Photo Kiosk Feature – Is there a future in photo?

sony photo kiosk

Photo Kiosks

While the drugstore photo kiosk may be a mature sector, new developments in imaging technology promise to open the door to new opportunities.

By Richard Slawsky contributor

It seems like it was just yesterday that nearly every grocery store and strip mall featured a drive-up Fotomat film processing shop in the parking lot. Amateur photographers would drive up to the window, drop off their film or disposable camera, and stop back a few days later to pick up their pack of prints.

With the advent of digital photography, though, those shops quickly disappeared, with photo processing services moving inside the store to serve as a customer draw. In 1980 there were more than 4,000 Fotomat stores around the United States; today not a single one remains. Digital cameras began outselling film cameras in 2003, and the trend has continued ever since. Kodak stopped selling film cameras in 2004, and Nikon followed suite in 2006. What was probably the final nail in the film coffin came in 2012, when Kodak declared bankruptcy.

The move to digital did, though, open up opportunities for photo development kiosks as the customer touchpoint for photo processing services. The premise was that shoppers would bring in their camera’s memory card, insert it into the kiosk and select the number and size of the photos they’d like printed. And of course, do a bit of shopping while they waited for their photos to be ready.

While the veracity of the numbers is debatable, one of the many research reports that predict trends in the kiosk industry forecasts the size of the global photo kiosk market in 2017 will total $1.5 billion. Another one forecasts the market will total $1.9 billion by 2020, so apparently some amount of growth is likely.

Does that mean kiosk manufacturers should consider adding photo kiosks to their portfolio? While that depends on the strengths and expertise of a particular company, the short answer is probably not. The capital investment required to make a go of photo kiosks is so large that it’s likely beyond the capabilities of all but the most established companies, and the multitude of changes occurring in the imaging industry means the direction of the market isn’t yet clear.

Following the trail

To get a sense of where the photo industry is going and what the opportunities for kiosk deployers might be, it helps to have a sense of where it’s been.

From the early 1960s, when Kodak first introduced its inexpensive Instamatic camera, on through the 1990s, most households likely owned a single camera or bought disposable cameras one at a time, processing two or three rolls of film a year. It wasn’t unusual to find a disposable camera with four or five shots left on it in the bottom of a drawer, snap off those photos and drop them off for processing with little or no recollection of what was on the earlier shots.

“The photo finishers used to joke they’d get a roll of film and there was a Christmas tree on each end,” said Gary Pageau, who formerly as an executive and communication consultant with the now-defunct industry trade group the Photo Marketing Association. At its peak, the annual PMA trade in Las Vegas boasted more than 50,000 attendees, but industry changes prompted a scheduling change in 2012 to coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show. In 2016, the PMA merged with the Photo Imaging Manufacturers and Distributors organization to form the Imaging Alliance.

“People in those days used to take pictures more for memories,” Pageau said. “And very few pictures were enlarged.”

Cameras were first paired with mobile phones in 2000, and today nearly everyone has a mobile phone camera in their pocket. In most cases, those cameras pack a resolution greater than the best film cameras.

And that has led to a staggering increase in the number of photos taken each year. Technology website TechCrunch estimates there will be 1.2 trillion photos taken around the world in 2017, nearly 14 times the 86 billion photos the news site Buzzfeed estimates were taken in 2000.

Although that would seem like a jackpot for the photo processing industry, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Most photos aren’t ever printed, and photo paper is only one of several choices of media on which to print images.

“Metal prints are big right now, canvas prints are big and paper prints in weird sizes like square prints,” Pageau said.

“Printing on clothing, printing on fleece, throws and blankets and things like that are popular,” he said. “Now, when they do print pictures, people usually have a specific purpose in mind.”

Another change affecting the photography world is the advent of smartphones and wireless connectivity in the mid-to-late 2000s. Although there was a brief period where an in-store kiosk was the method of choice for choosing images to be printed, that has been supplanted by websites and apps. If a store does offer a photo kiosk, customers expect to be able to wirelessly transfer images from phone to kiosk.

And many customers are no longer expecting to have their prints ready in an hour or less.

“Although instant printing used to be a big thing, many people today really don’t expect to get their output right away,” Pageau said. “They understand that if you’re making a print on metal or canvas that it’s going to take a while; it may have to be shipped out or whatever.”

So while 10 years ago it may have been cost effective for a retailer to invest $250,000 or more in an in-store photo lab, today that may not be as worthwhile. While in the early days of digital photography that photo lab might have guaranteed two customer visits – one to drop off and one to pick up – today those customers may not even set foot in a store to have their images printed.

So where are things headed?

Obviously, the photo kiosk market faces stiff competition. Although there are still plenty of kiosks in the marketplace, anyone thinking about entering the market is likely to face some challenges.

“A new photo kiosk is a beautiful thing, but sadly the market is full of old photo kiosks,” said Murray Macdonald, president and chief technology officer at Vancouver-based Storefront.com, which specializes in creating customer-facing applications, imaging infrastructure and management systems for SMEs, global multinationals and Fortune 500 clients.

“Retailers today don’t have the capex to change that,” Macdonald said. “They’re just kind of maintaining what they have.”

Consolidation in the retail and pharmacy sectors has left many companies with collections of disparate kiosk solutions, making it difficult to introduce new equipment and having it play well with legacy systems. And of course, kiosks have become just one of several channels by which customers get their images to the lab.

“Retailers today need a Web solution and a mobile app along with a kiosk,” Macdonald said. “So retailers really need three customer-facing interfaces and then the backend stuff. A kiosk is really just one of those three today. You’ve got to kind of stitch all that together as a retailer or buy it from a provider who can give you all those pieces.”

In addition, online photo processing sites such as Shutterfly and Snapfish, where customers upload their photos to a website and have the printed images shipped to their homes, are gaining in popularity and market share. Shutterfly, for example, serviced 10.1 million customers in 2016, a 4 percent increase over the previous year.

Still, that doesn’t mean that kiosks as part of a photo solution are a dying breed.

“We’ve been surprised by how strong the kiosks are, actually,” Macdonald said. “We’ve actually seen growth on ins store purchasing for certain types of products and depending on the retailer. “

A host of new technological developments promise to crack open new opportunities for both the kiosk industry and the imaging industry as well.

“I’m very excited right now about both industries,” Macdonald said.

“There is a lot of stuff happening right now,” he said. “Things like 3D printing and depth cameras are going to bring on a whole new rash of applications.”

Depth cameras, or range imaging time-of-flight cameras, can sense the time that it takes light to return from objects in a photograph. The camera takes that information and combines it with video data to create 3D images, enabling it to calculate the measurements of a room or remove or overlay 3D objects or backgrounds from an image.

“I think there’s a market for novelty kiosks and mobile applications that do fun stuff with people and their photos,” Macdonald said. “That will all be based on new types of cameras and some of the other new products coming on the market.”

Other new technologies promising to bring change to the industries include some that Macdonald’s company is developing, including artificial intelligence that can expand the size of an image while actually improving resolution. Potential applications include taking a 4” by 6” image and blowing it up for a large wall canvas.

“We can take your image and not just scale it up, but actually synthesize the detail that’s missing at that resolution,” Macdonald said. “The results are spectacular.”

 

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PCI Kiosk White Paper – Payment Processor

payment gateway

EMV Kiosk

The Value of Payment Gateways for Kiosks

When a merchant wants to accept payments through their unattended kiosk, they are faced with many processing choices and industry complexities.  Whether forming multiple direct integrations to processors or utilizing one-to-many processing solutions provided by middleware or gateways, kiosk operators and merchants have a lot to consider.

A payment integration to a gateway or processor can require a great deal of time and resources.  Kiosk operators also need to assess ongoing remote maintenance and how to support multiple integrations.  In addition, there are various industry, regulatory and compliance requirements (like EMV and PCI DSS) to follow, as well as value-added security features such as end-to-end encryption or tokenization for recurring payments to consider.  The payment process and user interface must attract and retain the customer through the entire payment process.  As most kiosk users are untrained, transaction abandonment is common with a slow or cumbersome user interface.

This whitepaper will evaluate the benefits and costs of integrating payments via a gateway versus via direct processor connections, plus explore the other potential value points a gateway partner can provide kiosk operators and merchants.

Gateways and Payment Processors Defined

With the payment landscape growing more complex every year, merchants are seeking more sophisticated technologies to help them accept diverse forms of payment and integrate payment data with their other systems, such as inventory management, accounting and more.  Kiosk operators need systems designed for ease of use, speed and security, and payment gateways and payment processors are two of the most widely used solutions for payment acceptance.

A gateway is essentially a secure cloud-based platform that connects credit card payments from merchant points of sale (POS) to their processors, thereby facilitating the authorization and settlement of payment transactions.  Why have a gateway in the middle of this important relationship?  The short answer is for security and flexibility, but the details and other benefits will be expanded below.

A payment processor is a company (often a third party) appointed by a merchant to handle transactions from various channels, such as credit cards and debit cards for merchant acquiring banks.  They are usually two types: front-end and back-end processors.  Front-end processors have connections to various card associations and supply authorization and settlement services to merchants.  Back-end processors accept settlements from front-end processors and move money from issuing bank to the merchant bank.

Pros and Cons of Leveraging a Gateway

Gateways provide several benefits to kiosk operators that are integrating payments into their offerings:

  • A single connection to a gateway leverages that gateway’s multiple connections to many processors, enabling kiosk operators to have more freedom to choose their processor partners and accommodate a broader customer base with very different payment needs.  Connecting once to access multiple payment processors is much more cost-effective and efficient than creating multiple direct processor connections.
  • Access to the gateway provider’s reseller base, which gives kiosk operators connections to potential channel partners and greatly increases growth opportunities.
  • PCI DSS compliance of each processor connection, securely routing card data from the POS system to the processor of choice—again all delivered via the single connection to the gateway.
  • Access to PCI scope-reduction tools, like end-to-end encryption, EMV and tokenization, which limit the kiosk operator’s exposure to handling sensitive card data and potential fraud.
  • Lower upkeep and maintenance costs due to the fact that the gateway provider handles the bi-annual card brand releases and enhancements required by card brands and processors.

The price of leveraging these gateway benefits is typically a gateway transaction fee—an expense in addition to the interchange fees charged by processors.  While the gateway fee is typically nominal, the expense can add up over time as transaction volumes grow.

Pros and Cons of Direct Connections

The main benefit of direct connections is that they eliminate incremental transaction fees typically associated with gateways, because direct processor connections cut out the “middle man” with a select processor.

However, there are additional costs in both funds and time accompanying direct processor connections:

  • Merchant have fewer choices for payment processors—typically only the one processor is directly connected.
  • Kiosk operators are personally responsible for PCI compliance, which is an ongoing and labor-intensive process.  Even when using a PCI DSS-compliant level one service provider, the kiosk operator will still need to adhere to any applicable PSI DSS obligations set forth by their acquirer, based on processing environment, volume of transactions and policies/procedures.
  • It takes a substantial amount of work (and, therefore, cost) to certify and maintain each individual connection, comply with PCI data security standards, and perform necessary updates for card brand and processor bi-annual releases.  This can result in a very expensive, time-consuming and resource-intensive effort for kiosk operators who wish to handle payments processing development themselves.

Integrating with direct connections and certifying EMV transactions for every chosen processor requires several steps, each of which can each take weeks or months to complete:

  1. Submitting and getting approval from the payment processors for an EMV Application Request
  2. Assigning a Certification Analyst and acquiring Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) Certification
  3. Completing pre-certification EMV Testing
  4. Completing subsequent EMV certification with individual card brands (These certifications are device- and processor-specific, and separate for Visa, MasterCard, Discover and AMEX)

Repeating this process for each connection is extremely costly to initiate and maintain.  Kiosk operators must certify each desired hardware to each desired processor, and any alterations to the payment application requires a new EMV certificate.

EMV for Kiosk Operators

With the implementation of EMV cards in the U.S., kiosk merchants are seeing improved security for consumers and decreased fraud for merchants.  With these benefits, come a few challenges, the first of which is that kiosks are usually unattended devices.  Since the kiosks are not using a basic POS terminal, an original equipment manufacturer approved for unattended use is needed for Level 1 EMV compliance.  Level 1 EMV compliance relates to the hardware housing the terminal, which must have a higher degree of security to prevent people from accessing the keys to the data.  The next stage of EMV compliance (Level 2) refers to the software. Transactions happen between the POS device and bank exclusively, removing liability from the kiosk operator.  

EMV compliance can be complicated and costly, but it marks a significant shift in liability in the U.S.  Using a secure payment gateway can help to streamline this process for kiosk operators and remove the burden of securing EMV certifications for each payment type.

Other Benefits of Gateways for Kiosk Operators

While direct integration can be time-consuming and expensive, integrating with a gateway provides kiosk operators with several key benefits that reduce ongoing operational costs, labor and maintenance.

  • More Options and Flexibility

Gateways typically enable the ability to connect to more processors than direct connections so merchants have the freedom to choose the partners that work best for their business.  The more connections and channel partners that your gateway provider offers, the more flexible payment options that are available for kiosk merchants.  With customer analytics growing quickly, kiosk merchants can provide a customized experience for their users, including user recognition through card number, email address and more.

  • Top-Notch Security

Be sure to select a gateway provider that has a reputation for top-notch safety and security.  Features to look for include advanced security features like end-to-end encryption, tokenization and hosted payment screens, in addition to EMV compliance for a comprehensive layered security approach.

  • Industry-Specific Solutions

Gateway technology can be tailored for a variety of niche markets like vending, parking, car washes, golf courses, and ticketing, plus a wide array of traditional payments terminals, so look for a provider that meets your specific vertical market needs.

  • Semi-Integrated Solutions to Save Time and Effort

Semi-integrated solutions allow kiosk operators to add EMV support quickly and easily using their existing payment solutions, saving significant time, effort and resources.  EMV reduces the liability for kiosk merchants, shifting more liability to the cardholder’s bank, significantly reducing risk to the kiosk merchant.

  • Increased Growth Potential

Gateway providers sometimes have a large reseller base.  For those that do, granting kiosk operators access to the gateway’s reseller base gives those kiosk operators connections to potential channel partners, greatly increasing growth opportunities.

  • Speed & Service

Gateways should provide a consistent level of service to enhance the payment process for the customer.  Speed of a transaction is especially important during heavy use.  A slow system can drive customers away during the payment process and reduce the sales volume. Kiosks must be able to function well at a high volume without the system slowing or shutting down.

  • Dynamic Routing for Fast and Easy Payment Device Management

Gateways should feature dynamic routing across platforms and services, meaning devices are boarded once and can send transactions anywhere.  This consolidates payments and data from different platforms into one simple, easy-to-use interface, and translates across reporting, risk management and billing for all devices, which dramatically reduces the work required to maintain these connections.  As kiosk users are generally untrained, a fast, reliable experience is required to maintain current users and gain new users. Sales are often abandoned due to system delays or an interface that is not user friendly. Look for a gateway provider that allows acquired portfolios of devices to easily be added, and supports functions like recurring billing.

  • Preferred Rates

Some gateways can convey preferred rates for small-ticket Visa and MasterCard transactions, further validating the ROI of connecting to a gateway, especially for kiosk markets with lower average sales tickets.

  • Flexibility to Support New Technology

Gateway providers continually add support for new payments technologies as they emerge, which helps future-proof solutions and keep them compliant with updated PCI regulations.  Ensuring the kiosk merchants can utilize the latest mobile options, such as Apple Pay, Wallet and more with a future-proof solution.

Which Integration Path is Right for You?

Establishing and maintaining individual connections with processors may seem more empowering and cost-effective at first glance, but it can be quite costly and resource-intensive over the long term.  Many payments solution providers are turning to gateways to provide their merchants (and customers) with more options.  However, each kiosk provider or merchant must weigh the pros and cons, and choose an integration path that works best for their business.

By Justin Passalaqua
Director of Sales at Apriva, LLC
[email protected]
(480) 423-7724

For more information on payment gateways and processors visit Apriva website.

Posts2025: 3,243

Kiosk Salary – Compensation for Kiosk Industry and Jobs

How much are you paid? Compensation Report for the Self-Service Kiosk Industry

 

EASTLAKE, CO – 11/16/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET) — Instead of taking away jobs, self-service technology is opening up a host of new opportunities. A look at how self-service adds employees and also an internal look at compensation for people in the self-service industry and CAGR.

Kiosk Industry Group announces an extended feature article on job creation as well as internal pay scales for employees. Excerpts include:

“The consumer-facing technology results in labor savings for Panera; these hours are redeployed in the café,” Panera Chief Transformation & Growth Officer Blaine Hurst told Business Insider.

Transparency Market Research, for example, pegged the global kiosk market at $12.2 billion in 2015, with that market expected to grow at a 10.9 percent clip over the next eight years, reaching $30.8 billion by 2024.

“Engineering talent is the most critical and hard to fill,” said Pete Snyder, who served as VP of sales and co-owner KIOSK Information Systems for nine years, later founding Middle East Kiosks.

More news

Member News: new members this month include Ingenico, Gibco Kiosks, TOKENWORKS, Acquire Digital and TDS TOUCH.

Tradeshow News – next month is Marijuana show in Vegas and we are becoming media partner for DSE to be held in Vegas next spring (complete with Self-Service Pavilion).

About the Kiosk Industry Group

The Kiosk Industry Group is based in Denver Colorado and is the kiosk trade association and qualified marketing network for the kiosk and self-service  industry. For more information please log onto https://kioskindustry.org/.  Our email contact is [email protected].

