NEC has unveiled a special kind of ticket and e-money terminal yesterday at the iExpo exhibition [JP] (which ends tomorrow) in Tokyo. The Japanese company designed the terminal after a humanoid robot, targeting mainly amusement parks as potential buyers.

All that users need to do is to choose a method of cash-free payment and then tap their cell phones on the robot’s left hand. The unnamed prototype is also able to send data back to cell phones, i.e. coupons or e-tickets. NEC has also incorporated face recognition technology into the robot.

I checked NEC’s Japanese web site but couldn’t find additional information. The company has even set up dedicated iExpo 2008 pages in English but neglects to mention the robot.

Via Pink Tentacle