Students of “Privacy Concerns: This One’s for You

The Dutch society screams: "Get ready to give up your privacy."

"Big Brother" restaurant opens to study diners

By Emma Thomasson
Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:54am EDT
From Reuters

WAGENINGEN, Netherlands (Reuters) - Does service with a scowl put you off at lunch? Will you eat more greens if you are surrounded by plants? Does romantic, pink lighting encourage you to linger over your fruit salad?

A new research center -- dubbed the "restaurant of the future" -- at the Dutch university ofWageningen hopes to help answer these questions and more by tracking diners with dozens of unobtrusive cameras and monitoring their eating habits.

"We want to find out what influences people: colors, taste, personnel. We try to focus on one stimulus, like light," said Rene Koster, head of the Center for Innovative Consumer Studies, as overhead bulbs switched through green, red, orange and blue.

This story brings a whole new twist to “Big Brother” is watching you.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1023033620071015