Advisory board members include Olea Kiosks, KioWare, Kiosk Information Systems, SlabbKiosks, OptConnect, PROVISIO, Crane CPI, ARCA, Turnkey Kiosks and Glory Global Solutions. Additional members include Pete Snyder and CTS (Connected Technology Solutions).  Together they provide the strategic guidance and support for the Association in direction and focus concerning all types of transactional and informational self service solutions such as bill pay automation, lockers, loyalty, employee systems and customer retention. Device integrations include biometrics, foot traffic sensors, scanners, printers, demographic identification discovery, EMV and all types of cash and currency.

KIA is the kiosk industry association and our focus is simple, “kiosks in self-service”. Keep it simple.

Automated Cashier Video – https://youtu.be/ZtHv-KeD7kU

Media Contacts:

Company Name: CAKCEK
Full Name: Craig A keefner
Phone: 3032618836
Email Address: [email protected]
Website: https://kiosks.io

Posts2025: 2,627

Kiosk Software – TIPs Kiosk Software

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DynaTouch launches new website for TIPS™ Kiosk Management Software, the most secure and ADA/508 compliant kiosk software on the market www.TIPSkiosksoftware.com

San Antonio, Texas. – November 15, 2016 – DynaTouch, a pioneering self-service kiosk solutions provider, announced that they have launched the TIPS™ Kiosk Management Software website. TIPS (Touch Information Presentation Software) has been the foundation of everything DynaTouch for three decades in the self-service kiosk marketplace.

Dynatouch Kiosk Software

Click to Expand

TIPS as kiosk software first appeared on the landscape in 1984, when DynaTouch started installing “electronic concierge” kiosks in Texas-based hotel lobbies – the first of their kind. Soon thereafter, DynaTouch installed and operated similar TIPS kiosks at all five of the military bases in San Antonio (Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB, Kelly AFB. Brooks AFB and Fort Sam Houston). Over the next 10 years, DynaTouch designed, developed and deployed customized TIPS kiosk systems (hardware, software and content) for more than 75% of the U.S. Military installations worldwide, and started doing the same for VA Medical Centers across the nation. To support these projects, DynaTouch created a wide range of kiosk apps (check-in, wayfinding, survey, queuing, directories, etc.), and TIPS Kiosk Management Software was the secure platform for each and every solution.

By the late 90s, the Internet started changing everything in the kiosk world. There was an almost global shift to move kiosk content and apps to the web, so they could be centrally managed, controlled and easily updated. Stand-alone systems were upgraded, and new systems were shipped Internet-ready. However, it quickly became clear that Internet-connected public-access kiosk systems were highly vulnerable to intrusion, misuse, web-based attacks and cyber-vandalism. This is when the power of TIPS Kiosk Management Software came to the forefront. TIPS was put to the test, and succeeded! TIPS kiosks were the first public-access kiosk systems ever to receive a Certificate of Networthiness (CoN) from the U.S. Military. And TIPS is also on the list of approved software for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, due to its robust security and compliance features (ADA, Section 508 and HIPAA).

DynaTouch President Tom McClelland said, “TIPS is the most secure browser application in the kiosk industry. And TIPS’ remote management tools are as robust as TIPS is secure.”

In addition to the TIPS secure browser, which tightly regulates what users can do on the Internet, TIPS manages all kiosk peripherals, locks down the OS and network, offers robust usage logging and statistical reports, and includes integrated cloud-based content management and monitoring.

Two years ago, DynaTouch CEO Terri McClelland said in a letter to her team, “Since we started this kiosk business, we have always been a total solutions provider. TIPS has always been at the core of every solution we supply, but rarely sold separately. We have made the decision to actively change that, and offer TIPS Kiosk Management Software as a stand-alone product our clients can install on any Windows or Android device. Now it can protect anyone’s laptop, computer, tablet, kiosk or kiosk application from cyber-vandalism and liability.” Since 2014 the software has become widely used as an ideal way to lock down and remotely manage all kinds of shared and public access computing devices, including thousands of “Self-Help PCs” managed by the Social Security Administration.

About DynaTouch Interactive Technologies
Established in 1988, DynaTouch is an IT solutions company specializing in interactive, self-service systems that deliver information and assistance in unattended settings. As a pioneering developer of customer-facing kiosk applications for multiple US Government Agencies, DynaTouch focuses on ease of use, data security, ADA/Section 508/HIPAA-compliance. The company offers OneSource Solutions™ packages which include hardware, kiosk management software, interactive application software, software development, multimedia content design and production, pre-shipment system integration and testing, worldwide deployment, Internet setup and support, network management, content management, and ongoing support – in any combination to match customer requirements. DynaTouch kiosk, mobile and digital signage solutions work around the clock to enhance customer/patient/visitor services. At the same time, they cut administrative costs by taking advantage of proven technologies in multimedia, touch screen simplicity and global information exchange via the Internet. DynaTouch truly offers a one-stop Self-Service Kiosk solution.

Learn more at: www.dynatouch.com
Contact:
Paul Stahl
[email protected]
www.dynatouch.com

Posts2025: 3,963

digital signage solution – DSE & Kiosk Industry

DSE Show DSE is right around the corner. Here’s a glimpse of what’s happening in the self-service arena.

By Richard Slawsky contributor

Although next week’s Digital Signage Expo doesn’t include kiosks in its name, self-service devices will play a prominent role in the show.

DSE, produced by Exponation LLC, is co-located with the Digital Content Show, and will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 28-31, with access to the Exhibit Hall March 29-30. The show is the world’s largest and oldest conference and trade show dedicated to showcasing digital display and interactive technology solutions. More than 200 exhibitors will be featuring technology and services ranging from the latest in displays, media players, software and networking devices to delivery methods, content and more. In addition, more than 75 conferences, seminars and roundtable discussions will held over the show’s four-day run.

Many of those exhibits and discussions will showcase self-service kiosks and associated technology.

“Kiosk technology fits perfectly with the direction of DSE,” said DSE show director Andrea Varrone. “We are seeing more and more adoption of self-service technology across all vertical markets, and in most cases this is the same buyer for digital signage technology.”

And along with some of the top names in the digital signage industry, many members of the Kiosk Industry Group will be in attendance as well. Here’s just a sampling of what will be on display.

Olea to showcase drive-thru kiosks

Olea Kiosks will be presenting publicly for the first time its new Detroit drive-thru kiosk, geared for the fast-food market.

“More than 70 percent of revenue for most QSRs comes from the drive-thru window, and with our Detroit, operators can expect even greater results,” said CEO Frank Olea.

“Our kiosk gets the customer’s order right every time, never is rude to a customer and always remembers to ask for the up-sell,” Olea said. “Some deployers of our previous drive-thru kiosk saw it drive a 15-percent revenue increase. What’s more, the Detroit has been engineered to be 30 percent more energy efficient while costing less than the unit it replaces.”

The company will also be showcasing its ticketing kiosk, Olea said.

ticketing kiosk

Click for full size

“We’re very proud of this unit,” Olea said. “The art deco aesthetic and reliable all-weather functionality have made it a hit at one of California’s most popular amusement parks, for example. We believe there is a strong future for ticketing kiosks, and this unit represents the leadership we’ve been able to bring to the segment.”

And finally, Olea will be demonstrating its Milan kiosks. Available with four different monitor sizes, each able to be mounted portrait or landscape, they excel at virtual reception, wayfinding, product information and more.

“The Elo touchscreens we integrate allow users to operate two applications at once,” Olea said. “For example, one part of the screen can show features of, say, a new lawn mower, while another part of the screen can show the user where to find it.”

Olea Kiosks will be headquartered at Booth 350 during the show.  For a video of the company capabilities click here.

Meridian eyes the EV charging market

“Meridian is excited to be unveiling InterAct 2.0, our interactive digital signage solution,” said Stephanie Mewherter, marketing manager with the Aberdeen, N.C.-based manufacturer of kiosks, digital signage and related software. “InterAct 2.0 boasts a sleek, refined UI with integrated real-time weather information and additional levels of customization that were not available in version 1.0.”

The company will also be showing the most recent addition to its product lineup, EV Charging Stations. In conjunction with an expected increase in EV sales, the global EV Charger market is forecast to grow from more than 1 million units in 2014 to more than 12.7 million units in 2020, according to a new EV Charging Infrastructure report by IHS Inc. That promises to open an entirely new placement opportunity for kiosks and digital signage.

Meridian’s EV Charging Station includes a 240V, 32-Amp Level 2 EVSE with a 25-foot charging cable and a sleek, interactive or non-interactive touch screen. The company will be located at Booth S25 on the show floor.

Alveni to show some appetizing solutions

Austin, Texas-based kiosk solutions provider Alveni is showing its new ergonomic digital signage/kiosk, code named “Yuum,” a versatile product that can accommodate touchscreens ranging from 32” to 55” in either landscape or portrait mode. Options for Yuum include a credit card/chip reader, pin pad, 80mm printer and a barcode reader.

The kiosks are ideal for wayfinding, human resources applications, surveys, ticket or coupon printing and much more, according to Alveni’s website.

Alveni will be located at Booth S20 during the show.

Kiosks & touchscreens from URway

URway Holdings will be highlighting its EuroTouch Kiosks brand at DSE along with Elo Aio Touchscreens.

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based URway Holdings is a group of dynamic companies−OneSource Interactive, EuroTouch Kiosks, URway Kiosks & PicsWare−specializing in unique interactive self-service kiosks, interactive and passive digital displays, digital directory and wayfinding displays, mobile and tablet solutions, managed digital services and strategic consulting.

EuroTouch Kiosks offers some of the world’s most contemporary and highest-quality kiosks and dynamic signage products in the industry, including a comprehensive series of indoor and outdoor kiosk and dynamic signage products for the most design-conscious clients and from the most elegant environments to the most demanding environments.

URway Holdings will be showcasing its products at Booth S12

It’s in the cards for Evolis

French company Evolis plans to show its range of four new card personalization modules at DSE, catering to the growing need for unattended card issuance for use in markets including banking, retail, education and transit. Of those, its KC200 and KC200B models will fit the most compact kiosks, while the KM500B and KM2000B models will meet the need for higher autonomy and continuous availability.

The modules offer cost-effective solutions to enable instant issuance of personalized plastic cards into any type of self-service kiosks. Plastic cards are used around the globe for ID badges, payment cards, transit passes, access badges, loyalty cards, student ID cards, national ID cards and more.

Visit Evolis at Booth S19, or click here for an advanced glimpse of their products.

OptConnect makes the connection

One of the major trends that has occurred in kiosks and digital signage over the past few years is that those devices have become thinner and smaller. The shrinking of those devices has created an increasing need for a tiny cellular router.

Kaysville, Utah-based OptConnect addresses this need with OptConnect neo, an ultra compact yet fully capable router that easily fits in the palm of your hand. About the size of a pack of gum, the plug-and-play neo eliminates the need for kiosk manufacturers to engineer and certify their own cellular hardware or to develop software drivers to keep USB modems working. In addition, neo’s self-monitoring logic automatically restores the cellular connection if it is interrupted, ensuring devices remain online.

OptConnect will be demonstrating its products at Booth S13 on the show floor.

In case that’s not enough

And if these exhibitors weren’t enough to keep attendees busy, making its second appearance at DSE is the Self-Service Pavilion, which debuted in 2016 as an acknowledgement to the rising adoption of self-service kiosks, tablets and other freestanding interactive displays and the convergence of kiosk and digital signage technology.

The Kiosk Industry Group was a driving  force in getting the SSP established, and it would not have been possible without the support and direction of industry leaders such as Olea Kiosks and others.

One of the original “designers” of the pavilion is Craig Keefner who manages the Kiosk Industry Group. Craig worked with Andrea Varrone of DSE on configuration and pricing. “Self-service, transactional and interactive are the complementary technology partners for digital signs. It was a chance to expand the show audience while creating a new ‘Kiosk Show’ within it,” said Craig. “Our hope is that in the future we can help support a Kiosk Council for DSE that comprises the experts in the industry. We have meetings at DSE to discuss that very effort”.

“The Self Service Pavilion was implemented after the show organizers realized how quickly self-service kiosks, tablets and other freestanding interactive displays were being adopted by the digital signage market,” said Meridian’s Mewherter. “The Self-Service Pavilion is a “one-stop-shop” to see all of the latest and greatest self-service solutions on the market today.”

Self Service Technology was an obvious product category to include in the DSE universe, said DSE’s Varrone.

“We created a small version of this for 2016, and expanded it for 2017 which now includes around 25 exhibitors,” Varrone said. “We are expanding the Self-Service Pavilion in 2018 even further. I see this as a huge growth area for our typical attendees (End Users in verticals like QSR and Retail).”

Along with the continuing addition of self-service technology to the show, Varrone expects DSE to continue expanding going forward, offering more and more growth and innovation.

“We are seeing many more attendees from verticals that were not as strong in previous years such as Higher Education, Corporate Communication and Transportation,” Varrone said. “We are also seeing new players coming into the market as providers of technology, such as traditional sign giants now making the transition to digital.”

Click here for a list of DSE exhibitors and here for a map of the show floor.

Kiosk Industry Members at DSE exhibiting include:

 

Posts2025: 3,079

SlabbKiosks announces another addition to its team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Las Vegas, October 17, 2016 – SlabbKiosks has announced yet SlabbKiosks another addition to its team. Ron Graves will assume the role of Account Manager as part of the company’s sales team, that saw the introduction of Rick Kobal earlier this year.
“I believe the recent expansion of our sales team is a testament to the growing opportunities within the industry and by extension for our company as well. We continue to look for experienced team members that understand the SlabbKiosks philosophy and business model and we are happy to have Ron as the newest member of the company. We are quite certain he will be a great asset to the team” stated the company’s President, Peter te Lintel Hekkert.
Ron has extensive sales experience, gained from working in this field for the past fifteen (15) years. He is also no stranger to the kiosk industry, having spent five (5) years working with Fortune 500 clients, as well as, local, state, and federal government agencies to assess, deploy and manage their various kiosk projects. This provided him with in-depth knowledge of technological advances and new trends within the industry, making his move to SlabbKiosks a natural fit. He is eager to contribute to the team and stated, “I look forward to working with the highly regarded professionals at SlabbKiosks and being a part of this industry leading team.”
Ron has a Bachelor of Arts degree, in Business Management from the University of Illinois and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Western International University where he obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration.

 

 About SLABBKIOSKS
SlabbKiosks is a leading international manufacturer and distributor of cost effective, interactive kiosks. The company has installed and customized interactive kiosks for thousands of clients in over 150 countries and distinguishes itself from the competition by offering the latest in technological advancements including the wireless kiosk, while utilizing high quality components with designs that facilitate quick and efficient maintenance of their units.
Additional information can be found at:
http://www.slabbkiosks.com
For further press information about this release, please contact:
Kisha Wilson (Marketing Manager)
SlabbKiosks
Tel: 702-605-4845
Email: [email protected]
Posts2025: 2,198

Kiosk Software Accessibility

Kiosk Software Accessibility

Editors Note: New kiosk software release KioWare for Windows (Version 8.7)! New accessibility features are now available (such as ZoomText and JAWS for the visually impaired).  Support for EZ® Access Keypad.  (See upcoming Accessibility Seminar). Also added are a number of new devices, including an EMV compliant option using the Elavon processor via the OTI Trio (see UCP). Other devices that have been added include Raw Windows printer device support, monitored device support, barcode readers supporting SNAPI, Bill dispensers, acceptors, and recyclers.   

Jim Kruper President of KioWare said, “New features in this release provide significant advances in our ability to support ADA compliant deployments and the expansion of options and devices available for transactional kiosk projects.”

ADA kiosk

Section 508 Subpart C – Click for full size

Here are the details (note the new “Assistive Technologies” tab in the config tool image below):

Learn more about Accessibility at government site for ADA. Next seminar is 9/27.

Press Release Copy – Version 8.7 of KioWare for Windows is now available.  This version adds extensive assistive technologies for visual and hearing assistance as well as a number of new devices such as barcode readers supporting SNAPI, new bill acceptors, dispensers & recyclers, raw printer support and more.

kiosk software

Click to see full size image

Analytical Design Solutions Inc. (ADSI) has released a new version of KioWare for Windows kiosk software, with new assistive technologies for improved accessibility.

KioWare kiosk software products lock down your device into kiosk mode, which secures the overall operating system, home screen and usage of applications.

Version 8.7 of KioWare for Windows (Lite, Basic, & Full with Server) has added JAWS® (Job Access With Speech) screen reader technology support to allow blind and visually impaired users to read and interact with the kiosk screen.  Screen Reader

What is JAWS in plain english? Click to see.

What is JAWS in plain english? Click to see.

support configuration settings can be found in the KioWare Config Tool’s new Assistive Technologies tab.  Support for the ZoomText® Magnifier/Reader has also been added.  ZoomText is a fully integrated magnification and screen reading program. Also found in the new Assistive Technology tab is support for the EZ® Access Keypad, software navigation keypads for people with mobility or sensory impairments.  These features, now available in KioWare Lite, KioWare Basic, & KioWare Full for Windows, combine to help make your kiosk compliant with Section 508 and ADA regulations.  These assistive technology applications must be purchased separately.

