataV handles the provisioning and management issues to help optimize stocking trips and maintenance schedules.
of these as well. These capabilities can reduce unnecessary service dispatches and
ensure product availability for customer satisfaction. DataV is also
Advantages for Vending Machine Operators and able to remotely manage firmware and configuration updates, as
Owners
Providing real-time data, the
Bsquare solution enables
vending machine operators
DATA CENTER (ON-PREM OR CLOUD)

Data analytics and predictive reasoning

to understand current and
Holistic, multi-domain data analytics, predictive
historical product sales, as reasoning, device, process and rule set optimization

well as determine the effec-

tiveness of their planogram.
DataV’s analytics can predict
how changes in the layout of Real-time data, event and rule set processing
machine inventory will affect Monitor data streams, create events, apply real-time
rule sets and orchestrate required actions
overall sales activity and pro-
vide prescriptive insights on
how to maximize performance.
Device IoT enablement
DEVICE

The solution can also factor DEvice level IoT functionality (network connectivity,
in data from existing enter- data filtering, local monitoring and rule processing)

prise systems and external

sources tracking weather,
day of week, time of day, and
other parameters. Interpreted
data is available to operators
Taking a modular approach to software, DataV delivers five key functions for bridging edge
Figure 2.
sensors and the business.

Optimize

Data analytics and

predictive reasoning
Predict

Data Actions

Enterprise and public Monitor Automate Enterprise

data sources Systems
01101010 Real-time data monitoring
and event processing
Data Events Actions
1
2

01101010

Monitor Automate
Connect

Sensors
IoT device enablement

Figure 3. By performing photo analysis locally, Bsquare DataV eliminates the cost of transmission and storage of large image files in the cloud.

46 | 2016 | 14 th Edition | Embedded Innovator | intel.com/embedded-innovator

well as use algorithms to predict the imminent failure of mechan- 3.0 On-the-Go (OTG), Ethernet, HDMI, and a Display Serial Interface
ical components. (DSI) – see Figure 4. A camera interface supports the kit’s camera
through the MIPI-CSI specification.
The retrofit kit also enables remote imple-
mentation of promotions and price changes 85.6 mm

without a truck roll. Through a web inter- Intel® Atom™ x5-Z8350 processor
40 Pin GP-Bus up to 1.92 GHz
face, operators can change prices and
apply or remove promotions on a machine- pin1 1

by-machine basis, or all at once on groups 4 2x USB 2.0

of machines.
2x USB 2.0 11
1x UART 3
2
A Board with an Eye for Inventory Pin Header
Intel®
56.5 mm
To operate the camera and enable the ana- 1x DSI
Atom™
x5 Processor 5 2x USB 2.0
10
lytics and IoT gateway functions, the retrofit 1x eDP 3
kit uses an UP board. This credit-card-sized
board originates from a collaboration between 1x MIPI-CSI 7

AAEON and Intel. It is now supported by the 6 1x Gb Ethernet

UP maker community. The AAEON UP board

RTC battery 8 12
design used in the retrofit kit runs Linux* and
9
includes additional I/O capabilities. 1x HDMI USB 3.0 OTG
Power pin 5V DC-IN DDR3L
header Power Jack memory
UP bridges the gap between the world of
prototypes and the world of high-grade
mass-produced embedded system solu-
tions. The UP board features up to 2 GB Figure 4. This diagram of AAEON’s UP board shows its rich I/O options and diminutive size.
RAM, up to 32 GB eMMC, four USB 2.0, USB

intel.com/embedded-innovator | Embedded Innovator | 14 th Edition | 2016 | 47

 Retail

The board uses an Intel Atom

x5-Z8350 processor. Launched
at the start of 2016, this 1.44 GHz
64-bit system-on-chip (SoC) with a
1.92 GHz burst frequency features
Intel’s latest 14 nm process tech-
nology. The processor’s support for
64-bit applications helps deliver
higher performance and greater
functionality across a wide range of
IoT use cases.

A power envelope of just 2 W makes

it ideal for constrained environments
like vending machines. Four CPU
cores and 2 MB of last-level cache
(LLC) enable fast computing and
efficient multi-tasking. Intel® Burst
Technology dynamically optimizes
compute and graphics performance
to handle peak loads and deliver The retro kit uses an AAEON vending machine I/O board (VMI) based on the Intel® Reference
Figure 5.
lower overall power consumption. Design for Intelligent Vending.

A standard PC operating temperature

range of 0 °C to 60 °C makes the UP board a reliable and flexible solu-
tion for all but the most extreme vending machine locations. The board
also includes a real-time clock (RTC) and support for Preboot eXecu-
tion Environment (PXe) and Wake-on-LAN for remote management.
Communications Within and Without
Today’s vending machines employ a wide range of bus protocols (CAN,
ccTalk, Protocol A, MDB, and USB, to name a few) to communicate with
the vending machine controller (VMC). To replace the legacy design’s
VMC with the UP board and enable communications with machine
peripherals, the retrofit kit uses a vending machine I/O (VMI) board
manufactured by AAEON based on the Intel Reference Design for
Intelligent Vending (Figure 5).
operators take advantage of IoT advances on existing machines.
The kit offers a ready solution for employing distributed analytics for
real-time monitoring of compliance, sales, inventory management,
and predictive part failure in environments where IoT connections
are inconsistent or expensive.
For more information on Bsquare DataV, see intel.com/
SD-bsquare-datav.
For more on the UP Board, see intel.com/
SD-bsquare-up-cht01.

The VMI board is a low-cost design that handles protocol conversion
and provides a high-level of I/O flexibility. It connects analog and digital
signals from product drops, coin and bill collection, and thermometers
not otherwise monitored or controlled by the VMC.
Potential to Do More
The combined solution (UP board and VMI) creates the potential for
new user interface (UI) options ranging from keypads and two-line
displays to touchscreens. With a little additional engineering and
software, the retrofit kit could modernize legacy machines with dis-
plays enabling advertising revenue through digital advertising. The
display could connect to the IoT and cloud through the UP board’s
HDMI and DSI interfaces. DataV could then capture and analyze data
on the customer interactions and provide important proof-of-play
data for advertisers.
A True IoT Makeover for Legacy Vending Machines
The vending machine retrofit kit designed by Bsquare and AAEON
provides an excellent way to help vending machine owners and
To learn more about bringing intelligence and manage-
ability to retail, see intel.com/embedded-retail
Contact Bsquare Bsquare (intel.com/MR-bsquare) is an
Affiliate member of the Intel® Internet of
Things Solutions Alliance. For more than two decades, Bsquare has
helped customers extract business value from a broad array of
physical assets by making them intelligent, connecting them, and
using the data they generate to optimize business processes.
Bsquare DataV software solutions enable a wide variety of
enterprises to deploy business-focused IoT systems that more
effectively monitor device data, automate processes, predict events,
and produce better business outcomes. Coupling its purpose-built
DataV software with comprehensive analytics and engineering
services, Bsquare can help organizations of all types make the IoT a
business reality.
AAEON (intel.com/MR-aaeon) is an Associate member of the Alliance.

48 | 2016 | 14 th Edition | Embedded Innovator | intel.com/embedded-innovator