Coca-Cola Japan to make vending machines easier for wheelchair users

Coca-Cola's Japan unit will launch a smartphone service this month that simplifies vending machine purchases for people with disabilities, according to a Nikkei Asia report.

The Coke ON app, which has been downloaded more than 52 million times since its 2016 release, will be upgraded in late April to include new features. Users will be able to locate vending machines through smartphone vibrations and select products using voice commands. Transactions can be completed without touching the machine.

The upgraded app will be compatible with about 480,000 Coca-Cola vending machines across Japan. To develop the service, Coca-Cola partnered with Osaka-based Mirairo, a company that offers a digital ID system for people with disabilities. The collaboration provided Coca-Cola with insights into the challenges faced by disabled people, such as difficulties finding vending machines or reaching buttons while using a wheelchair.

«This will become a new daily infrastructure for people with disabilities,» Arihito Ukawa of Coca-Cola Japan's marketing department, told the news outlet.

Source: Vending Times