The Kiosk Association is participating in two trade events.
NRF Retail Converge
NRF-Retail Converge
Information NRF Retail Converge
One conference. Multiple specialties. NRF Retail Converge is a virtual event that offers a deep exploration of multiple specialties within the retail industry. With over 160 sessions to choose from, you can tailor the entire event to focus on your biggest questions and most pressing needs.
Get detailed insights and takeaways to help you improve in your role, as well as the big-picture vision you’ll need to advance your retail career. And because it’s a virtual event, it’s more convenient and accessible than ever.
This is your chance to see the innovations and discover the strategies that will drive success in the second half of 2021 and beyond.
CREATE: The Future of Foodservice NRN CREATE is a year-long program featuring both live and on-demand content that is available to the foodservice industry, free of charge, in an effort to move the industry forward, faster together. To access on-demand and future live program, visit https://create.nrn.com/
Access to view all CREATE digital content both live and on-demand is complimentary for all foodservice industry executives (restaurant leaders and suppliers). Our goal is to unite the industry to support moving forward, faster together.
In 2019 a study showed just how unsanitary quick-service restaurant kiosks are and how kiosks can put customers at risk for picking up a range of harmful bacteria. Shortly after this study was released the development team at KioWare began designing KioTouch, a touchless kiosk interface. Using KioTouch, the user of a kiosk would scan a QR code generated on the attract screen and then be empowered to use their mobile device as a trackpad-style mouse to interact with the kiosk’s program.
Moving out of development and into the release phase, KioWare was focused primarily on the features that made KioTouch unique as it related to the safety aspect of a touchless interface. However, we left the door open for this touchless tool to evolve and grow beyond its purpose as a more sanitary interface with shared devices and self-service kiosks. After a handful of demonstrations with prospective clients, we received feedback that allowed us to reframe just what KioTouch is and what it is capable of in real-world application.
For instance, because users scan a QR code to interface with the kiosk through a mobile device, they do not need to be directly in front of the kiosk. This means a company could implement a display that faces out of the building that customers could use even when the business is closed. This is beneficial on many levels because not only does it give customers access to some of the same information and services that they would have if the business was open, but it also alleviates congestion and overcrowding within the facility while it is operational. This is crucial in a society dealing with a pandemic-like COVID-19 and keeping people as socially distanced as possible.
That is just one alternate use though.
Suppose a business has digital displays, but they are static and unable to be used without adding hardware such as a mouse and/or keyboard or replacing the existing display with a touchscreen display. KioTouch requires no hardware retrofits of any kind. This means that taking a static display and installing KioTouch would effectively give it the same functionality as an interactive touchscreen display, without the physical interface. The benefits stack as not only is KioTouch more sanitary than using a touchscreen interface, but also it has the potential to save a company thousands of dollars in hardware costs related to replacing static displays with interactive touchscreen displays. KioTouch helps in lessening the spread of bacteria as well as helping to keep costs down while adding a new layer of convenience.
Here is a second alternate use for KioTouch.
Businesses that require staff working with customers on the same computer have a safety issue with both a staff member and a customer touching the same computer. Instead, the customer scans a QR code on the computer screen and uses their mobile device to work on the staffer’s computer. Problem solved.
KioTouch was designed and developed by KioWare as a tool to minimize physical contact with shared devices and self-service kiosks to lessen the spread of bacteria, but we are still learning just how capable and powerful KioTouch can be. If you would like to set up a demonstration of KioTouch, please e-mail us at [email protected]. The demonstration is quick and easy as we will share out our computer screen with a QR code displayed that you will scan and take over control of our computer screen. You personally will be able to harness the power of KioTouch through your own personal mobile device.
Here is a chronology of Perspectives on Self-Service. These represent the personal view of our editor-in-chief and only opinion and examination of potential situations and outcomes.
Apparently, we now have a fully functioning DOJ or Department of Justice. Enforcing laws appears to be coming back into vogue. We know of many cases the DOJ has “expressed interest”, unlike the former. The prosecution probability index (PPI) has definitely risen in the last 3 months.