KioWare Basic and KioWare Full for Windows Version 8.7 has added a number of new supported devices and supported device types:

  • Raw Windows Printer device support
    • Zebra TTP2030
    • Zebra KR403
    • Zebra KR203
    • Any printer that installs a Windows driver
  • Monitored devices
    • PJL Printer Monitoring Support
  • Barcode Readers supporting SNAPI
    • Symbol
    • Motorola
    • Zebra
  • OTI Trio device support providing EMV support through Elavon
  • Fujitsu F53 Bill Dispenser
  • CashCode Bill Acceptors
  • MEI Bill Acceptors
  • MEI BNR (Bank Note Recycler)

KioWare for Windows (Lite, Basic, & Full) now requires Windows 7 or higher.  With version 8.7, Vista will no longer be supported.  The browser is now updated to Chrome 52. Additional features for Lite, Basic, & Full includes:

  • Ability to use “Scheduled Actions” settings to execute a command line
  • Support for mapping key combinations to actions (HotKeys)
  • Addin support for handling downloads
  • Context (right click) menu customization and support
  • New attract screen mode (simple attract looper) features
    • Default screen delay
    • Attract screen transition style options
    • Transition time customization
    • Ability to add displays.

Support must be current to upgrade.

For a full description of features added for this and other versions of the KioWare product line,  visit http://www.sitekiosk.com/.

All of these products are available as a free trial with nag screen at http://www.sitekiosk.com/download.aspx. Existing clients have the ability to upgrade at https://www.sitekiosk.com/dhttp://http/www.sitekiosk.com/versionhistory.aspxownloadupgrade.aspx.

KioWare has been providing OS, desktop, and browser lockdown security for the kiosk and self-service industry since 2001.

https://dev.accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/schedule

Click for information on seminar September 27th

Posts2025: 3,109

Kiosk History – SlabbKiosks Buys Phoenix & RedDotNet

slabbkiosk

SlabbKiosks

Phoenix Kiosk was well-known for its line of American-made modern kiosks including table and floor series models while RedDotNet specializes in more compact commercial-grade units. The acquisitions will bring three companies with similar values and philosophies together, to provide a wide range of kiosk products and services to their clients.  A bit of kiosk history as this came out of Cy Birg, brother of Ziver Birg.  The Netherlands was a great meeting place for Cy.  Ah, the fragrance of Amsterdam…  Phoenix Kiosk installed quite a few of its kiosks in Arizona. RedDotNet worked out arrangements with bookstores and others for their music sampling kiosk.

Phoenix Kiosk and Redotnet Acquired by Slabbkiosks

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 03, 2017

Phoenix Kiosk is well-known for its extensive line of American-made modern kiosks including table and floor series models while RedDotNet specializes in more compact commercial grade units. The acquisitions will bring three companies with similar values and philosophies together, to provide a wide range of kiosk products and services to their clients.

[press release on PRWeb]

“We are very excited about the new additions to the company which will allow us to extend our product line by including the current kiosk models of both companies. It will be a great benefit to our customers as they can now choose from a wider selection of high quality kiosk designs along with superior support, sales and management from the experienced and dedicated team at SlabbKiosks” stated President of SlabbKiosks, Peter te Lintel Hekkert.

Phoenix Kiosk and RedDotNet To Keep Their Brand

The two companies will operate under the SlabbKiosks management team; however, Phoenix Kiosk and RedDotNet products will continue to be marketed under their own brands. The move will also further increase the team with the addition of two industry veterans from RedDotNet. The company’s former President, Scott Johnson, an accomplished entrepreneur who led a group of investors to acquire RedDotNet in 2012 and also founded a computer service parts company that he built it into a full-service technology company. Brian Horsley, the company’s former CTO, brings his extensive experience in product design, desktop application software programming, web/cloud-based software management and project management.

The acquisitions will enhance SlabbKiosks’ manufacturing capabilities of standard and customized kiosk units to support the needs of the company’s increasing client base. SlabbKiosks has been manufacturing kiosks across various industries for over 20 years. They offer one of the shortest lead times in the industry, free quotes and renderings and a collaborative consultation process. These and many other benefits will now be available to Phoenix Kiosk and RedDotNet customers as well.

About SLABBKIOSKS
SlabbKiosks is a leading international manufacturer and distributor of cost effective, interactive kiosks. The company has installed and customized interactive kiosks for thousands of clients in over 150 countries and distinguishes itself from the competition by offering the latest in technological advancements including the wireless kiosk, while utilizing high quality components with designs that facilitate quick and efficient maintenance of their units.

Additional information can be found at:
http://www.slabbkiosks.com

2020 Update — Worth noting Slabbkiosks was later purchased by Micro Market company.

Posts2025: 2,908

Phone Charging Kiosk Market Growth

charging kiosk nrf image

See press release here.

Phone Charging Kiosk Market Growth

The phone charging market has experienced a double digit growth in the last 2 years and is growing even faster.

DENVER, CO – 02 Aug, 2016 – Whether it is in a retail store such as Neiman Marcus, the airports, bars or the streets of New York the emerging phone charging kiosk market has been on a tear and shows signs of increasing even more. While providing a sought after commodity for consumers the systems are collecting customer data while lengthening customer dwell time in the retail location.

For an overview and writeup on the market (1000 words) complete with a large gallery of photos displaying some of the many makers and models, visit kioskindustry.org and read our exclusive story on the market. We highlight “Low battery anxiety” that many consumers experience and how these new systems provide a positive conclusion. Getting A Charge Out of Kiosks is our industry piece for August.

Another high revenue market which is growing is the marijuana market and we have a nice wrap on a couple of major players moving into that space.  Here is link for marijuana kiosk feature.  Olea Kiosks in California is one of the major players and the west coast is the biggest market.

Our third feature is a nice opinion piece by Laura Miller of KioWare on the industry shift that we have seen and which is occurring right now in the self-service space.  Laura did the piece for our European media partner Kiosk Solutions magazine and we are able to reprint it.  Note tradeshow Kiosk Summit North in UK in Oct 2016,

SlabbKiosks is our New Advisory Board Member for July. Slabbkiosk builds standard and custom kiosk designs (no design fee) with software for any type of application – from medical to micro market self-checkout solutions. Welcome to Kisha, Pete, Mike and new vp there Rick Kobal.

About the Kiosk Industry Group

The Kiosk Industry Group based in Denver Colorado is the kiosk trade association and qualified marketing network for the kiosk and self-service  industry.

For more information please log onto https://kioskindustry.org/

Our email contact is [email protected]

Advisory board members include Olea Kiosks, KioWare, Kiosk Information Systems, SlabbKiosks, OptConnect, PROVISIO, Crane CPI, ARCA, Turnkey Kiosks and SlabbKiosk. Additional members include Peter B. Snyder and CTS (Connected Technology Solutions).  Together they provide the strategic guidance and support for the Association in direction and focus concerning all types of transactional and informational self service solutions such as bill pay automation, lockers, loyalty, employee systems and customer retention, flow & services. Device integrations include biometrics, foot traffic sensors, scanners, printers, demographic indentification and discovery, EMV and all types of cash and currency.

KI is the kiosk industry association and our focus is fairly simple, “kiosks in self-service”. Aka keep it simple.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/gRHwjRxgnvM

Full News Story: https://pressreleasejet.com/news/phone-charging-kiosk-market-growth.html

Distributed by Press Release Jet

Media Contact
Company Name: CAKCEK
Contact Person: Craig A keefner
Email: [email protected]
Country: United States
Website: https://kioskindustry.org/

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Marijuana Kiosk & Cannabis

marijuana kiosk

As marijuana legalization continues to spread, the marijuana kiosk is helping to simplify and secure the sales process.

By Richard Slawsky contributor

Just two years into the state’s experiment in the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, Colorado businesses are on track see more than $1.3 billion in revenue from the sale of weed and related products. That’s a whopping 30 percent higher than the $1 billion those businesses took in last year.

Those results are similar to what’s being seen in Washington, the second state to go 420-friendly. Washington reached the $1 billion mark in July 2016, just 12 months after the first legal sale of recreational pot.

And that growth is sure to continue, especially as more and more states hop aboard the cannabis train.

But as with any business, a growing customer base brings with it an opportunity to serve those customers with technology. Cannabis and kiosks are proving to be a perfect match.

Growing like a weed

With the results of November’s election, the use of both recreational and medicinal marijuana has been entirely legalized in eight states, with medical marijuana legal in 28 states.

While the approach of the incoming administration in regards to legalized marijuana remains to be seen, it’s likely that the movement has passed the point of no return.

Still, there are some sticky issues associated with the sale of marijuana. First and foremost is that despite it being legal at the state level, federal law still considers marijuana to be a Schedule 1 drug, putting it on the same level with heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

Because federal law prohibits financial institutions from processing payments from the sale of a Schedule 1 drug, for the most part the cannabis industry is an all-cash affair. Credit and debit card transactions just aren’t allowed.

Unfortunately, conducting business on an all-cash basis is fraught with risk. First and foremost is that having large amounts of cash on the premises makes a marijuana business a prime target for a robbery.

In June 2016, for example, a security guard at a suburban Denver dispensary was shot and killed during a robbery attempt. The killing of the guard, former Marine Travis Mason, was the first known on-the-job death at a licensed marijuana business in Colorado.

The same month, a medical marijuana dispensary owner in the Los Angeles area survived a shootout with two would-be robbers wearing masks and armored vests. The owner escaped unharmed, although the robbers were wounded when the owner fired his own weapon.

In addition to the outside threat, dispensary owners also face the potential of internal theft. Despite the amount of money flowing into the pot industry, dispensary workers start at or near the minimum wage. Handling thousands of dollars a day while taking home $10-12 an hour is likely to prove to be an overwhelming temptation for some seeking to supplement their income.

And that’s where the kiosk industry can help.

Fresno, Calif.-based Cannabis Cash Solutions, for example, is providing cash-handling kiosks for marijuana dispensaries that eliminate the need for employees to handle money. In addition, the devices store the cash in a secure vault until pickup by a manager or an armored car service

“What we’re doing with the kiosks is taking the money straight from the customer’s hands and putting it right into the vaults in our kiosks,” said Cannabis Cash Solutions CEO Andrew Savala. “The marijuana business doesn’t touch the cash at all.”

With Cannabis Cash Solutions kiosks, customers come up to the dispensary counter and interact with the dispensary’s “budtender,” who explains the different product choices available. Once the customer has made their choice the budtender directs them to the counter-mounted kiosk, where they insert their cash payment into a bill acceptor and receive their change. The kiosk recycles the cash inserted for use as change, minimizing the need for replenishing the change fund.

“Customers are still able to have that one-one-one interaction with the budtender,” Savala said. “The budtender can still spend as much time with them as they need answering the customer’s questions, they just don’t handle the cash.”

automated cashier

 

[Video demo of automated cashier]

Malvern Pennsylvania-based Crane Payment Innovations provides the cash recyclers and coin dispensers in these kiosks.

“It seems to be quite an up-and-coming market,” said Bassam Estaitieh, director of business development – acquisitions with CPI.

See related story on Crane, Olea Kiosks and KioWare.

[Editor note – A total of 3.6 million vending machines will be online by 2020. CPI is the leader. Reference.]

And Denver-based ordering and payment platform provider Jane LLC has deployed its kiosks in Oregon, Nevada and Colorado, with plans to expand to California, Alaska and several other states. With Jane’s kiosks, customers can make their choice from a list of products displayed on the device’s touchscreen and pay at the kiosk. The customer then takes the receipt to the pickup counter to receive their purchase.

“We have been received with open arms in some locations, where others shut the door, priding themselves on the theory of ‘one-on-one customer experience, that’s our specialty and we don’t want to lose that.’,” said Karla Guarino, VP of Marketing/Operations with Jane LLC. “Every state has different rules and regulations which all have to be worked through. It’s an ongoing process, but an exciting one!”

Jane also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android devices. With the app, customers place an order via their mobile device and enter their order number at the kiosks when they arrive at the dispensary. Those customers are also issued a receipt to be taken to the counter.

Jane’s devices also include EMV compliant card readers that are ready to accept transactions in anticipation of the eventual legalization of credit and debit card transactions for marijuana.

“We have been working very closely with our banking partner to ensure our processes are 100% compliant and ready to accept transactions at any time,” Guarino said.

On the horizon

San Francisco-based cannabis investor network The ArcView Group predicts legal sales to top $22.8 billion by 2020, meaning the opportunities for kiosk deployments are only going to continue to expand, both in the United States and around the world. In addition, the expected growth is driving the development of new solutions for the industry.

Several companies have introduced kiosks that actually dispense marijuana, verifying customers via biometrics. Most of those efforts have struggled, though.

Tempe, Ariz.-based American Green recalled all of its Zazzz cannabis vending machines in December 2015 in response to feedback from dispensary vendors and customers, and is retooling its automated vending program.

And Los Angeles-based vending kiosk provider Medbox rebranded itself as Notis Global in February 2016, shifting its focus to cultivation, production and consulting.

Still, the technology that would be required to dispense packages of marijuana is already being used to dispense other products. There may come a time when marijuana vending kiosks are as commonplace as those renting DVDs.

“I was reading an article recently about a company deploying kiosks to dispense packages of tea,” Estaitieh said. “If a kiosk can dispense tea it could easily dispense marijuana.”

The current struggle for acceptance of those types of kiosks may be due to the fact that they have been primarily located in dispensaries. If a customer is already in a dispensary, they may be inclined to simply go to the counter and talk with a bud tender.

Depending on traffic, though, there may be a day when customers will prefer to use a kiosk for convenience. And as medical marijuana becomes more accepted around the country, pharmacies may look at those types of kiosks as a way to compete with dispensaries.

There also may be opportunities for marijuana-dispensing kiosks outside the United States as other countries seek to cash in on changing attitudes. Jamaica, for example, is in talks on a plan to install cannabis kiosks at airports and seaports as part of a plan to boost government revenues.

Jamaica decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2015 and has legalized the use of medical marijuana, part of a plan to market the Caribbean nation as a destination for “wellness tourism” and the accompanying flow of cash.

“The thought is that if you are coming out of the airport, there is a kiosk that you can go to,” Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) Chairman Hyacinth Lightbourne told the Jamaican publication The Gleaner.

“It would primarily be for people who have a prescription and, in effect, you’re doing it for medicinal purposes with a permit from the Ministry of Health,” Lightbourne said. “If they don’t have a prescription, then they can do what we call ‘self-declare,’ and this will allow them [to purchase] two ounces while they are here.”

Marijuana Kiosk More information 

How the payments industry came to accept marijuana – from Payments Source. Excerpt:

Despite this progress, most financial services providers still see compliance as a hurdle. Only about 300 of the more than 11,000 banks currently operating in the U.S. work with legal pot vendors.

“Paradoxically, most of the institutions nationwide that offer business to marijuana suppliers are small and very unhealthy; most are the ones desperate for income,” said Lamine Zarrad, founder and CEO of Tokken, a Denver-based blockchain startup.

Tokken sees the marijuana industry’s situation as comparable to other industries, and thus it can apply solutions that other markets use. Tokken uses bitcoin blockchain to peg marijuana transaction information to its blockchain so that banks and regulators have an immutable, time-stamped record. Information about each transaction is hashed and input on the bitcoin blockchain. In this way consumers, businesses, banks, regulators and law enforcement agencies can view the system and ensure there’s no tampering, Zarrad said.

Related posts onsite

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Retail display news – Braven Bluetooth® expands wireless speakers

Portable Bluetooth® audio brand, Braven, has been expanding their retail display presence across the U.S. The expanded line of outdoor, take-anywhere speakers has necessitated new in-store display solutions. The in-line counter displays, designed and produced by Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.  are placed in retailers nationwide.

Grafton, WI, August 9, 2016 – Braven, a premium portable Bluetooth® audio brand, has been expanding their retail presence across the U.S.

Braven Display

Click for full image

The expanded Braven line of outdoor, rugged, take-anywhere speakers has necessitated new in-store display solutions.  Today’s mobile consumer of cutting edge technology demands a retail display design that complements the technology.

Braven has partnered with Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. to design, engineer and produce displays with the rugged styling it is known for worldwide. The display’s secured wireless outdoor speakers have customized interactive play controls with demo tracks that feature the qualities of each model. The in-line counter displays are placed in retailers nationwide.

Braven Display

Click for full image

Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. is an industry leader in the creative design and manufacturing of branded in-store merchandising displays, interactive kiosks and store fixtures for leading consumer product companies and retailers. Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.’s headquarters are based in Grafton, Wisconsin with offices nationwide.

BRAVEN combines unparalleled style with cutting-edge technology to produce premium Bluetooth speakers for the outdoor adventurer and modern audiophile. Founded in 2011, BRAVEN’s focus on audio quality, ease of use and superior features has quickly transformed the brand into one of the fastest growing wireless audio brands in the industry. For more information about BRAVEN, please visit www.braven.com or connect on Facebook at facebook.com/bravenproducts and Instagram @bravenproducts.

###

The press release is attached, along with an image of the merchandisers. The Braven Wireless Bluetooth Display program product page can be found: http://www.olea.com/in-store-merchandising/braven-wireless-bluetooth-speaker-display/.  The press release can also be found: http://www.olea.com/about-fma/frank-mayer-news/

Press Release PDF

Posts2025: 3,056

Automated Retail Kiosks – Open Letter to WP – Job Killing Kiosks

self-order kiosk

Source: www.linkedin.com

Here is a personal opinion letter/piece that I wrote for rebuttal to Andy Puzder and Rensi.  I was deliberately ruthless and demonstrative for effect. I also sent to the Washington Post and may send to some more. I also published as personal letter on the Kiosk industry group site.

Letter to Washington Post Job Killing Kiosks

I am the executive director of a kiosk industry group association that specializes in self-service in all industries.

This is in response to the recent news items by Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder and Ed Rensi, former president and CEO of McDonalds declaring that self-order automation in fast food industry is a “consequence” and a matter of time if we “foolishly” increase the minimum wage.

