Digital advertising on billboards that are fitted with cameras which are able to
read the age group and gender of the people viewing them in order to trial their messages are being trialled. This new technology is reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's movie 'Minority Report,' where personalised advertisements were also used. The adverts form part of the digital signage promotion project currently being rolled out in Tokyo.
Eleven railway companies have now helped to launch the project by installing around twenty seven of the high tech advertising signs in their subway commuter areas throughout Tokyo.
The cameras can tell a person's sex and general age group even if the person only briefly walks past the display and looks at the screen for a split second according to a spokesman for the project.
Companies advertising on the boards can provide interactive advertisements to their target audience by using the new technology. The displays able them to recognise who views adverts in a certain place and also what time of day each demographic view the advert, this way they can attempt to tailor their adverts to fit with demand.
In 'Minority Report,' the adverts are able to recognise people by name and then make suggestions for purchases but the system being piloted in Japan does not identify people- it merely collates demographic data. There are no recordings kept at all.
The type of technology the displays in Tokyo use allows for face recognition to be carried out in order to determine a person's gender and age group. There has been a promise made that no recordings will be kept and that no images will be saved. The only data kept will be that of the age and gender of people walking by.
The new system is bound to be extremely interesting to a lot of people in the digital signage industry and is certainly very futuristic. The billboards are likely to capture the interest of not only passersby but also of signage industry workers worldwide.