Intel Develops Vending-Specific IoT Gateway With Help From Italys NW Global

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Now available from Intel Corp. is the IoT (Internet of Things) Retail Gateway Reference Design for Intelligent Vending, which includes hardware, software and security building blocks designed to speed up development and deployment of smart vending machines.

Intel said its new solution addresses the costs and complexities associated with retrofitting the large amount of existing vending equipment that is not currently connected, managed or secure. The gateway is built using the Intel IoT Platform.

Intel collaborated with Italian vending machine manufacturer N&W Global Vending to create the solution, concentrating their efforts and the best technologies to meet the needs of the market, improving the user experience and the management of vending machines. They offered a sneak preview of the first prototype of a vending machine based on the latest Intel technologies at the recent VendItalia International Vending Exhibition in Milan.

Building on previous designs, Intel said its Internet retail gateway integrates pre-validated building blocks that facilitate the integration of multiple compute workloads.

Examples include vending machine controller, touchscreen, telemetry, digital advertising, payment and transaction management, as well as simplification of integration with back-office applications.

"By consolidating multiple workloads onto a single vending platform, manufacturers can free up time to focus on meeting the increasing expectations of today's tech-savvy consumers," said Intel worldwide director of visual retail Jose Avalos. "For example, customers can integrate new natural user interfaces, social media capabilities, loyalty programs and nutritional information, all of which will have a positive impact on the consumer's vending experience."

The new vending technology is based on the Intel Atom processor E3815 system-on-chip (SoC) and includes the Intel IoT Gateway software stack.

The computer board is based on Intel's reference design for digital signage, which vending machine manufacturers can make or buy. The gateway solution also includes a vending machine I/O board and a vending machine API, both outlined in Intel's Intelligent Vending reference design.

Intel-based solutions for vending are also available from Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance members, including Advantech, Gigabyte and Jabil.