That is simply not true.

Neither one of them has, to any degree, or wants – to implement modern automation for customers. What they want is to maintain the status quo and use self-order automation as a bully club of sorts. Almost a threat.

The status quo? It is generally lowest paid minority and immigrant (legal and illegal) workers, not unlike field workers in early California days. Hispanic and black predominantly. Virtual slave labor to be harsh. That is the model for their fast food restaurants which the majority they franchise and franchisees factor for their ROI.

Both minimum wage increases and automation “disrupt” that model and make waves for them. They are protecting that model. Not unlike Hearst protecting the paper mills when hemp was shown to be a superior newspaper print medium than cutting down trees. Outlaw hemp and the mills made money.

Meanwhile small business gets left behind, again. They cannot afford the investment for self-order and an high minimum wage is difficult at best for them.

Automation creates a ton of jobs all the way across the food chain (so to speak) from metal fabricators, engineers, service techs, salespeople and many many more. How many jobs does automated checkout at Walmart account for at NCR? Tens of thousands. Panera’s is a great example of modern thinking in the food industry.

How many jobs does Amazon and Bezos create, foster and necessitate? Those automation jobs in the warehouses (even with the automation) count. Those jobs and skills do require training and education.

Has McDonalds in Europe, in their corporate-owned restaurants, seen a reduction of labor due to self-order? No. They have increased employment.

Puzder and Rensi are change-agnostics. They like it the way it is. The old way. McDonalds is changing for the good. CKE may be glad Puzder is leaving.

There is indeed a shift towards more automation in the public space. That certainly redefines workers in the public space as well.

I’m from the south and when I was 14 in 1969 my mother took me to the Arkansas bottomland near Fort Smith and had me pick peas and cut cabbage for $5 a day. We did it one week in the summer. That was a lesson in minimum wage I never forgot. I went to school and that is the best thing minimum wage can do.

Posts2025: 2,562

Kiosk News – SlabbKiosks welcomes Rick Kobal

SlabbKiosks Las Vegas, July 11, 2016 – Kiosk News – Rick Kobal has joined the SlabbKiosks’ sales team. The announcement was made today by the  company’s President, Peter te Lintel Hekkert. He indicated the move was necessary as the company continues to expand its customer base and increase production.

“We are very pleased to welcome Rick to our team,” said te Lintel Hekkert. “Having worked within the industry for many years, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge and is a perfect fit in a formula that has worked for us for years – a lean, highly specialized and responsive staff with over 40 years of combined experience in the self-service industry.”

Rick has worked with one of the largest component suppliers for

Rick Kobal at recent kiosk trade show

Rick Kobal at recent kiosk trade show. Click for full size image.

the industry for the past five years and has acquired an in-depth understanding of the industry’s dynamics including changes in end user requirements that have inevitably propelled hardware development. He’s ideally positioned to meet the needs of SlabbKiosks’ clients in an industry that continues to evolve and will be a welcome addition to the company’s sales team.

“Having worked closely with Peter and his growing team over the last five years, I am excited to join SlabbKiosks,” commented Rick. “Exciting innovations continue in the kiosk industry – innovations that the company is positioned to deliver. We see new sectors adopting kiosks.  Diverse payment options are increasing kiosk functionality. I am eager to now be part of the overall solution design and supply.”

Rick has over 25 years of value selling and program management experience within the automotive, industrial OEM and distribution markets and has a proven record of significant sales growth in his previous managerial positions. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Grove City College, Pennsylvania and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

About SLABBKIOSKS

SlabbKiosks is a leading international manufacturer and distributor of cost-effective, interactive kiosks. The company has installed and customized interactive kiosks for thousands of clients in over 150 countries and distinguishes itself from the competition by offering the latest in technological advancements including the wireless kiosk, while utilizing high-quality components with designs that facilitate quick and efficient maintenance of their units.

Additional information can be found at:
http://www.slabbkiosks.com

For further press information about this release, please contact:

Kisha Wilson (Marketing Manager)
SlabbKiosks
Tel: 702-605-4845
Email: [email protected]

– END –

Posts2025: 2,967

McDonalds Kiosks – Feature – Serves you right!

minimum wage kiosk

Good article by Elliot Maras published last week regarding jobs and the fast food kiosk.

By now you’ve already heard it — the introduction of self-order restaurant kiosks is raising fears that kiosks are killing jobs. News media outlets and websites are perpetuating the story that restaurants want to replace workers with kiosks to protect their bottom lines.

What’s to be done about it? Plenty.

If ever there were a time for the kiosk industry to speak with a collective voice, that time is now.  Let’s start with a reality check.

Restaurants in the fast casual space have deployed tablets on the tables for years now.  Those kiosks have increased the spend and added efficiencies.  They have helped increase business and traffic flow.  Customers complete surveys and provide feedback.  E-Club enrollments.  Customers and businesses are very happy with these kiosks. Notables in this “fast casual” space are Chili’s, Paneras and Red Robin.

The restaurants have grown and prospered. Kitchens have been upgraded for more capacity, and more people have been employed. One industry insider says:

In a dozen years of providing self order kiosks to the restaurant industry, I haven’t seen a reduction in “total labor”. In many cases the order taking (and less frequently payment) is automated, but more orders are processed and the orders are larger. That means more labor is needed in the kitchen and customer service. It really is more of a shift that a reduction.

Drive-thru and outdoor ordering have been mainstays for kiosks/ordering stations, and we are seeing next generation touchscreen ordering from companies like NEXTEP and many others. Tommy Woycik of NEXTEP insight:

When we introduced self order at the drive thru, many restaurants that had closed their drive thrus were able to reopen them. Without the automation, the economics simply didn’t make sense (i.e. the drive thru was losing money). Closing the drive thru eliminated a job. Reopening with a kiosk actually added labor, but just enough to make the drive thru feasible.

As far as the economic circumstance consider what the investment Seeking Alpha site has to say — 

The restaurant industry can be difficult to navigate as food trends shift like the wind. Companies that operate a large number of locations should produce significant margins from size and scale. However, because the consumer can be fickle when it comes to eating out, margins and revenue can quickly turn south as volume slips from over extension, saturation, or just a change in diet. Restaurants need foot traffic, automobile access, or a consistent supply of guests like a hotel or resort. Because of this and other equipment requirements, restaurant leases are amongst some of the highest cost in the country. The reason for this is simple: Location. Location. Location.

Margins in a franchisee business, especially in low-cost fast food like a McDonalds or Burger King or Subway are tough adversaries.

Still, Americans are spending more at bars and restaurants than at grocery stores for the first time ever. $55B versus $53B according to Quartz report.

Click for full size

Fast Food Kiosk Coming Up Fast?

Recently we have seen the McDonalds announcement where, having done most of Europe, it is now looking to introduce self-ordering in the United States.

The CEO of CKE Andy Puzder, who has been a tireless opponent of minimum wage over the years, is now conveying the sense that kiosks are a result of minimum wage coming with a bit of “I told you so” for effect.

We have seen very few deployments in fast food and we won’t see significant minimum wage increases for several years.   The franchisee model and the type of food service may be more relevant factors.

Self-service arrived many years ago and is simply expanding given the increased connectivity and independence of those customers.  And the battle for new customers and most importantly retaining your current customers.

More Jobs – consider the jobs that automation supports. From basic metal fabrication, design, concierge, assistants, service techs, admins and yes, even, salespeople which we sometimes make fun of. They all support families and communities.

Automation creates a ton of jobs all the way across the food chain (so to speak) from metal fabricators, engineers, service techs, salespeople and many many more.  How many jobs does automated checkout at Walmart account for at NCR?  Tens of thousands.  Panera’s is a great example of modern thinking in the food industry.

How many jobs does Amazon and Bezos create, foster and necessitate? Those automation jobs in the warehouses (even with the automation) count.

And before we assign the entire industry to McDonalds/CKE/Darden/YUM/JackintheBox/Wendys, consider this quote from thebalance.com:

Even though it seems like the largest U.S. restaurant chains dominate the retail restaurant niche, only about 30% of America’s restaurants are part of a multi-unit chain, and only a fraction of those restaurant chains are publicly traded restaurant companies. The vast majority of U.S. retail diners are spending $1.9 billion in approximately one million restaurant locations owned by individual culinary entrepreneurs.”

For contrast consider the early theory that ATMs will eliminate bank employees.  Banks became smaller for sure but they built more of them, and more people were employed.

So What Does Kill Jobs  If Anything?

The statements that kiosks are killing jobs are more targeted at killing minimum wage politically.  That’s politics and those issues come and go as it serves someones interests.  You might also say China is killing jobs too, but it’s not really them that is killing jobs.

The tax advantages of imported goods may go away in a new “border adjustable” Republican plan (which companies like Walmart are not happy with).   Incentivising companies to build in the US will create jobs.

A labor shortage for skilled workers and craftsmen (higher middle class) is killing jobs.  People need to be trained. See Profoundly Disconnected and Mike Rowe which we support.

Fact is though Automation and connectivity are killing jobs.

Mr. Maras makes the good point that training and skilled workers is a fundamental issue.  Vocational schools which focus on job skills with computers and automation.  And why not take a page from the German labour playbook? Works for their labour force.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Other countries devote more resources than the U.S. to cushioning and retraining displaced workers. As a share of gross domestic product, Denmark spends 25 times as much, says Dr. Autor.

He offers another historical example. Near the end of the 19th century, America’s agricultural states faced the prospect of mass unemployment as farms automated. 

In response, they created the “high school movement,” which required everyone to stay in school until age 16. It was hugely expensive, both because of the new schools and teachers, but also because these young people could no longer work on the farm. But it better prepared workers for 20th century factory jobs and fueled the explosion in college attendance after World War II.

Self-service automation is energizing the job market and the general economy. The clear benefits will not go away and by implementing them properly businesses will be enabled to indeed grow to the next level, and even more people will be employed.

Amazon says it will create 100,000 jobs in U.S. by 2018

Amazon will create 100,000 full-time jobs in the United States with full benefits over the next 18 months, the tech giant announced in a statement Thursday.

The company says the positions are for workers across the country and across all skill and experience levels. Most of the positions will be at fulfillment centers, including new ones under construction in California, Florida, New Jersey and Texas.

“Innovation is one of our guiding principles at Amazon, and it’s created hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in a statement. “These jobs are not just in our Seattle headquarters or in Silicon Valley—they’re in our customer service network, fulfillment centers and other facilities in local communities throughout the country.”

Full article

Kiosk Industry Association

Followup:  One of the KI sponsors (Olea) contributed this — We’ve been following Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame and he’s doing a lot to promote this sort of thing. Our thought was to create a foundation that starts with say a $5k scholarship or money to a school who’s got a great set of shop classes, or one that is building a shop class and is short on funds. We think we could get suppliers and other companies that we work with to also support our efforts to take that number higher over the years. Companies that we buy CNC equipment from or grinder belts those types of vendors.

Comments:

When we purchased a new press brake for $300k Amada the manufacturer told us that it had all sorts of software on it to make running it easier. Then we got it and found out you really needed very qualified operators at +$50k salary. We had to use 3 agencies to find two people and we offered a signing bonus, 1 week vacation and 75% company paid HMO. It took us months to find people.

A year or so later we had a conversation with them and they said it’s not something that is taught anywhere. You get on the job training and build up to it. So, we have a program here to teach anyone that wants to learn. Then Amada said they’ve been forced to figure out how to make the machines smarter so that anyone can run them. In exchange, you’ll get anyone to run the machine for $15 bucks an hour but why??? All because nobody is being trained to do these things. Businesses will adapt. Labor shortages and training is causing higher level middle class jobs to disappear just as fast or faster than innovation or anything else.

Then of course there’s China or other places with low labor costs causing havoc. Everyone pays the same price for a high-end CNC machine no matter where you are in the world. But the guy standing at the machine for a few bucks an hour vs. the guy making $26 per hour makes it tough for America to compete. Hence the US Kiosk industry needing to be very fast with custom designed goods that can be built and delivered before a Chinese box can be put on a boat for a 4-6 week journey.

 

Members  involved in Self-Service and this article.

Posts2025: 2,956

Fast Food Kiosks Creating Jobs and Increasing Revenues – Counterpoint

self-order kiosk

fast food kiosks Fast Food Kiosks killing jobs? Current events beg the question, but the facts say otherwise

Reprinted with permission Dec. 12, 2016 | by Elliot Maras

We at the Kiosk Industry Association have seen the news media running controversial headlines and opinion pieces by CEOs and ex-CEOs decrying the minimum wage increase and attributing loss of jobs to self-order.  Nothing could be farther from the truth. Here is a very nice piece from Fast Casual and Elliot Maras providing an accurate counterpoint. Thanks Elliot! — Editor

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Andrew Pudzer as Secretary of Labor has helped push the “kiosk as restaurant job killer” theme into the nation’s consciousness. Pudzer, CEO of CKE Restaurants, is an advocate of automation.

The high-profile Pudzer nomination directs attention on automation as restaurant chains continue to introduce self-order kiosks to improve customer service. It comes on the heels of the “Fight for $15” wage campaign, which is placing unprecedented pressure on restaurants, particularly limited-service concepts.

Late last month, Ed Rensi, a former president and CEO of McDonald’s USA, penned a column in Forbes reminding readers that businesses in 2013 warned that the labor-union-led “Fight for $15” would force companies to replace full-serve employees with self-service alternatives.

Rensi’s main point was that businesses cannot absorb the higher wages that labor unions are advocating. But for people less familiar with the restaurant industry, the controversy over the $15 wage has muddled the full story about why foodservice chains are introducing self-service kiosks and what impact kiosks really have on restaurant labor.

Shortly after stories broke claiming McDonald’s was planning to roll out self-order kiosks in all of its 14,000 U.S. stores, The Gateway Pundit, a political website, carried the following headline: “Congrats Minimum Wage Protesters! McDonald’s Unveils Job-Replacing Self-Service Kiosks Nationwide.

Both the restaurant industry and the kiosk industry now find themselves forced to defend their actions, which in reality are not killing jobs.

Kioskmarketplace in May reported that many restaurant chains were deploying kiosks before the $15-minimum wage push had gained steam. The Digital Screenmedia Association in 2011 reported that 21 percent of all QSRs were planning to introduce self-ordering kiosks. Also, in 2011, McDonald’s installed 840 kiosks across Europe with the goal of improving customer service.

Robotics researchers, restaurant executives, industrial engineers, consultants and economists have all said automation in the restaurant and fast-food sectors is not as simple as installing automatic tellers in banks or employing robots to assemble cars, according to Reuters.

Several chains are using kiosks and other technology that allow orders to be placed more rapidly and efficiently. Such efficiencies are serving to reallocate labor from the front to the back of the restaurant and in some cases, add jobs.

Labor moves to the back of the house

During McDonald’s shareholders meeting in May, company CEO Steve Easterbrook was asked if he expected to see kiosks taking the place of workers and causing people to lose their jobs. “It may change the nature of the jobs in the restaurant, because frankly technology is something that our customers are embracing,” Easterbrook said. “We can just reapportion that labor into more service orientated roles that we think the customer will benefit both ways.”

According to Panera Bread’s 2015 second quarter earnings call report, digital utilization efforts reduced order input labor but increased labor hours. Panera’s new business model, introduced in 2014, includes fast lane kiosks for dining in and ordering to go. Under this model, called Panera 2.0, the company actually added labor hours to meet the demand driven by multiple points of digital access and to ensure the ability to serve with greater accuracy in an environment where about 70 percent of orders are customized.

“This extra labor is necessary to drive a better guest experience consistent with operating clarity,” the earnings report said.

CEO Ron Shaich indicated as early as October 2014 that same-store sales from 2.0 stores outpaced traditional cafes, according to FastCasual.com. With 5 percent of all company sales placed through web, mobile or kiosk, Shaich said he was encouraged by the potential for the 2.0 model.

Saladworks, a fresh salad franchise chain that is also revamping its stores, does not expect labor hours to decline as it installs self-serve kiosks, according to Pat Sugrue, president and CEO.

“We didn’t do this for labor purposes; we did it for throughput and also capacity,” said Sugrue. “We’re going to have more people making salads. From an hours perspective, hours should go up, not go down.”

Sugrue pointed out that the kiosks could impact labor costs in a positive way for the company that is not synonymous with fewer hours worked.

Self-order kiosks change labor metrics

“If the sales go up faster than the net hours, then our labor as a percentage of sales will come down,” Sugrue said. “I think we’re going to add hours, but we should be able to increase throughput, and therefore, sales, and our labor percentage could come down.”

The objective of the kiosk is recognizing that how you want to be served and how I want to be served can be very different, Sugrue said.

“Increasingly, millennials and millennial-minded people don’t necessarily need that interaction with someone. For those who order off the kiosk, that will shorten the queue for those who don’t order off the kiosk, and it will provide better service to either group,” he said.

Fast Food Kiosks long-term impact not known

This is not to say that some jobs won’t be eliminated in some situations. The long-term ramifications of self-order kiosks are hard to determine, given the newness of self-order restaurant kiosks. Transitioning to kiosks will require companies to continue serving those customers who still want personal service.

“During slower times, brands still need the appropriate number of counter staff because the kiosk is a customer service option, not a requirement,” said Jodi Meryl Wallace, chief marketing officer at Acrelec America, a provider of customer experience technology. The company’s European operation has been involved in numerous restaurant kiosk deployments. “There’s also the need for front-of-house team members to assist customers who are new to using the kiosks,” Wallace said. “Because of kiosks, brands have begun to offer table service delivery of orders so staff is redirected to that task as well.

