Coca-Cola Freestyle Is Truly Contactless Soft Drink Dispenser

It's always interesting how one thing leads to another in the world of technology. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic we're all taking extra precautions to prevent contracting the virus. For many that means not touching things the way we did before.

Coca-Cola is helping us in that regard with a contactless soft drink dispenser called the Freestyle.

In the past, we'd have to select our glass size, place it under the dispenser, then push a button that had been pushed countless times by countless people of dubious hygienic habits and who knows when it was last cleaned and disinfected.

With the Freestyle all we'll need to do is select our glass, place it under the dispenser, scan the QR (Quick Response) code on the front of the machine and use our phones to control the sweet, syrupy mixture streaming into our ice-filled container.

That's it. No apps to download, no membership required, just scan, make your selection, pour your drink.

Of course there IS a Freestyle app and if you choose to download it you can save your favorite mix formulas and have instant access to them the next time you're at a Freestyle machine.

Coca-Cola began working on the software for the contactless operation just days after the pandemic lockdowns began. The first machines put into service were at Wendy's, Five Guys, and Firehouse Subs in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.

According to MobileMarketer Coke plans to have the touchless software installed in 10,000 machines by the end of this summer and in all 52,000 machines by the end of the year.