In Japan, one vending machine is equipped for every 25 persons on average. In the USA, the proportion reduces to one per 35. In China, the ratio further reduces to one for 5000, bringing a massive potential for business development. With the rise of the new retail trend, considerable reform and opportunity will emerge in the smart POS market. Based on the experience of intelligent POS development in Japan, the number of both convenience stores and vending machines increases rapidly in cities with a per capita GDP of over US$10,000. As there are 52 Chinese cities with a per capita GDP of over US$10,000, an increase in vending machines is expected in the next few years. 

Smart vending machines are equipped with the following functions:

• Seamless integration of O2O channels: QR code access to product/member information over the smartphone.
• Support for Scan & Go: Reducing shopping and payment time.
• Automatic replenishment reminder and expiration reminder: Ideal for food products, saving energy, and is eco-friendly.
• Automatic price change, specific session sale, and limited quantity sale: Enhancing sale timeliness and accelerating goods circulation.

As smart vending machines require the integration of various network applications, such as mobile network or Wi-Fi network, QR code, and low-power networks like NFC and Bluetooth, Nuvoton’s multiple network smart monitoring module upgrading solution meets the requirements of the said network technologies. 

Nuvoton Solution for Upgrading to Multiple Network Smart Monitoring Module

Nuvoton’s NuMicro^® series comprises the Cortex-M4-based M487 microcontroller, which passed AliOS Things certification for constructing the NuMaker IoT development platform. The NuMaker IoT-M487 development platform supports connection with AliOS Things and Ali Cloud over Ethernet, NB-IoT, and Wi-Fi. The AliOS Things SDK of the NuMaker IoT-M487 supports downloadable from the GitHub webpage of AliOS Things. The NuMaker IoT-M487 also provides examples for quick connection to Ali Cloud to fast connect to multiple networks to upgrade network management.

NuMaker-IoT-M487-based evaluation board 

The NuMaker-IoT-M487 integrates commonly used components and a range of expansion interfaces for internet connection over Ethernet and Wi-Fi. The Cortex-M4-based NuMicro M487 microcontroller has a maximum operating frequency of 192 MHz, 512KB flash, and 160KB SRAM. The built-in hardware accelerators can enhance the efficiency of data encryption and internet connections.