The big mysteries at this point are how a large number of franchisees ALL violate ADA. We can understand this one or that one but 139? And then, given 50 states why would McDonald’s choose to trial biometrics in the one state that has extensive laws surrounding it. Sometimes “bad law” can be created by bringing suit in an unsympathetic district court. Winn-Dixie is a prime example of that.
One other trend that is noteworthy revolves around videos and specifically audio embedded. This can be an actual audio track or it could be a narration. Multiple languages. Media from Amazon, Netflix, Disney come into play. Any description of services with visuals.
This page is a running log with personal commentary on legal, privacy and patent situations. We keep track of legal news that affects the unattended self-service market. These are typically legal suits brought against companies but also can be HIPAA violations of privacy data which typically result in legal consequences.
In Brief This Month:
Apparently, we now have a fully functioning DOJ or Department of Justice. Enforcing laws appears to be coming back into vogue. We know of many cases the DOJ has “expressed interest”, unlike the former. The prosecution probability index (PPI) has definitely risen in the last 3 months.
The big mysteries at this point is how a large number of franchisees ALL violate ADA. We can understand this ones or that ones but 139? And then, given 50 states why would McDonald’s choose to trial biometrics in the one state that has extensive laws surrounding it. Sometimes “bad law” can be created by bringing suit in an unsympathetic district court. Winn-Dixie is prime example of that.
One other trend that is noteworthy revolves around videos and specifically audio embedded. This can be actual audio track or it could be a narration. Multiple languages. Media from Amazon, Netflix, Disney come into play. Any description of services with visuals.
June 2021
Supreme Court upholds ACA — this impacts all types of healthcare technology — In the decision, the court reversed a lower court ruling finding the individual mandate unconstitutional. However, the court did not get to the key question of whether the individual mandate is severable from the rest of the law. Instead, the court held the plaintiffs do not have standing in the case, or a legal right to bring the suit.
Wendys faces ADA class action — from Law360 — A proposed class of consumers with mobility disabilities has slapped the owner-operators of 139 Wendys franchise restaurants with a suit in Wisconsin federal court, claiming they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying disabled customers full and equal access to the eateries.
CVS Exposed 1 Billion user data records — 204GB — the data exposed online included customer email addresses, user IDs and customer searches on CVS Pharmacy websites for COVID-19 vaccines and other medications, according to the report.
McDonalds Being Sued in Illinois for obtaining and storing biometric data from drive-thru customers. Voice captured then run thru AI engine.
April 2021
Winn Dixie Website Accessibility — Court rules grocery store’s inaccessible website isn’t an ADA violation — The Winn-Dixie website isn’t accessible for blind users with screen readers. The two-judge majority placed a lot of weight on the fact that the ADA only applies to physical spaces. In their view, a website is not a public accommodation as the ADA defines the concept. More info
Digital Signage Solution Portrait or Landscape Universal
Universal digital signage solution
We are happy to present the latest addition to our lineup of digital signage display solutions, the Landscape/Portrait Kiosk! This unique solution combines the elegance of Peerless-AV’s indoor kiosks, with added functionality to support most 15″, 22″, or 32″ digital signage displays in either landscape or portrait orientation.
From entertaining to wayfinding, this new kiosk is an ideal solution for any indoor application setting, including hospitality, retail, corporate, and more. A high-performance, premium powder coat finish protects the unit and extends the product lifespan, however, a wide range of custom aesthetic options are also available. The kiosk comes in black (KIP522) or silver (KIP522-S), with the ability to customize the aesthetics (vinyl wraps, logos, custom paint) to best match branding.
The stylish kiosk body allows for the ultimate placement flexibility with an unobtrusive, flat base that can be free-standing or bolted to the ground. Internal storage cable management conceals all cabling to create an aesthetically pleasing appearance, while also creating an easy to access point for electric and data cables, allowing for simple installation and maintenance. This also presents protection for media players, routers, and other components.
The six outlet, UL and cUL-approved surge suppressor with 6′ cord protects voltage-sensitive components from damaging power surges. For theft protection, the kiosk features hex pin screw locks on the rear door.
The Landscape/Portrait Kiosk (KIP522) is available for purchase directly through Peerless-AV and authorized distribution networks.