Because kiosks increase the speed at which orders are taken, brands have found that there’s an increased need for back-of-house/kitchen staff during peak periods when kiosks are used, Wallace said.

Kiosks grow revenue by increasing throughput and by providing consumers with ‘order privacy’ which results in customers adding more side items, beverages and desserts, and more frequent upsizing of menu items,” she said.

Meeting customer needs

Ultimately, restaurants must meet expectations of all their customers, and 64 percent of millennials prefer self-service, according to an MHI Global report.

“Add to that kiosks can present a menu in multiple languages…and they’re fun to use,” Wallace said. “In France, 90 percent of consumers will use the kiosk option when it’s available. “Brands have reported that the average check size at the kiosk is 30 percent higher than at the counter.”

Reducing restaurant labor has a little bit to do with it, but it’s not the driving force, said Tom Radtke, vice president of sales at Keyser Retail Solutions, a retail technology integrator.

“You’re going to continue to have that kid at the counter,” he said. “There’s a group of people who won’t go to the kiosk.”

Radtke agrees with those who predict self-order kiosks will improve restaurant sales.

“The kiosk can lead you through the process and do suggestive selling, and that kiosk does it better than a 13-year old crew kid,” said Radtke. “Typically that (kiosk) order is a higher ring than it is at the counter.”

Another factor is that consumers today, especially millennials, are more appreciative of businesses that use technology. Hence, there is a customer perception factor involved.

Is a groundswell underway?

The controversy won’t be going away soon. If McDonald’s deploys kiosks nationally, it marks one of the country’s most significant restaurant kiosk developments.

Given how long limited-service chains have been testing kiosks, one can’t assume that McDonald’s action — regardless of what’s motivating it — signals a groundswell movement, however.

“If your customer doesn’t embrace it, you’ve got a huge expenditure for something that doesn’t have much of a payback,” said Radtke. “How do you incorporate another layer of ordering, transaction processing into the inside of the restaurant?”

He noted that it took a long time for bank customers to embrace ATMs.

Some observers do think a groundswell is in the making, however.

“The QSRs are starting to understand the ROI on this,” said Charles Lewis, director of business development at Elite Manufacturing, a kiosk hardware manufacturer.

The speed and order accuracy that kiosks deliver are creating higher profit margins, Lewis said.

Posts2025: 4,321

Kiosk Meaning – Define A Kiosk

Kiosk Meaning

What is the word kiosk mean?  The kiosk originally began as the town square notice board for the community to post notices. Think Turkey. The usual reference in Wikipedia will call out Persia as the originating language for the word.  Another Wikipedia page more relevant is the Interactive Kiosk page.

Kiosk Meaning

Outdoor view driving up on Charging Station or EV Kiosk

In the modern world the word kiosk means an electronic station where customers or employee can get services

Craig Keefner of LinkedIn says,”Kiosk as a word has the electronic modern meaning but it also has the RMU connotation. And some will point to the origin in Turkey.   Whatever it means, the usual CAGR on market growth is usually 15% at minimum.”

What does the word Kiosk mean?

  • Often they come with touchscreens but not always  (it could be facial payment kiosk in hospitality gift shop for example)
  • Used normally by customers (but also employees generally in an HR kiosk mode)
  • It could be for bike rental,  it could be a 95″ interactive for education

Kiosk Examples

Here are some of the “kiosk meaning” for the modern-day kiosk. Kiosks today are very much different than those from years ago with photo kiosks from Kodak and ATM machines. Self-check-in from the major airlines (we used to work for Northwest Airlines ourselves and piloted check-in in the Ford Commissary in Detroit.

kiosk self-order mcdonalds

mcdonalds kiosk

They are self-service kiosks, usually electronic, and can be found in all walks of life.  The form factor ranges from a mobile device to a tablet to a larger enclosures (usually metal but also plastic and wood). They are transactional with devices and they are informational only.

  • In malls, events, tradeshows and other locations you have the RMU, which is a Remote Merchandising Unit.  Example manufacturer could be Ikoniq (main business being RMUs).
  • Airline Check-In Kiosks
  • ATM Machines
  • Electronic kiosks
  • Internet Cafes
  • POS Terminals
  • Food Order Kiosk
  • Gaming Kiosks
  • Parking kiosks
  • Outdoor kiosks
  • Hoteling
  • Information Kiosks terminals
  • Interactive Digital Signage
  • Immigration and Security Kiosks
  • Gift card kiosks
  • Retail kiosk
  • Gift Registry kiosk
  • Tablet kiosk
  • Vending
  • Pharmacy kiosk
  • Lockers
  • Charging kiosks
  • Coin Kiosks
  • Music, Movie and Media download kiosks
  • DVD kiosks
  • Hospitality
  • Healthcare
  • Telemedicine and Telehealth
  • Marijuana & Cannabis
  • Photo Kiosk
  • Prison kiosk
  • Social kiosks
  • Kiosk Software
  • Survey Kiosks
  • Wayfinding kiosk
  • Wine Kiosks

Kiosk Definition From Wikipedia

kiosk ticketing for Amtrak

Amtrak Ticket Kiosk – click for full size image

Kiosk Meaning – An interactive kiosk is a computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and software that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment, or education.

Early interactive kiosks sometimes resembled telephone booths, but have been embraced by retail, food service and hospitality to improve customer service. Interactive kiosks are typically placed in high foot traffic settings such as shops, hotel lobbies or airports.

Integration of technology allows kiosks to perform a wide range of functions, evolving into self-service kiosks. For example, kiosks may enable users to order from a shop’s catalogue when items are not in stock, check out a library book, look up information about products, issue a hotel key card, enter a public utility bill account number in order to perform an online transaction, or collect cash in exchange for merchandise. Customised components such as coin hoppers, bill acceptors, card readers and thermal printers enable kiosks to meet the owner’s specialised needs.

Where are Kiosks Used

It is estimated that over 1,200,000 kiosk terminals exist in the U.S. and Canada alone.

Groups who use kiosks in their business environment include: Delta Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, GTAA, Future Shop, The Home Depot, Target Corporation, and Wal-Mart.

2020 Update — we did a quick calculation of just restaurants and restaurant kiosks.
There isn’t a fixed number but if I estimated locations for majors in the U.S.

  • burger = 50,000  (McDonalds 14K)
  • Mexican = 10,000
  • specialty = 5000
  • sandwich = 35000  (subway 27K)
  • casual dining = 5000  (applebees has 1700)
  • beverage/snack = 35000
  • chicken = 15000
  • pizza = 27000
  • family dining = 9000
  • bakery = 4000
  • That’s around 125,000 factoring the majors
  • Figure they account for 70%
  • New total around 170,000
  • Figure McD has 38,000 in the world
    Extrapolated out worldwide approaching 500,000Figure COVID closed 20% of thoseMy guess would be close to 2M order stationsAccelerants would be chains like Chili’s and others with an order kiosk at every table.Streetside restaurants in Lagos are unlikely to utilize kiosks

    Industry Trends

    Just in the Restaurant industry in 2020

    28 mergers and acquisitions in the restaurant industry in 2020

    Excerpt:

    The $11.3 billion Inspire/Dunkin’ deal was certainly the talk of the finance world. The deal was completed on Dec. 15. and now gives Inspire Brands an entrance into the breakfast segment, taking the Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins brands private.

    Another notable acquisition was the growing brand BurgerFi, which was acquired by OPES Acquisition Corp. and announced it would be begin being traded on the Nasdaq on Dec. 17 under the ticker BFI. The company was renamed BurgerFi International Inc.

    And this year wouldn’t be complete without speaking of third-party delivery companies.

    With demand for delivery spiking after restaurant dining rooms were closed across the country, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates jockeyed for position with consolidation. Grubhub was acquired by Just Eat Takeaway for $7.3 billion in June, and Uber purchased Postmates for $2.65 billion in July. DoorDash, meanwhile, became a publicly traded company in December.

More information on the definition of a kiosk

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Kiosk Software – KioWare Lockdown Browser

KioWare publishes a series of whitepapers and all of them are excellent whitepapers.

For December we wanted to do a roundup of their 2016 Whitepapers which follow below.

White Papers

Below you will find white papers covering the issues and solutions involving kiosk software and security.

 

 

What is Mobile Device Management?

What is mobile device management, why is it important, which devices are included in an mdm solution and what features are needed?   Learn more…

Creating a Video Kiosk in KioWare for Android

  • Type: White Paper
  • Author: Laura Boniello Miller
  • Date: September 2016

You can create a video kiosk using KioWare for Android (version 3.7 and later). Using a PC or tablet and KioWare, you can turn your video and images into an interactive video kiosk.  Learn more…

Creating an EMV Compliant Android Kiosk

  • Type: White Paper
  • Author: Laura Boniello Miller
  • Date: June 2016

For anyone who has heard about the shift in liability for credit card purchases, an EMV Compliant Android Kiosk is a great option for a secure self service payment solution.  Learn more…

Creating a Video Kiosk using Windows

  • Type: White Paper
  • Author: Chris Dierdorff
  • Date: May 2016

Learn how to set up a kiosk to display your videos. Using a PC or tablet, you can utilize KioWare to display as many or as few videos as you would like.  Learn more…

Cash Kiosk: Turnkey transactional kiosk solution for retail cash payment

  • Type: White Paper
  • Author: Laura Boniello Miller
  • Date: May 2016

Using the KioPay Point of Sale kiosk application and the Franklin Bill Payment kiosk by Olea, retailers can now deploy a fully integrated cash accepting kiosk for order processing and fulfillment.  Learn more…

Queueing Theory: How do customers queue?

  • Type: White Paper
  • Author: Laura Boniello Miller
  • Date: December 2015

Queueing theory is the study of waiting in lines. Actual and perceived wait time can be positively impacted with the implementation of kiosks, effectively improving customer satisfaction, decreasing wait time, and increasing the number of transactions.  Learn more…

Posts2025: 3,080

Fitness Kiosk Get a Workout at BFit Gyms

BFit Fitness Kiosk

Click to see the full size BFit Fitness Kiosk image!

June 15, 2016 – YORK, PA.   BFit Gyms isn’t your everyday run-of- the-mill fitness center. Their members ‘refuse to be ordinary’, and enjoy the unique and innovative Fit Pass that allows family and friends to share the same pass. Stressing its ‘cool factor’, BFit has implemented easy-to- use kiosks that provide its tech-savvy self-service- minded members with access to membership purchase and management features at all hours of the day, any day of the week.

BFit saw an opportunity to be a more neighborhood friendly boutique type of gym and to capitalize on the personal experience, as opposed to the large institutionalized competition. BFit offers members a wide array of options when it comes to fitness, from Group Cycling and Group Fitness sessions with virtual, live or on-demand classes. One of BFit’s operational goals is to maintain low overhead of its gyms by reducing the number of personal attendants and improve the member’s journey. To accomplish this goal, BFit called on Livewire Digital, and its wealth of experience in transactional self-service, to provide self-service kiosks. From the point of sign up, to entering the gym and to registering for classes, BFit has allowed the user to get straight to the business of using the gym.

The self-service kiosks allowed BFit to map out the member’s journey in an interactive and intuitive way, from membership sign up at the gym or online to registering for classes or paying account balance. Prospective members have the ability to purchase memberships on-line at BFitGyms.com, a web site developed by Livewire and integrated with BFit’s membership database hosted by Motionsoft, a leading provider of fitness club management services. New members continue their journey at the club by picking up their RFID membership card via one of the new kiosks located at the club’s entrance.

“It’s great to see the use of omni-channel self-service technology and contactless access in the fitness environment” said David McCracken, Livewire Digital’s President and CEO. “This particular solution allows BFit to enrich the fitness experience while reducing operational costs that get passed on to members as savings. Wow, that’s cool.”

 

###

 

Contact: Shannon McCracken

Phone: 717-718- 1241

Email: [email protected]

Posts2025: 3,055

City kiosk security failures easy solution for Kiosk Porn Videos

Porn Videos on LinkNYC Kiosks

2021 update —  The problem with the LinkNYC kiosks was eventually addressed by including a basic lockdown browser (like KioWare who authored the article). Really no excuse for providing uncontrolled access to internet terminal. This is 3rd nature when it comes to internet access kiosks for inmates in corrections for example.  Cybercafes were a bit more flexible depending on the geographic location.  The LinkNYC kiosks technically were NOT hacked. They were simply non-configured.  

The New York City Wi-Fi kiosks were recently shut down due to users who decided to use the devices for porn video viewing. Other public devices have also been the target of hackers. Luckily there is a solution to prevent these issues: kiosk software.

Source: www.digitalsignagetoday.com

We agree with the writer here. Not sure what the problem is with LinkNYC.

Excerpt: There have been a number of articles lately about public devices being misused for porn use, for example, or being at risk of allowing unauthorized access to private user information. While it is no surprise that these situations arise due to improper security measures, if the kiosks were configured using kiosk system software, there would be no such security issues or device misuse.

Laura Miller Article

There have been a number of articles lately about public devices being misused for porn use, for example, or being at risk of allowing unauthorized access to private user information. While it is no surprise that these situations arise due to improper security measures, if the kiosks were configured using kiosk system software, there would be no such security issues or device misuse.

Kaspersky lab experts recently conducted research which revealed that digital kiosks and interactive terminals in “smart cities” are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Their testing is valid, and their evidence clear.  If the kiosk mode software being used is not secure, malware can be launched and access to private information obtained. According to Kaspersky “vendors need to make sure that it is impossible to compromise terminals.” Kiosk system software is built to prevent system access, and protect against all manner of hacking and breaching of security measures.

Some of the faults that Kaspersky identified included context menu access, and access to the OS upon device launch. Kiosk system software in general, (and kiosk features in mobile device management software) offer security features to avoid these gaps and access points. Kiosk software ensures the device is protected and these access points are blocked. For instance, if the application is browser-based, then there is no context menu. If the device is being configured to launch as a “purposed device” in single app mode, then the software protecting the device until the configured “single app” is launched. Kiosk software can actively suppresses apps that aren’t allowed.

Kaspersky also identified access points with regard to “root explorer.” A secure lock screen (admin mode) would totally protect against the “root explorer” access point since you’d be looking at a lock screen instead of the main launcher/desktop.  In the case of public facing kiosks, it serves no purpose for root explorer to be installed – it is unnecessary and difficult to secure. What’s more, in a production kiosk, all non-essential apps should be uninstalled and disabled, all things that can be accomplished with properly configured kiosk system software.

Kaspersky isn’t the only source identifying security holes in public facing devices.  New York City’s LinkNYC kiosk program was launched in January of 2016 with the intent for 400 kiosks to offer free wi-fi and dedicated tablets.

Unfortunately, the city’s homeless population have taken over these tablets in droves, using them for accessing porn. The fix, according to LinkNYC is removing the web browser and implementing time limits.

This drastically limits the functionality and usability of the tablet.  Instead of removing the web browser, it would be more useful to allow access to the browser, but restrict users to only permitted websites and applications. This can be done easily through kiosk system software.

Some security features to consider, when setting up a tablet or public facing kiosk:

  • Set allow and block lists, and determining the best uses for the tablets, would make them much more “purposed” and allow for stronger restrictions without limiting essential activities such as access to the phone, maps, local attractions, transit schedules, and more.
  • Create custom start pages to direct users to the appropriate content, and privacy settings can clear user data between sessions.
  • Set session timers.
  • Use kiosk management for even more control. Kiosk management and mobile device management solutions can provide usage stats, remote content updating, and kiosk grouping to allow for emergency notifications, regular content updates and management of content by any number of grouping mechanisms (location, for instance).

While security is an issue in many deployments of public access devices, as identified in the Kaspersky labs study and the recent LinkNYC porn debacle, using system software designed for self service kiosks, public access tablets, or purposed devices is the first step to protecting users, data and devices. Without kiosk system software, the devices are at risk of malware, unauthorized use, data leakage, and unauthorized network access. With properly configured kiosk system software, these kiosks are protected from security threats, allowing for safe and secure public device access.

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Kiosk UV Disinfecting Light Innovation Award 2016

A group of people in formal attire stand on a stage holding awards, while an antibacterial kiosk at the entrance ensures safety. A photographer captures the moment against a textured backdrop, and a screen proudly displays the word BRAVO behind them.
Modern Kiosk UV Light

Modern Kiosk UV Light by Olea Kiosks

UV Kiosk as Antibacterial Kiosk

Editors Note: Back in 2016, four years ago, we were given an award for developing UV-C technology embedded in a patient check-in kiosk. We looked at many potential solutions, and the final two candidates were UV-C and Copper. Copper has some real advantages, and it has the data and the approvals to go along with it. Like any other solution, though, it has its disadvantages. It kills bacteria, but the rate of kill is slower. It is safer, but it is more expensive. A targeted, comprehensive approach to battling bacteria is the best approach. In the end, for the kiosk, UV-C was the clear winner.

The question might be why were more not sold then. Good question. And we think the answer is again, a combination of factors. The two primary ones are 1st; there was no subsequent independent lab testing. That costs money, and a small company must be frugal—secondly, the cost premium. Too often, customers, even those in the public health sector, see the least price, and make the short term cheaper selection.

And then the pandemic…

Four years later, they are maybe adding all types of antibacterial protection, and issuing press releases how they are “now” better serving their patients. They could have been sending out PRs that from the get-go, they have always cared. Plus they would’ve saved the additional money. And likely, fewer patients might have been infected at the hospital.

