As if my robophobia wasn't acute enough, now I have to expand it into a new category.
An Italian company called Almax manufactures the EyeSee Mannequin, which is equipped with a camera behind one eye. Meant to be placed in a window display or inside the store, the EyeSee checks you out to see what you're checking out, and tries to figure out what demographic you belong to.
This special camera installed inside the mannequin's head analyzes the facial features of people passing through the front and provides statistical and contextual information useful to the development of targeted marketing strategies. The embedded software can also provide other data such as the number of people passing in front of a window at certain times of the day.(more...)...[The system can] make it possible to "observe" who is attracted by your windows and reveal important details about your customers: Age range, gender, race, number of people and time spent.