Relevant unattended self-service news from around the world. If interesting and noteworthy news send comments/suggestions to [email protected]
June 2021
Peerless-AV New Universal Digital Signage Solution — We are happy to present the latest addition to our lineup of digital signage display solutions, the Landscape/Portrait Kiosk! This unique solution combines the elegance of Peerless-AV’s indoor kiosks, with added functionality to support most 15″, 22″, or 32″ digital signage displays in either landscape or portrait orientation.
Ticketing kiosks in Philippines — Load Beep Here — LRT-1’s new e-tap loading kiosks. According to the LRMC, deploying e-tap loading kiosks limits face-to-face contact, and the exchange of cash—a safer and more convenient commute for the riding public.
Bill Payment Kiosks going in at Frankfort, KY from Lane Report — Courthouse Kiosks — Kentuckians will be able to pay court costs, fines and fees at ATM-like contraptions in select courthouses across Kentucky by next year.
The Kiosk Tradeshow and Kiosk Event Calendar is now back in operation! It has been in inflicted hiatus since March of 2020 but big shows in Vegas in August (HIMSS) and we are attending physical show here in Denver in October for Fast Casual.
Mental Health Kiosks by Amazon — AmaZen kiosks giving off the wrong vibe article from techspot. Everybody likes to beat up on Amazon.
New scanner kiosk from Pyramid — Each wing of the kiosk includes a printer, a kiosk payment module, an optional scale and twelve handheld scanners.
May 2021
Amazon Zen Interactive Kiosk Booth for Employees — The AmaZen meditation booth is a small room where employees can watch company videos about mindfulness while a small fan moves the air around.
Kiosk Price – Steel Prices Surging — Price has tripled for U.S. steel — In early May, futures prices for 20-ton rolls of domestic steel — the benchmark for most steel prices nationwide — pushed above $1,600 per ton for the first time ever, and prices continue to hover there.
Paying With a QR Code – BNPL or Buy Now Pay Later May 6, 2021 — How To Pay With A QR Code (and pay later) Nice writeup on PaymentDive on Paypal Dive Brief: PayPal, an online payment provider, expects the popularity of QR codes and buy now-pay later …
Mobile App For Ghost Kitchen Orders – iOS & Android – Retail Automation May 4, 2021 — Ghost Kitchen Mobile Ordering App – Virtual Restaurant Editors Note: first occurrence of a dedicated “purpose-built” mobile ordering app that we have seen which connects to a Ghost Kitchen. Now we …
New CPI Crane Pricing – CPI will be introducing a temporary 3% surcharge/price increase effective May 6th on all new orders, this is driven by our continued increasing costs for raw materials, electronic components and transportation. There is never an ideal time for this type of notification; however, the current global market place is driving this immediate action.
April 2021
New CPI Crane Pricing – CPI will be introducing a temporary 3% surcharge/price increase effective May 6th on all new orders, this is driven by our continued increasing costs for raw materials, electronic components and transportation. There is never an ideal time for this type of notification; however, the current global market place is driving this immediate action.
Pickup Towers in Walmart Are Going Away April 22, 2021 — Walmart Pickup Towers From the NYPost Apr2021 — The retailer is removing 300 of these towers and “hibernating” another 1,300 because customers grew accustomed to curbside pick-up during the pandemic
Hospitality Update – Hotel Lobbies and Marriott Contactless Arrival Kiosks — Marriott is testing contactless check-in and check-out kiosks and a “grab-and-go marketplace.”
By this summer, only 150 McDonald’s will remain inside Walmart stores — down from a peak of 1,000 locations at the height of the two chains’ 30-year partnership. The paper also reported that Subway franchisees are closing locations inside Walmart stores. The news comes as Walmart is trialing new operating models for in-store restaurants. It’s putting ghost kitchens inside select locations that offer pickup and delivery service from popular chains like Saladworks.
Related to Walmart and McDonalds and result of pandemic — H-E-B is partnering with Texas A&M University to provide grocery delivery to people who live on its main and West campuses in College Station, Texas. Even as mass vaccinations promise to boost store and restaurant traffic, newly established online buying habits mean retailers are prioritizing omnichannel meal service. Kroger is testing ghost kitchen locations in Indiana and Ohio, while Texas-based H-E-B recently opened a food hall that offers takeout and delivery options.
