Etta — our Ettator In Chief
Here is a chronology of Perspectives on Self-Service. These represent the personal view of our editor-in-chief and only opinion and examination of potential situations and outcomes.
July — Kiosk manufacturer news –
Samsung announced that they are selling a kiosk now. We knew they sold menu boards and digital menus, and digital signage for that matter. We have two writeups. One here on Kiosk Industry and the other on LinkedIn with a bit more speculation. Interesting decisions by Samsung.
They opted for a non-CAT credit card terminal. That can work for gorilla accounts like Home Depot or Mcdonald’s but that’s it. They call it “semi-attended” which doesn’t exist as a PCI class. An oldie goldie antibacterial coating zinc pyrithione is being used. You may remember from TV commercials for shampoo.
It certainly makes sense to expand your offering and portfolio to customers when they are considering huge spends for 75″ UHD monitors every 6 feet (and in the drive-thru lane). Maybe they will soon offer curbside and lockers. Finally, we are a little concerned that they have named these kiosks the KMA Series. For the record, KMA has absolutely nothing to do with these units.
June 17
The latest iteration of the British Telecom internet kiosk aka Smart City DOOH Display. Looks like they gave up on transactions. What’s next for digital signage solution providers? 22Miles and Panasonic tell us. McDonalds McAI seems to be working 85% of the time. Our big feature this month is on digital signage solutions (Go Big or Go Home). Ten different companies contributed. Pretty good crunchbase article on retail and restaurant automation.
We also now maintain a Legal News log with opinion. McDonalds and Wendys are big newsmakers this week. In addition we now have a dedicated page for Assistive Technology.
June 7
- From Legal News
- Apparently, we now have a fully functioning DOJ or Department of Justice. Enforcing laws appears to be coming back into vogue. We know of many cases the DOJ has “expressed interest”, unlike the former. The prosecution probability index (PPI) has definitely risen in the last 3 months.
- The big mysteries at this point are how a large number of franchisees ALL violate ADA. We can understand this one or that one but 139? And then, given 50 states why would McDonald’s choose to trial biometrics in the one state that has extensive laws surrounding it. Sometimes “bad law” can be created by bringing suit in an unsympathetic district court. Winn-Dixie is a prime example of that.
- One other trend that is noteworthy revolves around videos and specifically audio embedded. This can be an actual audio track or it could be a narration. Multiple languages. Media from Amazon, Netflix, Disney come into play. Any description of services with visuals.
- The latest iteration of the British Telecom internet kiosk aka Smart City DOOH Display. Looks like they gave up on transactions. What’s next for digital signage solution providers? 22Miles and Panasonic tell us. McDonalds McAI seems to be working 85% of the time. Our big feature this month is on digital signage solutions (Go Big or Go Home). Ten different companies contributed. Pretty good crunchbase article on retail and restaurant automation.
May 2021
- Times Square showcase for Taco Bell. All-in-one touch computers on walls & countertops. Marriott Fairfield ADA equipped contactless check-in kiosks. Speaking of accessibility McDonalds announced 100% of its restaurants going fully accessible with NFB guidance. Steel prices have tripled (from $500 to $1600). Keep that in mind. Amazon shows off AmaZen mindful interactive kiosk with mixed reviews. New RFPs listed on RFP page.
Related News