The International CES trade show is always good for a peek at consumer technologies to come, and this year's was no exception. Such innovations are rarely short on press coverage, but one we couldn't resist mentioning anyway is a new, touch-screen vending machine from Samsung.

Developed in conjunction with Sapient, Samsung's uVending touch-screen technology brings a whole new level of consumer interaction to automatic vending. The technology uses animation and an interactive menu on its 46-inch display to advertise the product choices within the machine and guide users to make their selection. Demonstrated as part of a multimedia vending machine for Coca-Cola, the technology is also equipped with Wifi for automatic refill ordering and content updates, along with motion sensors and a built-in camera to document attempts at vandalism, according to PSFK. The new machines will appear soon in the US in the Simon mall chain, with a UK debut planned for sometime in 2010, PSFK reported. A short video demonstrates the technology at work.

What's better than technology that sells a product? Why, technology that also features ads and an interactive experience. Those behind all the vending machines we've covered for pizza, postcards, sneakers, prescription drugs and bicycle parts (among others): this one's for you! ;-)

Website: www.samsung.com
Contact: www.samsung.com/us/info/contactus.html

Spotted by: Rogier van Wagtendonk via PSFK

With a few exceptions, few restaurants go out of their way to publish the nutritional information about their food, at least not in any obvious way offline. Much the way D+caf Test Strips have blown the proverbial lid open on caffeine content, however, Fatburgr is a new site that puts together in one place the nutritional facts about a variety of fast-food restaurants and chains.

Some 20 restaurants are currently listed on Fatburgr—including McDonald's, Subway and Chili's, for example—and more are being added every day, the company says. For each of them the site lists the calories, fat, carbs and fibre content for each menu item, and users can sort the list by any of those criteria. Listings can also be searched by food type, and all data is available by iPhone for those needing to make ordering decisions on the go. Fatburgr is free to use.

Besides equipping consumers with information that can help them stay healthier, of course, Fatburgr is also a nice example of what our sister site trendwatching.com would call transparency tyranny, leaving companies with nowhere to hide the facts they might prefer not be known. On that note, Fatburgr has even set up a "wall of shame"—though it's still empty—for restaurants that won't fork over their nutritional information. Restaurants around the world: Be prepared to open up the truth about your food, or this could happen to you! ;-)

Website: www.fatburgr.com
Contact: fatburgr@gmail.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

We've written about pop-up innovations of many kinds, including Greenhouse by Joost, a cafe in Melbourne that was designed to showcase sustainable practices. That pop-up will soon disappear, but a new project in New Zealand recently opened the doors on a pop-up restaurant that was constructed 10 metres up a tree.

Located near Warkworth, about 45 minutes north of Auckland, the Yellow Treehouse is a pod-shaped restaurant that was built as part of a marketing promotion by the New Zealand Yellow Pages to prove that all the suppliers for any project can be found through its listings. Serving as a case in point, the restaurant opened Jan. 9 and will stay open to the public only through Feb. 9, according to the original plans. The Yellow Treehouse was designed by Pacific Environments Architects and is situated above an open meadow and meandering stream on the edge of the woods. It sits almost 10m wide and over 12m high, with the split-level floor sitting 10m off the ground. Acrylic sheeting makes the mostly wood structure weather-resistant, and access is via a 60m treetop walkway. Inside, the restaurant seats 18, with kitchen and bathrooms on ground level. Lunch, dinner and afternoon tea are served, but currently, all seatings are completely booked. The project is currently considering whether to keep the restaurant open beyond the original plan, according to its website. Meanwhile, its exact location is disclosed only to those with booked seating, making idle sightseeing impossible for the masses.

Besides serving as a marketing tool for its original sponsor, of course, the Yellow Treehouse is sure to provide a fresh experience consumers won't soon forget. The secrecy of its location and the scarcity of reservations, meanwhile, only increase its appeal. Whether as like marketing promotions or as genuine restaurants-in-earnest, similar efforts could take several lessons from this example! (Related: Pop-up nightclubs launch in Singapore.)

Website: www.yellowtreehouse.co.nz
Contact: info@yellowtreehouse.co.nz

Spotted by: Michael Eastgate

Who said fat was bad for you? Vegawatt focuses on the upside of grease, turning restaurants' waste oil into electricity and hot water.

Vegawatt's refrigerator-sized units are incorporated into a building's existing system in the same way as a solar panel is retrofitted. After filtering a restaurant's used vegetable oil, the unit combusts the refined fuel in a diesel engine, feeding electricity and hot water straight into a restaurant's system. The units won't provide all the power and electricity that a business needs, but can significantly improve its carbon footprint and running costs, as a unit typically provides 10-25% of electricity requirements.

Leasing the system for five years costs USD 435 per month, with potential fuel savings calculated at USD 850 per month. Alternatively, the system can be purchased for USD 22,000 outright, paying for itself within three years, according to Vegawatt. And that's without taking governmental incentives and rebates into account. Businesses further benefit by not having to pay or arrange for used oil to be removed, and also receive credits towards LEED certification. Last but not least, there's the reputation boost gleaned from going green.

Vegawatt was developed by the Owl Power Company, a clean energy system company based in Massachusetts, and was launched this month. Planet-friendly, pocket-friendly, and good for PR... Time to put fries back on the menu? ;-)

Website: www.vegawatt.com
Contact: gogreen@vegawatt.com

Spotted by: Doug Jost

Anyone who's ever had a baby or undergone surgery knows all too well how challenging it can be in the days following simply to prepare a meal. MealBaby is a new online service that aims to help people in such situations by helping their friends take care of them.

When a friend or family member is in need of a little TLC, MealBaby allows users to plan and organize all the details of a meal registry. Users begin by creating an account along with a meal schedule for the recipient featuring a list of their favorite foods, gift card options, contact information, maps and directions. They then choose friends and family near and far to ask for help, either via home-cooked meals, food delivery or gift cards to a local restaurant. An e-mail is sent to all those people, who can then sign up for particular days using MealBaby's calendar planning tools; the system blocks out each date that's spoken for. MealBaby is a free service for users and is supported in part through partnerships with a variety of restaurants, whose gift cards can be purchased through the site. MealBaby also offers meal givers the option of donating to Feed the Children.

The site's founders explain: "We have all been in a place where a friendly familiar face stopping by our door with a yummy lunch or dinner means the world. And we often have wanted to repay others with the same sort of gesture when they are in need. But we are all busy people and keeping up with who needs what and when can be a little overwhelming and turn good intentions into, well, good intentions and nothing more. Now, with the help of MealBaby's easy registration process and calendar planning tools, we can become people whose good intentions become reality."

Illinois-based MealBaby targets primarily users in the United States; one to emulate in other parts of the world....?

Website: www.mealbaby.com
Contact: www.mealbaby.com/contact_us.php

Spotted by: Bill McMahon