From NRN March 2021 — Pizza Hut is launching a digital pickup window at 1,500 restaurants — The Hut Lane is a dedicated pickup lane that will allow customers to …
Antibacterial Kiosks and Temperature Kiosks. The Washington Post did a nice article on temperature kiosks this month. Our take is still that touchscreens along with their POS devices/etc are the best way to allow the public to interact. MRSA is probably a bigger concern as far as remaining on surfaces than COVID (mainly aerosol in the air). Antibacterial treatments for touchscreens have so many caveats and only a very narrow and basically useless range of effectiveness. And you are much more likely to get infected from the front desk (and they from you) than you are from a properly maintained check-in kiosk with a touchscreen. Many of those also support the mobile handheld as a proxy input (think remote control) but then you should be aware that your mobile phone is likely the 3rd most likely infection point (#2 is toilet and #1 are sinks actually). But there are people that will sell the coating (figure $200 upcharge) and if you are into hygiene theater you can arrange some signage that tells people you have antimicrobial treated touchscreens. The CEO of Marriott broke down hygiene theater into the swiss cheese analogy. Enough layers and pretty soon you have a complete wall with no holes. There are new UV and UV-C treatments. One of them is UL and FDA approved and has been adapted for elevators as well as ATM screens and pinpads. Contact us if interested.
QSR Business – El Pollo Loco is expanding in Denver adding 10-15 restaurants. The restaurant chain said the Colorado expansion is part of a plan to open 140 new locations throughout the western United States by 2026. El Pollo Loco currently operates 478 locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Louisiana.
Touchless Technology for your toilet. Only in Japan for now. Also included is pic of new UV antibacterial treatment for sinks (think the hotels…)
Contactless kiosks all the rage in South Korea. Korea’s kiosk industry has largely been led by mid-sized companies. Hanasis, I-Tech and BT.One are among the recognized players. They rake in between 10 to 40 billion won in annual revenue. Conglomerates — Samsung Electronics introduced the Samsung Kiosk in Korea on Feb. 17. The device’s screen is coated with a special film that has a sterilizing effect, the company said. The kiosk uses Samsung Knox, the same software present in its laptops and handsets, to prevent hacking.
Credit Card Payments for IKEA and others via FISERV go totally offline. Customers at McDonald’s, Ikea, Popeyes, and others say they can’t pay using their credit cards. The payments processor Fiserv said its services were interrupted on Friday. Earlier in the day, Chick-fil-A experienced an outage and gave out free meals.
Touchless large format displays from Samsung in the news. Samsung Electronics France and iNUI Studio have introduced the IRxTOUCH KIOSK SERIES 2, a touchless interactive kiosk solution that is said to offer the same experience as a touch device but for the fact that the user doesn’t have to touch the screen to use it but only has to move a few centimetres from the display to navigate precisely through the various menus. The solution is designed to offer a clear advantage from a health point of view.
Looking for a job or maybe you are looking for people (sales people usually)? Be sure and check the Jobs listing.
Interview with TSI Touch Mundrake — big proponent of more touch. TSI provides the touch overlays used on many touchscreens especially large format screens (55 and up). Good explanation of PCap versus IR and why IR is better for large format touchscreens (higher fidelity). And he seems to imply that as long as we touch our mobiles, we will touch everything else. At some point we may truly start talking to our mobiles and then things will change. Interview by 16:9 good job.
No relationship between minimum wage increases and the adoption of touch-screen technology
McDonald’s restaurants raise their wages after a city or state raises its minimum wage ($1.00 premium above)
when the minimum wage goes up, the price of a Big Mac goes up too (just not very much given generally low wage component)
Intel UK Keeps Up Kiosk Related Content – this one on hardware required (openvino and intel vpro). There is a semi-useful link to qsrmagazine on left effect. Has an old Zivelo push tactic. There a better ways to burn a budget.
Microsoft offers guidance for customers using kiosk mode in Microsoft Edge Legacy – Microsoft Edge Legacy browser support ends on March 9, 2021. The Microsoft Edge Legacy will be removed and replaced with the new Microsoft Edge when you apply April’s Windows 10 Update which will become available on April 13, 2021. To continue using kiosk scenarios, customers need to install the new Microsoft Edge and set up kiosk mode before installing April’s Windows 10 Update Tuesday release to their devices.