For a full wrap on antibacterial solutions, including Copper and UV-C, see the main Antibacterial page here onsite. We’ve included at the bottom of the article below, the useful UV-C links.

Our recommendations for these technologies at the current time?

  • The latest generation kiosks with UV light are the Austin patient check-in kiosks with adjustable height + UV light protection — here is the link and the picture is above
  • Copper plodding on fixtures, handles in facilities is a good idea
  • Spot cleaning with handheld UV-C during maintenance cycles is good
  • There are now UV-C systems for ceiling lights which sanitize the air in the room (think sitting in a dentist office or chair e.g.)

The following is the originally posted press release from 4 years ago.

Original Source: was — http://www.latestsharenews.com/story/83966/connected-technology-solutions-takes-innovation-award-for-uvc-disinfecting-light-for-kiosks.html

 

UV Kiosk Award

UV Kiosk Award

MENOMONEE FALLS, WI – 11 May, 2016 – Connected Technology Solutions, a Menomonee Falls, Wis., based manufacturer of kiosks and related self-service technology, has been named a winner of the 2016 I.Q. Innovation Awards for CleanTouch™, its ultra-effective UV-C light surface sanitizing solution.

CleanTouch™ is available on the company’s Patient Passport Express®, which is marketed as part of the CTS Healthcare Services® division. The PPE is a robust kiosk that provides check-in, bill-pay and other patient-facing functions at many of the country’s leading healthcare facilities, such as Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State University Health Systems and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By employing a continuous bath of UV-C light across the kiosk’s touch surfaces, CleanTouch™ rapidly kills up to 99.9-percent of bacteria and viruses, leaving the screen clean for subsequent users. After each transaction, when the user steps away, a quick 30-second wash of light disinfects the screen, making it clean and ready for the next patient.

KIosk UV Light IQ Award 01

KIosk UV Light IQ Award 01

The award ceremony was held in Milwaukee the week of May 17th.  Sharing the stage with CTS were such nationally known companies as Astronautics Corp. of America, Briggs & Stratton and Fiserv Inc.  Accepting the award for CTS were Jared Timm and Craig Keefner.

Note –  Another very cool company there in a speaking role was Scanalytics which does floor sensors for measuring footfall.  Impressive stuff.

UV Resources
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Kiosk Software – KioWare for Windows – new version

New KioWare kiosk software for Windows

KioWare released version 8.5 of KioWare kiosk software for Windows with a KioWare Kiosk Software ton of new features and enhancements.  See press release online at KioWare site.

James Kruper, President of KioWare notes, “system security should be reliable and easy to configure with a strong feature set for kiosk customization. This update of KioWare for Windows adds RFID scanners & Flatbed scanners, along with system monitoring tools and even more options for customization.”

The latest release adds support for

  • RFID Scanners,
  • Flatbed Scanners,
  • Watchport Devices,
  • System Battery Monitors
  • now supports Chrome 49.
  • The latest version adds support for switching between virtual keyboard languages.
  • There is also a new User Interface for File Upload Controls and choosing a file download destination.
  • This provides kiosk deployers with the ability to manage file uploads and downloads without opening the entire file system to kiosk users.
kiosk software security

Click to expand for complete view

Monitored devices such as the Watchport/H and Watchport/T (for Humidity & Temperature monitoring) are also now supported.  System Battery Monitoring is also now available. For a full device list, visit our supported devices tool.

 

Link to press release:

http://www.sitekiosk.com/news.aspx?nid=270

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Interactive Kiosks for card games

Interactive Kiosks for Card Games

April 5, 2016 – Embed displays interactive solutions for family gaming fun.

Embed, part of the multinational entertainment group Helix Leisure, partners with Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. to produce interactive game card kiosks for the gaming and family entertainment market.

Embed is a worldwide provider of solutions for the gaming, entertainment, amusement and leisure industries. Their interactive game card kiosk provides customers with a quick and easy way to purchase or recharge a game card used to activate amusement games. It also allows reward card personalization, balance check and loyalty information for every active card.

The self-service kiosk is the cornerstone of an efficient ticketless game and amusement business model which provides operators up-to-the-minute revenue information.

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Kiosk CPU – Skylake vs. Kaby Lake and later generation

Kiosk CPU Comparison drive thru kiosk technology

Everything we know about Intel’s 7th generation successor to Skylake

Source: www.channelpro.co.uk

The desktop version of Intel’s new 7th Gen Core processors, code-named Kaby Lake, was officially launched on January 3, 2017. In this blog post, we will quickly compare the newer 7th Gen Core processors and Intel’s 6th Gen Core processors, code-named Skylake.

Kaby Lake is built on an optimized 14nm process that Skylake uses, considered “14nm+”. Optimization includes using taller fins and improved gate pitch. This equates to higher clock speeds compared to equivalent 6th Gen Skylake CPUs. One example is the Kaby Lake i7-7700K having a base clock speed of 4.2GHz while the equivalent Skylake i7-6700K is 4.0GHz.

Unlike Skylake, which depends on software, Kaby Lake has hardware support for encoding and decoding 10-bit 4K HEVC video codecs and 4K VP9. This results in improved battery life and power consumption, compared to software encoding and decoding.

Other key features with Kaby Lake is support for Thunderbolt 3 technology and improvements to Intel’s Speed Shift Technology, which was introduced with Skylake.

One thing to note is that the only Windows-based operating system with Kaby Lake support will be Windows 10. Microsoft still has support for Skylake on Windows 7, but is expected to cease extended support in 2020.

Intel 8th generation
Coffee Lake is Intel‘s codename for its eighth generation Core microprocessor family, announced on September 25, 2017. … Desktop Coffee Lake processors introduced i5 and i7 CPUs featuring six cores (along with hyper-threading in the case of the latter) and Core i3 CPUs with four cores and no hyperthreading.
Cores: 2–8
Socket(s): LGA 1151 with altered pinout to support more than four cores
Architecture: x86-64

Coffee Lake – Wikipedia

9th Generation

10th generation Intel

Comet Lake is Intel‘s codename for its 10th generation Core microprocessors. … Intel announced low-power mobile Comet Lake-U CPUs on August 21, 2019, H-series mobile CPUs on April 2, 2020, desktop Comet Lake-S CPUs April 30, 2020, and Xeon W-1200 series workstation CPUs on May 13, 2020.
Max. CPU clock rate: 5.3 GHz
Cores: 2–10
Socket(s): Mobile: BGA 1528, BGA 1440; Desktop: LGA 1200

Comet Lake (microprocessor) – Wikipedia

 

 

Example

AOpen’s compact, Linux-friendly “Digital Engine DE5500” embedded PC for kiosk and signage has a 7th Gen CPU, 2x HDMI 2.0, 2x GbE, 3x M.2, and SATA. AOpen is also prepping a Whiskey Lake based smart kiosk with OpenVINO and RealSense.

Taiwanese signage vendor AOpen, which offers products such as its Android-driven, i.MX6-based MEP320 signage player, has launched an Intel 7th Gen Kaby Lake based signage and kiosk computer called the Digital Engine DE5500. The product supports Linux or Windows 10 and offers an optional AOpen Intelligent Control Unit (AiCU) smart kiosk control software package with “self-perception, self-determination, and self-execution” features.


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Kiosk Software – New KioWare for Android Update 3.7

Kiosk Software Kiosk Software KioWare for Android

Version 3.7 of KioWare for Android is now available. The latest release of KioWare for Android continues to support EMV certified mobile payments via Credit Call’s newest release of the mPOS CardEaseMobile framework (1.11).  KioWare for Android now also supports devices providing detection of user presence.

Analytical Design Solutions Inc. (ADSI) has released a new version of their KioWare for Android software products.

All KioWare products can be used to secure mobile devices such as tablets, desktops, and smartphones running Android or Windows Operating Systems. KioWare kiosk software products lock down your device into kiosk mode, which secures the overall operating system, home screen and usage of applications.

Version 3.7 of KioWare for Android (Lite, Basic, & Full with Server) has added a new simple attract screen looper to allow customers to easily add attract screens via the configuration tool. The attract screen is also now available in Single App Mode. The configuration tool now also enables user to set the battery indicator display to on or off.

The latest version of KioWare Basic for Android and KioWare Full for Android has also updated support for EMV certified via Credit Call’s mPOS CardEaseMobile framework to version 1.11. Using Miura PINPads and KioWare for Android, a complete end-to-end, EMV compliant and P2PE enabled payment solution is available. For a full device list, visit our website.

Users of KioWare for Android should update their version of KioWare to version 3.7. Current support is required in order to update.

All of these products are available as a free trial with nag screen. Existing clients have the ability to upgrade.

KioWare has been providing OS, desktop, and browser lockdown security for the kiosk and self-service industry since 2001. You can easily download the fully functioning free trial directly from Google Play.

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Pizza Pie bakes up ROI with loyalty kiosks

Pizza Kiosks

Kiosks in the restaurant sphere are a big hit due to their ability to draw in customers. One pizza franchise saw firsthand how effective a kiosk campaign can be when it helped drive a ROI of more than 2,000 percent.

Source: www.fastcasual.com

During the campaign, out of the 16,000 loyalty points accumulated, customers redeemed 12,000 of those points.

This year has also proved promising for the restaurant, as monthly kiosk usage has increased by 8 percent and mobile coupon usage is at 77 percent, Jordan said.

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Digital Signage Software by Meridian Kiosks

Kiosk manufacturer, integrator and software developer Meridian will introduce turn-key digital signage software application to market at Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas this week.

Source: www.prweb.com

In January, Meridian partnered with Legends to deploy InterAct digital signage at Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50. These kiosks allowed Super Bowl goers to browse exclusive merchandise that could be purchased at the NFL Shop retail stores located throughout the stadium. Meridian is currently working on numerous projects for the next deployments of the InterAct software application. “The great thing about InterAct is that it is modular and scalable,” said Gilder. “As we find that customers need particular features, we will continue to expand and grow the many capabilities of this product.”

FULL PRESS RELEASE

ABERDEEN, NORTH CAROLINA (PRWEB) MARCH 15, 2016

Meridian (http://meridiankiosks.com), the Customer Experience Leader in self-service solutions, announced today the release of InterAct, a highly configurable and easy-to-use, interactive digital signage software application. According to Meridian, InterAct is a standalone, off-the-shelf software solution built on the powerful Mzero self-service software platform. It offers a simple content management system that is highly flexible. Available as a software package for use on existing hardware, or bundled with ready-to-ship Meridian kiosks, InterAct “was designed with the end user in mind,” according to Meridian Director of Software Paul Burden.

Meridian will showcase InterAct at this year’s Digital Signage Expo (DSE) March 16-17 in Las Vegas. “We are very pleased to introduce this next advancement in interactive digital signage software,” said Chris Gilder, CEO of Meridian. “The InterAct app is highly flexible, enhances and extends customer interaction with the kiosk, and provides businesses and organizations with incremental revenue opportunities.”

The InterAct application is built on Mzero Platform, Meridian’s industry-leading, securer self-service software, which provides system performance management, system security, and a wide range of component support. InterAct also adds extra value for businesses by enhancing the customer’s experience and providing a revenue-generating advertising platform that is highly flexible and easy to configure.

The key benefits of the InterAct software solution include:

  •     Easy-to-use content management tool
  •     Secure browsing for cloud-based content
  •     Portal for templates, tutorials, design ideas and examples
  •     Looping attract screen player for images and videos
  •     VoIP, SMS and TDD communications capabilities
  •     Mobile app integration with SMS, Beacons, QR codes, geo-location and more
  •     Survey tool to quickly create custom user surveys
  •     Camera and touch analytics
  •     Available multi-language support
  •     Interactive map guidance
  •     Remote monitoring with Mzero Manage
  •     Support for Windows, Android and iOS operating systems
  •     Ability to embed self-service applications such as bill payment and ticketing

InterAct’s highly engaging and intuitive interface quickly leads users directly to the information they are searching for. Businesses can easily organize the content as desired and the software’s flexibility allows for straight forward integration of videos, graphics, SMS, QR codes and interactive maps.

After deploying custom interactive digital signage solutions for customers, Meridian developed InterAct to answer the increasing demand from clients for an off-the-shelf, scalable digital signage solution in retail, tourism, and media/entertainment among others.

In January, Meridian partnered with Legends to deploy InterAct digital signage at Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50. These kiosks allowed Super Bowl goers to browse exclusive merchandise that could be purchased at the NFL Shop retail stores located throughout the stadium. Meridian is currently working on numerous projects for the next deployments of the InterAct software application. “The great thing about InterAct is that it is modular and scalable,” said Gilder. “As we find that customers need particular features, we will continue to expand and grow the many capabilities of this product.”

Meridian will be adding a print-on-demand option to InterAct this spring. To engage with InterAct in person, stop by booth 2634 during DSE at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Tuesday or Wednesday. Learn more about InterAct by visiting http://meridiankiosks.com/interact.

About Us: Meridian is the Customer Experience Leader in self-service solutions, a fully integrated manufacturer of kiosks and interactive digital signage, and the developer of the Mzero software suite. Leveraging over 25 years of industry experience, Meridian specializes in the design, engineering, fabrication, assembly, integration, deployment and support of productized and custom solutions. Meridian delivers high quality self-service experiences at scale for industry-leading companies, partners and their customers. Learn more at http://meridiankiosks.com.

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Custom Kiosk Software Cost – How Much Does It Cost to Build

Kiosk Price & Kiosk Cost

Kiosk Software Price – How Much Does It Cost?

kiosk software cost

kiosk software cost

In this article we are going to give you an example of the factors that contribute to the cost of building custom kiosk software and broad cost ranges.

Common question is “how much will the kiosk software cost”.

First let’s start out with the factors that have the biggest impact on the software costs.  Please keep in mind that our specialty is payment kiosks.

  • Is the kiosk accepting payments and if so what form of payments?
  • Does the kiosk need to be EMV or PCI compliant?
  • Does the kiosk need to dispense change (cash and/or coin)?
  • Does the kiosk need to support any other user interface devices (i.e. barcode scanners, RFID, webcams, etc…)?
  • Does the kiosk need to interface with an API or other backend accounting system?
  • Does the kiosk need to be able to continue operating during an internet outage?
  • What are the reporting requirements?
  • What are the administrative requirements (setting up kiosks, changing pricing, etc.)
  • and many more…

These are just a few of the questions that help us determine the cost of the custom kiosk software.

Let’s get to the numbers which is probably the reason you’re still reading this article.  Please keep in mind these are typical ranges for a small custom payment kiosk.  Larger projects intended to scale to hundreds or thousands of kiosks can go much higher.

The cost for the kiosk hardware typically runs in the $5K-$15K range depending on the payment devices/peripherals, if custom engineering is required and order quantities.

The cost for the custom kiosk software has a much broader range because there are so many factors.  Typically our custom kiosk software ranges anywhere from $50K -$250K.

Custom and Turnkey Kiosk Software Providers

Kiosk Software Only

  • Kiosk Mode Software Providers
    • KioWare software for lockdown and remote monitoring
    • Esper Android Cloud Solutions
    • Sitekiosk – Android and Windows lockdown, remote management and CMS for digital signage
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Adjustable Patient Check-In Kiosk Debut at HIMSS 2016

WRCB-TV 3 NBC affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Complete coverage of breaking news in Chattanooga. Other local, regional and national news. Chattanooga weather, sports and traffic.
Source: www.wrcbtv.com

 

Press Release

Adjustable Patient Check-In Kiosk Debut at HIMSS 2016

LAS VEGAS, NV – 3/1/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET) — Olea Kiosks will be showing the industry’s latest adjustable check-in healthcare kiosk at the 2016 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada from Feb. 29 – March 4, 2016.

Olea’s Verona Healthcare Kiosk is an adjustable height kiosk solution designed and developed specifically for use in the

healthcare setting. The kiosk is built to address the needs of both patients and providers and every feature and component is fully HIPAA and ADA-compliant.

The Ideal Patient Kiosk

Infinitely adjustable over a 10 inch range, the Verona can raise and lower the height of the kiosk with the press of a button. The entire kiosk is adjustable, not just the monitor, moving all components with you allowing for continued optimal component placement. The Verona is fully ADA-compliant and is designed to provide easy access for all patient users, standing or sitting. The extended front console accommodates wheelchair users and is compliant with forward approach ADA requirements. The standard components on the Verona, including Capacitive Touch technology with accurate on screen signature capture, EMV compliant payment devices, duplex ID scanner and printer, are all designed for ease of access by all patients.

The Perfect Turn-Key Solution for Providers

Because the Verona was conceptualized as a healthcare kiosk, it is designed to be utilized in a healthcare setting and specifically addresses the needs of the healthcare providers. The kiosk is built as a turn-key solution and is compatible with all major healthcare software platforms, including Epic, PatientWorks, Siemens, and McKesson. This ensures that the patient participation through the kiosk can be easily integrated with a provider’s existing internal record keeping systems.

Optional components of a Verona include a barcode scanner, web camera, Wi-Fi adapter, and audio headphone jack. These optional features allow the unit to be customized to accommodate the security standards and accessibility needs of any provider.

Easy to Service and Maintain

The Verona is also built with serviceability in mind. The quick change hardware system can be accessed, serviced and even replaced without using any tools. All internal systems of the Verona are accessible through the front of the unit, making it perfect for placement against a wall or with another Verona unit back-to-back. The ease of maintenance of the unit ensures low management costs and minimal downtime in the event of a service need.

Like all Olea kiosks, the Verona is designed, engineered, and manufactured in the USA using top-of-the-line components. The kiosk is extremely durable and capable of handling a high volume of users. Olea has delivered thousands of kiosk solutions to major healthcare organizations nationwide.

