When you’re making your way through a city, the last thing you think about are garbage cans, that is, unless you’re really in the need of one. For the most part, people tend to pay no attention to trash cans, but a startup in the U.K. has developed a smart trash can that can track the smartphones of those who pass it as well as the speed at which they’re traveling.
Renew is the U.K. startup company behind these smart trash cans and is already starting to roll out updates to London’s Renew Pods to become “Renew Orbs,” which are capable of tracking both the proximity and speed at which people walk past it and can even identify what kind of smartphone they’re using.
The purpose of the Renew Orbs is to allow marketing companies to conduct statistical analysis based on information that’s gathered by these smart trash cans. For example, if the Renew Orbs detect an increase of iPhones in a particular area, retailers can then update their product line to include more iPhone accessories. Whether or not this will cause a big deal among those who happen to pass by a Renew Orb is yet to be seen, but we’re sure it will as soon as they realize they’re being tracked without their permission.
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