Self-service kiosks – following the lead of fast food — Nice reference to Pyramid and McDonalds. Intel pitching its footprint in restaurants though from all accounts Android cannot be ignored. By BigHospitality and sponsored paid for pitch — The QSR sector has been the quickest to adopt technology such as self-service kiosks, and are so far reaping the benefits
January 2021
Europe/UK News — The limit on a single payment using contactless card technology could rise to £100 – more than double the current limit. From the BBC UK
Misleading Temperature Kiosk News Story — It makes us a bit despondent seeing stories like which are trumped-up success stories or just lazy puff news by US institutions bragging on their unwitting purchase of Chinese tech. We are glad Biden signed Buy USA. Much better and more affordable solutions by US companies and US technology than these deceptive tablets. Alabama of course made the 2M mistake with blacklisted HIKVision that promised the world and delivered an invoice.
Walmart Making Incursion Into Finance – Walmart Fintech Incursion From the Financial Brand Jan 2021 — The deal with Ribbit may reflect Walmart’s desire to get further into the actual guts of financial services, rather than being …
Legal kiosks in Minnesota — To address this digital divide, the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition requested CARES Act funds to give communities access to civil justice by creating a statewide network of 250 legal kiosks to be stationed in a variety of court, agency, non-profit, and other community locations.
Point of Sale RFPs refresh on posrfp.com — last five months + active one for December (Manitoba/Alberta) we included the actual rfp document for download
Intel Touchless 2020 Whitepaper – Opinion – We saw new whitepaper by Intel on touch screen monitors & going touchless & hoped that it would be instructive. Unfortunately…
Smart City RFP New Jersey – Outdoor dual-sided 55s for public information. Surveillance cameras. Hotspots.
Coinstar Expands Its Coinme Bitcoin ATM Fleet to 5,000 The service is now available in nearly 25% of Coinstar’s total kiosk fleet and in 40 U.S. states, according to figures provided by Neil Bergquist, chief executive of Coinme. Coinstar change-counting machines are located in supermarkets, gas stations and convenience stores around the country.
CDC issued report on their results testing 800,000 travelers for potential COVID. They identified only one. Questions remain why zero false positives for example. What did they do right and what did they do wrong?
Compact, Ready-Made kiosk line announced by Posiflex. The new Mercury EK Series is a line of sleek, compact kiosks available in either a floor-standing or countertop setting, with two Windows OS models and one Android OS model to choose from. BusinessWire
McDonald’s announced a new growth strategy for 2021 — “Accelerating the Arches” — includes a new crispy chicken sandwich and a new loyalty program: MyMcDonald’s. Described as a “new digital experience growth engine,” the personalized loyalty program and all-in-one platform will offer tailored promotions for members and the ability for customers to place orders “through the channel of their choice.” Test pilot in the Phoenix area over the coming weeks. Link to article on NRN
October
Home Depot 6,000 units (we are guessing) — Reality Interactive, a leading retail technology design firm and digital agency in Middletown, Connecticut, announced the launch of its AXSIS™ Thermal Enabled Digital Hub. The leading home improvement retailer in the world has already deployed 6,000 units
Pizza Automation Option – Basil Street Pizza — An autonomous pizza baking machine that cooks a thin crust brick-oven style 10″ pizza in 3 minutes for around $10 reducing exposure and risk with touchless baking and tap and swipe payment!
NRN article – Touchless tech gets prioritized at restaurant chains during the coronavirus pandemic. QR codes, artificial intelligence and robots help make the lives of customers and employees easier. — Link
PSA – Deceptive Meridian Temperature Tablets Endanger Public Safety. Includes video. — Link to IPVM article
AI Kiosk – Lenovo and Reese team up for AI-driven crowd behavior modification to maintain health protocols at sporting events. First use of AI we have seen in this fashion. LINK
Betting Kiosk – Newgioco Obtains GLI-20 and GLI-33 Certification for Kiosk Installations of Elys Platform on Yahoo News LINK
Canadian retailer vends ready-made meals from contactless kiosks. link
Michigan DMV hits 1 million transactions. The kiosks located in stores around the state allow residents to renew license registrations and purchase tabs without going inside a branch office. There are 127 kiosks around the state with plans to add 23 more outside Secretary of State branches and at Kroger and Meijer stores.
