"
Renew, the London-based marketing firm behind the smart trash cans, bills the Wi-Fi tracking as being "like Internet cookies in the real world" (see the promotional video below). In a
press release, it boasts of the data-collection prowess of the cans' embedded Renew "ORB" technology, which captures the unique
media access control (MAC) address of smartphones that belong to passersby. During a one-week period in June, just 12 cans, or about 10 percent of the company's fleet, tracked more than 4 million devices and allowed company marketers to map the "footfall" of their owners within a 4-minute walking distance to various stores."
Um (hilariante) vídeo promocional da tecnologia:
Notícia completa na ArsTechica.