Contact Olea Kiosks today at www.olea.com or call 800-927-8063 to find out how Olea’s state-of-the-art kiosks can revolutionize your patient check-in experience. See Olea at HIMSS Booth #11419

About Olea Kiosks

Olea is the industry leading designer and manufacturer of custom kiosks inspired by our mission to “build better kiosks through intelligent design.” Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike, turn to Olea Kiosks for their trusted lineup of sleek, standard and fully custom kiosk solutions that suit a vast array of applications.

Media Contacts:

Olea Kiosk
Traci Martin
562 924 2644
[email protected]
http://www.olea.com

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KIOSK (KIS) acquired by Posiflex

KIOSK (KIS) acquired by Posiflex

Editor Note: The acquisition of KIOSK by Posiflex is official. In a blockbuster deal Posiflex is expanding from its historical POS transactional market into the self-service kiosk market in a huge way. With a Posiflex market cap of over $11 Billion, KIOSK becomes part of a company over twice the size of NCR, the other major kiosk  player.

From our vantage point this acquisition will provide all types of advantages to KIOSK and help it grow market share faster. KIOSK had been purchased by Alerion Capital three years and their principal aim seemed to be to accelerate the profit and then turn the company after three years.  I expect Posiflex will make some very positive investments which should allow KIOSK to truly become the dominant state-of-the-art manufacturer.   We spoke with Weaver and yes he is staying (and we expect the COO Dan Houck will stay as well).  Well played!

Press Release:

KIOSK Information Systems Uniting with Taiwan Posiflex

Two dominant transaction solution providers combine technological strengths to advance global leadership in service automation industry

NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Taiwanese Point-of-Sales terminal brand leader Posiflexannounced today that they have entered into a purchase agreement with KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK), a world leader in self-service solutions. Posiflex will offer KIOSK a cash purchase for all outstanding ordinary shares, for a total consideration of approximately $US 105 million. Both companies are industry forerunners known for best-in-class POS and self-service platforms. Combining these complementary strengths positions Posiflex for continued growth tied to emerging “Internet of Things” (IoT) applications within the service automation industry.

“By combining Posiflex and KIOSK’s dual-value proposition in this domain, we are confident in emerging as the leader in this growing market.”

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Retailers, financial service providers, hospitality and logistics service providers are key among an even wider industry audience driving steady and steep demand in transaction automation. Deployers are increasingly incorporating self-service as a “must-have” element of today’s Omnichannel consumer experience; increasing touch points, reducing costs – all while simultaneously collecting valuable transaction data. KIOSK is unique among its’ competitors in its ability to provide a complete end-to-end solution encompassing custom design engineering, manufacturing, software development, field services, and highly secure managed services. This “total solution” approach to services has fueled KIOSK’s continued growth and reinforced analyst’s rankings of KIOSK as the dominant North American provider and #3 globally.

As the IoT is driving improved asset utilization, better logistics management, and better customer experiences, self-service automation platforms become an increasingly integral element of Omnichannel sales strategies. Utilizing IoT data from transactions provides valuable insight for customer-specific data collection and enables customized point of sales marketing. Posiflex CEO Owen Chen adds that, “By combining Posiflex and KIOSK’s dual-value proposition in this domain, we are confident in emerging as a distant leader in this growing market.”

Post-transaction plans are to retain and empower the current KIOSK Management Team with no operational or organizational restructuring required as result of the transaction. Tom Weaver, KIOSK’s current CEO, will now hold dual Board of Director roles for both Posiflex and KIOSK. This will accelerate efforts of the current management team to execute KIOSK’s strategic growth plans, leveraging key Posiflex resources. Access to a global sales network and highly relevant engineering / integration capabilities are among many strategic leverage points created by combining the companies.

Leveraging Posiflex’s international channel reach throughout Greater China, Asian Countries, Russia, India, and Europe; KIOSK is uniquely positioned to ensure sustainable market growth not only in North America, but also the global marketplace. Further, Posiflex will provide substantial advantage for KIOSK tied to upgrading critical components and peripheral modules. This ultimately enhances KIOSK’s future solution offerings with even more advanced product and service coverage capabilities.

KIOSK CEO Tom Weaver adds, “We firmly believe that joining forces with Posiflex fully supports our growth objectives and represents the best interests of our customers and employees. Having overnight access to Posiflex’s international presence and complementary technology resource adds distinct competitive advantage and differentiation. This combined scale opens new doors to growing world markets and further advances KIOSK’s ability to provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art solutions.”

This transaction was advised by KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, and is expected to close in 2016-Q3.

About Posiflex:

Founded in 1984, Posiflex Technology, Inc. has designed and manufactured its own-branded and world-class POS solutions. Recognized as a pioneer and leader in the industry, Posiflex has been awarded more than 30 patents for innovative design. The company’s products are manufactured in two ISO 9001/9002/14001 facilities in Taiwan and sold worldwide through retail, hospitality, banking, healthcare, kiosks and many other verticals. Posiflex’s offices are in the USA, Germany, China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Dubai and Argentina along with the global distribution networks to provide direct and timely support to its customers around the world. For more information: www.posiflex.com.

About KIOSK Information Systems:

As the Market Leader in Self-service Solutions, KIOSK provides proven expertise in design engineering; application development, integration, manufacturing, field support, and managed services for even the most sophisticated self-service platforms. An exceptionally broad portfolio of standard and custom KIOSK designs are deployed among Top 100 Retailers and Fortune 500 clients in virtually all self-service vertical markets.www.kiosk.com, 800.509.5471.

Contacts

KIOSK
Cheryl Madeson, 303-661-1648
[email protected]

From the China Post

TAIPEI — Posiflex Technology Inc. (振樺電子), a Taiwan-based Point-of-Sales terminal brand, has agreed to acquire KIOSK Information Systems in the United States, the largest self-services solution provider in North America.

Under the acquisition agreement, Posiflex will spend US$105 million to acquire KIOSK, marking the largest acquisition deal in the industrial computer sector in Taiwan. Posiflex’s board of directors has approved the acquisition.

Market analysts said that the deal showed Posiflex’s ambitions to expand by swallowing a large company like KIOSK; the consideration of the deal is almost five times the Taiwanese suitor’s paid-in capital.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Posiflex is capitalized at NT$676 million (US$21.6 million), and had started procedures for listing on the local main board since November 2012. Before the main board’s listing, Posiflex had been listed on the over-the-counter market since July 2005.

Commenting on the acquisition deal, Posiflex said that KIOSK ranks as the third largest self-services solution provider in the world. The U.S. firm’s clients come from a wide range of industries globally, like telecom services, retail, logistics and financial services, Posiflex said.

Among the prominent clients of KIOSK are AT&T, IKEA, PepsiCo., McDonald’s and U.S. Postal Services, Posiflex added.

The suitor said that the acquisition agreement was reached because KOISK’s major shareholder, a private equity fund, was planning to dispose of the U.S. firm for profit. Through the acquisition, Posiflex said that it expects to enter the self-services business by taking advantage of the suitor’s existing lead in the Point of Sales terminal technology.

In the past three years, KIOSK posted more than 30 percent in compound annual growth rate (CAGR) with its gross margin ranging between 35 percent and 40 percent, Posiflex said. In the first seven months of this year, KIOSK’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization topped US$7 million, Posiflex added.

Analysts said that after the acquisition, Posiflex is expected to see its revenue for next year double from this year. In the first seven months of this year, Posiflex posted NT$1.78 billion in consolidated sales, up 6.18 percent from a year earlier.

“By combining Posiflex and KIOSK’s dual-value proposition in this domain, we are confident in emerging as a distant leader in this growing market,” Posiflex Chief Executive Officer Owen Chen said in a statement.

Posiflex said that it will assign its own funds to pay for 20 percent of the total consideration in the deal, while it will be seeking bank loans to pay for the remaining amount. The company said that it could issue new shares and convertible bonds to repay its bank loans in the future.

After the acquisition is completed, Tom Weaver, KIOSK’s current CEO, will hold dual board of director roles for both Posiflex and KIOSK.

 

Posts2025: 3,852

New Olea Patient Check-in Kiosk

Olea himss booth

Click to expand – image from show floor of new Olea units. Nice looking!

Look for Olea Kiosks at booth # 11419 on the HIMSS16 exhibition floor in Las Vegas, Nevada.

LAS VEGAS, NV – 3/1/16

Olea Kiosks will be showing the industry’s latest adjustable check-in healthcare kiosk at the 2016 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada from Feb. 29 – March 4, 2016.

Olea’s Verona Healthcare Kiosk is an adjustable height kiosk Olea Patient Kiosksolution designed and developed specifically for use in the healthcare setting. The kiosk is built to address the needs of both patients and providers and every feature and component is fully HIPAA and ADA-compliant.

The Ideal Patient Kiosk

Infinitely adjustable over a 10 inch range, the Verona can raise and lower the height of the kiosk with the press of a button. The entire kiosk is adjustable, not just the monitor, moving all components with you allowing for continued optimal component placement. The Verona is fully ADA-compliant and is designed to provide easy access for all patient users, standing or sitting. The extended front console accommodates wheelchair users and is compliant with forward approach ADA requirements. The standard components on the Verona, including Capacitive Touch technology with accurate on screen signature capture, EMV compliant payment devices, duplex ID scanner and printer, are all designed for ease of access by all patients.

The Perfect Turn-Key Solution for Providers

Because the Verona was conceptualized as a healthcare kiosk, it is designed to be utilized in a healthcare setting and specifically addresses the needs of the healthcare providers. The kiosk is built as a turn-key solution and is compatible with all major healthcare software platforms, including Epic, PatientWorks, Siemens, and McKesson. This ensures that the patient participation through the kiosk can be easily integrated with a provider’s existing internal record keeping systems.

Optional components of a Verona include a barcode scanner, web camera, Wi-Fi adapter, and audio headphone jack. These optional features allow the unit to be customized to accommodate the security standards and accessibility needs of any provider.

Easy to Service and Maintain

The Verona is also built with serviceability in mind. The quick change hardware system can be accessed, serviced and even replaced without using any tools. All internal systems of the Verona are accessible through the front of the unit, making it perfect for placement against a wall or with another Verona unit back-to-back. The ease of maintenance of the unit ensures low management costs and minimal downtime in the event of a service need.

Like all Olea kiosks, the Verona is designed, engineered, and manufactured in the USA using top-of-the-line components. The kiosk is extremely durable and capable of handling a high volume of users. Olea has delivered thousands of kiosk solutions to major healthcare organizations nationwide.

Contact Olea Kiosks today at www.olea.com or 800-927-8063 to find out how Olea’s state-of-the-art kiosks can revolutionize your patient check-in experience. See Olea at HIMSS Booth #11419

About Olea Kiosks

Olea is the industry leading designer and manufacturer of custom kiosks inspired by our mission to “build better kiosks through intelligent design.” Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike, turn to Olea Kiosks for their trusted lineup of sleek, standard and fully custom kiosk solutions that suit a vast array of applications.

Press release link

Posts2025: 2,772

Industry Shift – the evolution of Self-Service

self service kiosk

New opportunities continue to alter the kiosk industry landscape.
By Laura Miller, Marketing Director KioWare

Reprinted with permission from Kiosk Solutions magazine Issue #1.

Introduction

Interactive kiosks are not a new concept. In fact, companies have been deploying them for more than 35 years. Kiosks have long been a tool used primarily by large organisations with multiple locations, large staffs and extensive budgets. As technology has evolved, new markets and opportunities continue to emerge, creating a broader definition of what a kiosk looks like, what it can do and who it can help. This evolution varies by geographic location and mature markets look significantly different when compared to nascent markets.

Affordability

Like many nascent technological tools from this generation, kiosks have seen a complete re-imagining from their original form. The changes that have occurred have shifted the landscape of the kiosk industry significantly. Like much of the technology of the past 50 years, kiosks continue to become less expensive and more accessible, appealing to a broader group of organisations and potential deployers.

Kiosks are built using computing devices. Those computing devices have significantly dropped in price since their inception, with initial costs exceeding £5,200 and sizes that required large metal enclosures to protect from theft or damage. Those enclosures could also be costly and difficult to build. Add on the cost of developing a custom software application or a custom website, plus software to secure that application or website (now known as kiosk software), and the initial cost of one kiosk was quite prohibitive for most organisations.

Scalability

Even as an emerging technology, scalability made traditional kiosks more cost effective. Once an enclosure was designed, building additional enclosures to the same specifications became less expensive. Similarly, the computer hardware and kiosk software became less expensive when purchased in
quantity. More significantly, once an application was developed, the cost of that was negligible and benefited significantly by scaling.

Large corporations with multiple locations were able to leverage this scalability and deploy kiosks to improve customer experiences, increase sales, create brand awareness, decrease wait times and optimize staffing. Medium and small businesses continued to see little opportunity to utilize kiosks in a cost effective and affordable manner.

Accessibility

Then things changed. With the evolution of the computer and the creation of the tablet, both PCs and mobile devices have become more affordable to purchase and easier to enclose. As a result in the decreased size of PCs, the creation of the touch screen and the invention of the tablet, enclosure sizes can be reduced and at a lower cost. Out of the box enclosures can be purchased as a single unit or in cost saving quantities, without paying for a custom solution.

Software has also become more accessible as every business has the opportunity to create a website using an out-of-the-box content management system, easy to create online stores and low cost application development. Leveraging existing collateral, businesses can easily and inexpensively deploy one or multiple kiosks for a fraction of the cost of early kiosks.

kiosk software Industry Shift

If, as one might expect, larger organisations are a mature kiosk market (see ‘maturity’ in the above diagram) particularly in developed economies, the potential growth of that area is limited. Fortunately for the UK, in particular, there is an as yet untapped market for kiosk growth. Small and medium sized businesses make up 99.9 per cent of the UK’s private sector.

In particular, small business, sized at 49 employees or less, comprise 99.3 per cent of all private sector business in the UK.

The increased accessibility of kiosks benefits these small and medium-sized companies the most, allowing them to gain access to the technology without paying premium costs. Robust systems with external devices for payment processing can be purchased, configured and deployed for only a fraction of
previous prices, opening the door for those who need one or two devices to take advantage of the technology. The fact that the majority of small and mediumsized businesses now operate their own websites mean that an application already exists, and can be easily modified for public facing deployment on an interactive kiosk.

Emerging Markets

In established economic environments, the opportunity for growth in the kiosk market is primarily in this area. There are also many countries that may have the technology, but have not seen a coordinating economic growth. As a result, those countries are also in the high growth potential portion of the chart, rather than the mature or declining area.

While kiosks in general might be considered a mature market in certain economies, (the UK & US for example), tablet kiosks are a high growth market in every economy. Enterprise tablet adoption in general is still in a high growth phase and predictions show that the number could reach a billion worldwide by 2017. Penetration rates in developing economies will lag significantly, so tablet kiosks are at the high growth phase in established economies and are likely in the introduction stage for less established economies.

Evolving Usage

The entry of Mobile Device Management into the picture also changes the landscape, with kiosk usage being broader and expanding into new market opportunities. One such example is the Purposed Device. A Purposed Device is a more mobile kiosk – something retailers, sales reps, or employees can carry around, but still use in a specific, secured manner both with regard to kiosk software and kiosk hardware (mobile, transportable enclosures with card reader attachment and stationary docking stations). Purposed Devices, like tablet kiosks, are still nascent with regard to market penetration.

Conclusion

Like cars and phones, kiosks look very different from what they were 25 or 35 years ago. With continued iterations to incorporate new technologies, kiosks can become even more efficient, cost effective, mobile and useful. They can continue to evolve in saturated areas and expand into high growth markets. Kiosks have never been as affordable, scalable and accessible as they are today and they are most certainly still growing in market penetration.

www.sitekiosk.com

For more about LGN Media visit their website.

Posts2025: 2,737

Cell Phone Charging Kiosk – Getting a Charge

mobile charging kiosk

December 2021 — Charging kiosks began as mobile phone charge kiosk but in late 2021 they have evolved to EV charging kiosks for automobiles. Adding charging stations to retail locations such as shopping (Kohls e.g.) to restaurant rapid charge have added a new dimension to the value of these units. Typically Google Maps will identify and prompt users for nearest charging station and if they can get a hamburger or do some Christmas shopping at the same time, well all the better. Here is some curated news:

Mobile Phone Charging kiosk helping venues head off a growing health hazard.   

By Richard Slawsky contributor originally published 7/24/2016  — see the update on EV Charging Kiosks from 2021

We’ve all felt it. It’s that feeling of panic deep in our gut when we realize our cell phone batteries are on the verge of dying.

A study by mobile phone maker LG Electronics dubs that feeling “Low Battery Anxiety,” and nine out of 10 people in the United States feel it when the charge on their phone battery drops to 20 percent or lower. Symptoms of the affliction include asking a total stranger to borrow their phone charger, ordering something at a bar or restaurant just to use their power outlet or arguing with a significant other or romantic interest because of unanswered calls or texts.

Fortunately, innovative kiosk manufacturers and deployers have

phone charging kiosk

Click image for full size view of Bridgestone Charging Towers

introduced a cure, rolling out units in airports, retail locations, sports arenas and other venues that allow consumers to charge their mobile phones and obtain quick relief from the dreaded condition.

A growing health hazard

There is little doubt that mobile phones have penetrated nearly every aspect of our lives, and increasingly those phones are of the smart variety. A February report by research firm comScore indicates that nearly 199 million people in the United States own a smartphone, or more than 79 percent of the overall mobile phone market. People are choosing smartphones not just for personal use, but to help them run their businesses.

