Computing a better way to advertise

From The Daily Pennsylvanian:

This billboard knows if you have a moustache or not. 

Engineering senior and computer science major Cynthia Mai, and Engineering seniors and computer engineering majors Eric Berdinis and Jeff Kiske have designed a video billboard which tailors the advertisements it displays to the people walking by based on their age, gender, glasses and facial hair. 

The team created this digital billboard screen, called “Advise,” for their senior design project — a capstone project for students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Engineering. Students are supposed to apply what they have learned in class to create a device with real-world applications. 

The team recognized from the start that billboard advertisement is ineffective if the demographic of people walking by would never buy the advertised product.