The sheer amount of choice in a produce aisle is stunning, to say the least. That’s why I’ve dreamed of the day when someone would create an app that would tell me exactly which ingredients I should buy and what I can make with them. Imagine my surprise when Stephen Colbert discussed Pizza Hut’s “mind-reading menu” on The Colbert Report the other night.
If Pizza Hut says it can read minds, why not produce departments? Seriously! You gotta see this. The segment starts at 2:25…
According to The Washington Post, the digital menu offers 20 different toppings to create one of 4,896 combinations. I’ll reserve my judgment for a corn and ketchup combo…
The digital menu is backed by Swedish eye-tracking company Tobii Technology. Months of retina-scanning development and psychological research have gone into the making of this app to create a personalized pizza only your subconscious could whip up. This eye-tracking technology reminds me of a previous story we’ve reported on in the past. Sticky, a media technology company based out of New York, is also using eye-tracking software to gauge how long a consumer looks at something, whether it’s an advertisement, product packaging, retail displays, or even websites. Their purpose is different, but the technology is fundamentally the same.
So, I’m still waiting for the day when I can pull up an app on my smartphone or tablet, snap a picture of a produce aisle, and find out exactly what my subconscious is thinking for dinner that night. This idea is patent pending. ;)
