Japan Tests Billboards That See You, Adjust Ads

'Minority Report'-style technology scans passing faces

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 10, 2010 10:42 AM CST

(Newser) – Some Japanese malls are already testing a personalized billboard technology eerily similar to the one seen in Minority Report. The new billboards, developed by Japanese electronic company NEC, scan the faces of passing shoppers, quickly determine their age and gender, and then display demographic-appropriate ads, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Critics fear the technology as an invasion of privacy, but NEC say people will remain anonymous, their faces instantly deleted. The technology will get an American trial later this year.

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Tom Cruise walks past a changing billboard in this screenshot from Minority Report.

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A scene from 'Minority Report' displaying personalized ads based on the person walking by the billboards. (youtube.com)

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Japan Tests Billboards That See You, Adjust Ads