And the use of tablet computers is growing as well, with research firm eMarketer predicting the number of tablet users around the world will grow to 1.43 billion in 2018, up from 1 billion last year.

With such incredible growth, it’s no surprise that Low Battery Anxiety is becoming a significant health problem, and that kiosk companies are rising up to meet the challenge.

Because the market is relatively new it’s difficult to pinpoint specific numbers, but a Google search of the term “phone charging kiosk” indicates dozens of players, with units deployed in thousands of locations around the world. The field is served by established manufacturers including Olea Kiosks, KioWare, KIOSK, Parabit Systems and Frank Mayer & Associates Inc., along with younger deploying companies including ones like ChargeItSpot, goCharge, Brightbox, Veloxity and ChargeTech.

Baltimore-based NV3 Technologies was one of the earliest entrants into the market. The company is now the largest player in the market, with thousands of kiosks across the United States and in three other countries.

“We saw early on that the need to charge your phone was going to become a big problem, and we were right,” said NV3 co-founder Ryan Doak.

Phone charging kiosks operate in a number of different ways. Many feature an assortment of charging cords that fit most popular phone models, while some feature Qi, or wireless charging. That method delivers a charge inductively, with the user simply placing their phone on a pad to receive a charge. Still others rent portable battery packs that users return to a kiosk when they’re through.

And those units are popping up everywhere. In 2014, Olea Kiosks was approached by outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux Airport Inc. to design and manufacture a digital charging station kiosk. The end result was a sleek, eight-foot-tall unit that features four wireless charges, eight 110-volt outlets and six USB ports. The partners have deployed more than 250 kiosks in seven major airports around the county:  Miami, Newark, JFK, LAX, Houston, Boston and Orlando.

Chromebook charging another growing opportunity

With many schools faced with the dilemma of needing to provide digital tools to students while at the same time seeing budgets cut to the bone, the Chromebook has emerged as a solution of choice.

Chromebooks are laptop computers running Chrome OS as their operating system. The devices are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and data residing in “the cloud.”

Chromebooks are sold mainly by Google and its retail partners, with schools its largest customer category. Google also markets the low-cost devices to first-time computer users and those seeking a second, backup computer.With

Google also markets the low-cost devices to first-time computer users and those seeking a second, backup computer.With Chomebooks becoming increasingly prevalent as a teaching tool, schools are looking for ways to charge a large number of devices at the same time.

That has led to the development of the Chromebook Charging Cart, a mobile unit that can charge as many as 36 Chromebooks, Ultrabooks or Netbooks at the same time while keeping them secure in a locked cabinet. Others are looking at NV3 Technologies hightop table to charge Chomebooks and laptops.

And the need for Chromebook charging solutions is like to remain strong for the foreseeable future. Chromebooks for educational use rose from 38 percent of device sales in 2014 to more than 50 percent in 2015, according to research firm FutureSource, topping 56 percent by the fourth quarter.

“The momentum behind Chromebooks continued to be driven by the need for districts to implement online assessments and Chromebooks have provided a cost effective way of doing this, as well as providing efficient device management both inside and outside of the classroom,” according to the FutureSource report.

In May, fashion retailer Neiman Marcus announced plans to deploy 37 ChargeItSpot phone charging kiosks in 30 of its stores. The kiosks allow users to charge their phones in a secure locker while they shop.

And when Clark Kent visits New York, he may end up changing into his Superman outfit at a phone charging kiosk instead of a phone booth. In June the city rolled out the first of 7,500 planned LinkNYC kiosks, designed to replace outdated pay phones with kiosks that offer ultra-fast Wi-Fi, a tablet for web browsing and two USB ports for charging mobile devices.

Increasingly, venues such as bars, restaurants and theaters are partnering with kiosk makers to deploy custom solutions as a free amenity for their customers

“There is immense potential for deployment of custom device charging station solutions,” said David McCracken, CEO of York, Pa.-based kiosk and digital signage software provider LiveWire Digital.

“The technology is already developed,” McCracken said. “Custom projects should begin popping up in short order, particularly given the endless ways to tie this into customer data collection, engagement, retention and experiential advertising.”

A choice of business models

Of course, although it’s clear that phone charging kiosks offer great benefits to consumers, for the technology to be successful in the long run it needs to offer a benefit for the deployer as well.

There are currently a number of models by which companies are using phone charging kiosks to promote their brand and boost their bottom line.

“We sell and straight-lease our units,” said Billy Gridley, CEO of New York-based phone charging kiosk provider Brightbox.

“The venue chooses whether to offer the charging amenity on a complimentary or pay-per-charge basis,” Gridley said. “Almost 80% of our globally deployed units are offered as a free amenity; brands and sponsors customized the kiosks with on-panel and on-screen content.”

Brightbox’ kiosks include several secure charging compartments, accessible by swiping a credit or debit card or by entering a code on the screen. The customer simply plugs in their phone, closes the compartment and walks away. A light glows green on the door of the compartment when the charging is complete, usually in about 35 minutes.

Brightbox’ Mark3 kiosk can be wall-mounted, table-top counter-mounted or freestanding stand-mounted. The company has more than 700 units deployed around the United States and in six other countries.

While Brightbox and others are targeting the pay-per-charge, advertising-based and brand-building models, others are finding success targeting a specific niche. New York-based ChargeItSpot, for example, targets retailers who want to offer phone charging as an extra service to their customers.

NV3 Technologies manufactures a variety of kiosks from lockers to solar-powered, but the most popular by far for the company is the hightop bar table, Doak said. The table fits into many environments from the obvious bar to tradeshows, events, universities and corporate lounges, allowing users to carry on a conversation while they charge their phones. The table can operate from a standard outlet or from a proprietary battery configuration allowing you to cut the cord.

ChargeItSpot’s kiosks also feature multiple secure lockers, each with a number of charging cables. The kiosks can charge about 98 percent of the phones on the market today. The company offers its kiosks in the United States and has recently expanded into Canada, partnering with retailers including Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters as well as a number of casino operators to locate kiosks in those venues.

“People can lock up their phone and continue with their shopping,” said Sheri Tate, senior vice president of product strategy with ChargeItSpot.

Customers access the lockers by entering their 10-digit phone number and choose a secondary security image on a 17-inch touchscreen on the face of the unit. Those screens are customizable with content provided by the retailer.

In exchange for a free charge, customers agree to accept a single text message from the retailer, allowing the retailer to build a database of the customers already in their stores.

The devices can also be accessed via a loyalty card, encouraging customers to sign up for a player’s card if they don’t already have one.

“Casinos have been one of our most successful partners,” Tate said.

“They receive thousands of visitors every day, with many of them staying on the gaming floors for long hours,” she said. “We wanted to give those customers a free amenity that would ensure an all-day connection. Our casino partners love how the charging kiosks encourage their customers to stick around and play longer.”

And that ability to capture customer data is proving to be one of the key benefits for retailers and other venues in providing charging services as an extra amenity. ChargeItSpot, goCharge and others offer the ability to capture email addresses, conduct customer surveys and gather mobile numbers via the attractor screen in exchange for a free charge.

“It’s the wave of the future, because you can interact with the customer,” said Bill Landau, senior vice president and director of sales with goCharge. The company has kiosks deployed throughout the United States and is expanding into Canada. It has also leased units for use in Mexico and Europe, and recently introduced what it terms “intelligent units,” specifically designed to trade a charge for customer info.

“The ability to gather than information can be very valuable for a business seeking to capture new business and build a customer database,” Landau said.

Quotes

BrightBox – we have a kiosk product connected to and supported by a robust “open” Linux platform with web portals for: fleet management, content management, and data management and reporting (usage, survey data, email and SMS address collection, and audience measurement via our  BrightEyeQ software and the on-unit camera. We permission our venues and partners to go onto our platform to run their businesses. Our operators (Brazil, Mexico, UK, Canada, Sweden, Chile) manage their connected kiosks on the platform; our clients manage their ad content and interactivity campaigns. No competitor does this for clients.

Kiosk Solutions Magazine Writeup on Charging Kiosks

We recommend the recent writeup in Kiosk Solutions Issue 2 which covered phone charging. See the online magazine here.

If Ian Hobson has his way, your phone will never run out of power again. Using an innovative charging service he aims to deliver secure, free charging in public places around the world. ChargeBox in UK.

Modern life relies heavily on smart devices, in particular mobile phones. With a pocket-sized device offering quick and easy access to the Internet for socializing, entertainment, good old-fashioned phone calls and more, it’s no surprise we use them so much. We could live without them, of course, but when the power runs it can sometimes feel like the world is about to end. And that’s exactly where ChargeBox comes in…

1. How did you come up with the idea for ChargeBox?

It all started before the smartphone revolution, when battery life was fantastic. Because of this people often went out without their charger, But when the battery finally did run out, it was difficult for people to charge their phone again. We wanted to solve this problem.
Our initial success was with travellers who needed to charge their phones when in transit.

Once smartphones came along people began carrying their charger with them more because battery life was significantly reduced. But even with a charger to hand it’s not always possible to access a power outlet, and this is where we come in. And since charger connections have been reduced to just two main types – Apple and Micro USB rather than a unique charger for almost every phone, this side of the service is now much simpler than it was when we first started.

2. Why offer free charging?

Adoption of a free charging service parallels the way free WiFi proliferated a number of years ago. Public WiFi has been around for a while now, but in the early days it was expensive to use and the uptake was extremely limited. Now it’s even more readily available, and most importantly, it’s often free. The result, as you’d expect, is increased use and we think charging will follow the same path.  In the run up to the Olympics Westfield Shopping Centre wanted to begin providing free WiFi to visitors.

They also wanted to offer free phone charging, and approached ChargeBox for a solution that would work in this type of location. A charging box that was secure was essential to this, along with a simple service anyone can use. Our goal is to make as many charging  stations as possible around the globe free. Making them free relies on sites paying for the service  themselves, or using sponsorship in some form. Retailers will often skin the units to keep them in-line with their brand.

3. What are your target sectors?

For that and more you need to visit the online magazine here.

Posts2025: 4,379

Gov’t agencies seek to sequester savings with self-service

Could the sequester cuts lead to self-service gains in public sector deployments?

Source: www.kioskmarketplace.com

Excerpt: “Governments across the country are feeling the impact of our fiscal crisis,” said Chris Gilder, CEO of Meridian Zero Degrees, a company that provides design, consulting and software for self-service solutions. “Demands for service remain while budgets are shrinking. Self-service solutions help bridge the gap between consumer expectations and economic reality.”

With the U.S. economy more than four years into a financial crisis, kiosk companies already have experienced an increase in government demand for self-service.

And while government need for kiosks may be increasing, such deployments are nothing new, said Terri McClelland, CEO of the San Antonio-based kiosk company DynaTouch. McClelland said her company has been working on government kiosk projects since the late 1980s, but added that “government agencies need self-service kiosks now more than ever.

Posts2025: 2,388

Gaming Kiosk – Dave & Busters Player Loyalty

A circular sign displaying Dave & Busters is prominently featured on a glossy wall next to an interactive kiosk. The background has colorful, out-of-focus lights, giving a lively and energetic feel to the scene.

Gaming Kiosk or Rechargeable Cards

Update: New background added on Dave and Busters kiosk project. Diebold Nixdorf began supplying these innovative kiosks in 2019.  DN generally uses third-party manufacturers and then resells them with the nice service contracts.  Given the environment where these kiosks go, it’s easy to see that any type of audio speaker is useless as the noise level is probably 2X the level of typical casino (figure 90 db).  Not sure who the backend manufacturer of these kiosks are now but for example DN kiosks for McDonald’s have serial number stickers on the back and those numbers correspond to Pyramid Computer numbers.

Dave & Buster’s is enhancing their customer experience by offering “ticket-less” rewards points directly to the gamer’s card through their newly redesigned loyalty kiosks. This redesign is a testament to their commitment to providing innovative and convenient solutions to their customers.

Investment-wise fairly tough times for PLAY. Earning due April 7th and expected to be down

The press release is linked below, titled “Dave & Buster’s powers up their family entertainment loyalty program with re-designed interactive kiosks”.  Click on the image to get a better view. Cool kiosk design!

Originally, the D&B account was managed by FMA. However, Diebold Nixdorf now oversees the account, providing kiosk design and support services. This transition has allowed for the implementation of innovative kiosk solutions at Dave & Buster’s.

Dave and Busters kiosks are self-service devices that significantly enhance customer experience by allowing them to purchase and reload game-play cards, place food and beverage orders, and use various payment methods. They are designed by Diebold Nixdorf, a company that specializes in retail and banking solutions. Dave and Busters has implemented these kiosks in more than 140 locations across North America, with the aim of improving customer experience and efficiency12. The kiosks are part of the K-TWO series, which won the Reddot Award for design in 20192. The kiosks also have accessibility features, such as AudioNav, for customers with special needs

More Dave and Busters kiosk Background

Diebold Nixdorf

Diebold Nixdorf is a global company that creates technology for banks and retailers. They’re known for making ATMs, self-service kiosks, and point-of-sale (POS) systems. Their goal is to help businesses run smoothly while improving customer experiences. They also offer software like Vynamic™, which helps retailers manage sales and customer interactions.

With over 160 years of experience, Diebold Nixdorf focuses on creating flexible, modern systems that are easy to integrate into existing setups. They also provide maintenance and support to keep everything running well.

Dave & Buster’s Kiosks

Dave & Buster’s, the well-loved entertainment and dining chain, teamed up with Diebold Nixdorf to make visiting their locations even more fun and convenient. Together, they introduced self-service kiosks to streamline how customers interact with their services.

What Do the Kiosks Do?

  • Let customers buy or reload game cards.

  • Help guests order food and drinks.

  • Accept different payment methods quickly and securely.

Why Are These Kiosks Special?

  • Big Screens: The kiosks have large 32-inch displays that are easy to use.

  • Customizable: They work with Dave & Buster’s existing systems, so they match the brand’s style perfectly.

  • Faster Service: By reducing lines and wait times, they make visits more enjoyable.

  • Better Experience: Staff can focus on helping customers instead of managing transactions.

How Did the Rollout Go?

  • The kiosks were first tested in a few stores. After seeing great results, Dave & Buster’s expanded them to 60 more locations.

  • By 2022, these kiosks were available in all Dave & Buster’s venues across the U.S.

Why It Matters

The partnership between Diebold Nixdorf and Dave & Buster’s shows how technology can improve customer experiences. These kiosks make visits faster and easier while giving guests more control over their time at Dave & Buster’s. It’s a win-win for both the business and its customers!

RECENT NEWS CHECK MARCH 2025

There doesn’t appear to be any breaking news specifically about Dave & Buster’s kiosks in 2025. However, the most recent updates related to their technology and customer experience strategies include:

  1. Spring Break 2025 Promotions: While there’s no mention of new kiosk developments, Dave & Buster’s is focusing on new games, attractions, and dining options as part of its Spring Break 2025 campaign. This includes exclusive arcade games and interactive experiences like the “Human Crane,” alongside limited-time food and beverage offerings13.

  2. Kiosk Rollout Success: The last significant update about their kiosks came in 2023 when Dave & Buster’s completed a nationwide rollout of Diebold Nixdorf kiosks. These kiosks replaced older systems to streamline transactions for food, drinks, and game card purchases. They were designed to improve efficiency, reduce wait times, and enhance the overall customer experience. The kiosks have been well-received for their ease of use and have contributed to increased spending by customers26.

  3. Broader Tech Investments: In addition to kiosks, Dave & Buster’s has been investing in other tech upgrades, such as server tablets for faster service and enhancements to their mobile app. These efforts aim to improve customer engagement and streamline operations across their venues8.

While there’s no new kiosk-specific announcement in 2025, the existing system continues to support their broader digital transformation and customer experience goals.

More Gaming Kiosk Posts

 

Posts2025: 3,274

Self Service Kiosk Market Growth Driven by Smart Cities to Hit 5% CAGR

According to Global Self-Service Kiosk Market 2016 – 2020 report, interactive touchscreen kiosks are a noteworthy feature of smart cities, which are growing in number across the globe and analysts forecast the self service kiosk market to grow at a CAGR of 5% during the period 2016 – 2020.

Source: www.marketwatch.com

These kiosks are used in smart cities for interactive advertisements, online shopping, and tourist information, among others. Kiosk vendors are taking notice of the opportunity they have in smart cities.


Tablet computers which are sleek and handy are fast replacing big self-service kiosk machines. In hotels and restaurants, tablets are being used to allow customers to check in, place orders, and provide feedback. Different industries are expected to adopt tablets in order to replace kiosks and save significantly on costs.


Application Segmentation and Analysis of the Self-service Kiosk Market – Entertainment, Financial services, Healthcare, Retail, Travel and Others (public spaces, educational institutions, governments, hotels, and restaurants)

The retail segment dominated the market during 2015, with a market share of 46%. Self-service kiosks are used in self-checkout systems, which are witnessing high adoption. This helps retailers reduce labor costs and consumers to save time. 

The Americas accounted for 62% of the market share during 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2% during the forecast period. The presence of large retailers in the US and increasing adoption of self-service kiosks machine by segments such as entertainment and financial services is driving the market in the region.


The key vendors analyzed in self-service kiosk market report are Diebold, IBM, KIOSK Information Systems, NCR, and Slabb. Other prominent vendors in the market include Meridian, Outerwall, Phoenix Kiosk, Photo Finale, Rosendahl Conceptkiosk, and TravelersBox.

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