Amazon Go Stores are using palm biometrics now. Nice little unit and guessing fujitsu. Link
From the UK — Kiosk and Digital Signage 2020 (KDS 2020), Europe’s leading one-day summit for kiosk and digital signage industry professionals has been postponed.
Temperature kiosks — we saw an article push from a kiosk portal promoting Chinese temperature kiosks. We’ve notified the portal about the product and hopefully paid advertising does not trump public interest.
September
CLEAR providing app and kiosks for MGM Resorts meeting in Minnesota. Combines identity credentials with COVID tests, Link
Great background on Harrahs purchase of Caesars along with William Hill context — GGB Magazine
Kioskmarketplace news — Emirates self check-in,
Walmart store redesign, Treasury to forgive PPP loans,
BioLife Sciences introduces touchless vending machines, Voice technology provider teams with Mastercard, ViewSonic introduces hand sanitizing stations, Toshiba introduces multifunction printer
Can Kiosks Find New Life During Coronavirus? QSRMagazine article talking with Mike Geiger of Moe’s and also Michael Cecchini of Pure Green on kiosk opportunities. Link
Digital Signage — Turns out DSE has no assets for refunding payments or anything. The digital presence at Digital Signage Connection is toast. Remains to be seen what DSF does. Link
Gaming — Caesars Entertainment’s play for William Hill is the latest sign Las Vegas sees tons of upside in moving chips in the direction of online gaming and sports betting. Article
Viewsonic Offers Hand-Sanitizing Stations — The Health Flex Kiosks include options for integrated displays and secure storage for media players, routers or surge protectors, and a touchless hand sanitizer dispenser holder (hands-free dispenser is optional). See the catalog for hand sanitizer stations that the KMA offers.
DSE Declares Bankruptcy – writeup on 16:9 — It was matter of time. It was a few years back they opted for quality argument over quantity. Show never grew. ISE and InfoComm are still running but we suspect most will migrate over to NRF just like we did in the kiosk industry.
QSR Market Update Opinion – QSR & Fast Casual Restaurants – Is the Restaurant Business Getting Better? September 18, 2020 Editor Note: We do interviews with magazines (recently for NRN) and in those we express what we call “ad hoc” opinions based on what we have seen and heard. For sure
09/11 Buyer Beware — Appears to be a McDonald’s outdoor menu (Samsung OF55F?) with some severe burn. Link
09/11 Video – Behind-The-Scenes Look At Changes Coming To TSA Checkpoints Amid Pandemic | NBC Nightly News
09/11 Question: How to count people without any concerns regarding privacy or data protection regulations? Nice writeup by Wick of Heimann Sensors on LinkedIn – link
09/11 Questionable Claims — Copper-infused antimicrobial film – called NanoShield – its makers claim will self-disinfect something like a touchscreen in less than 15 minutes. Thanks to 16:9 for the expository article.
09/10 – PCAP TILE for seamless across multiple 55 inch screens announced by TSItouch (includes video) – link
08/25 — Whole Foods Cashierless By Next Year? Amazon may be looking to bring the cashierless tech found at its Go convenience stores to Whole Foods supermarkets as early as next year
08/25 — Circle K piloting autonomous self-checkout technology LINK
08/25 — Walmart adding new modern self-checkout bays in Wichita. Pics. LINK
08/25 — Five steps of legal advice on handling anti-mask customers from National Restaurant Association LINK
08/25 — From JAL website – Japan Airlines (JAL) today announced the decision to trial new touchless technology at Tokyo`s Haneda Airport, starting August 24. LINK
08/25 — DART Gets Touchless Kiosks for Wayfinding LINK
08/23 — Article on UV-C Wands from CNET. The dangers of. LINK
08/20 — South Korea begins using a robot greeter. checks temperatures, dispenses hand sanitizer, enforces social distancing and makes sure you are wearing a mask. Thanks to Ross at QwickMedia. Video. Link
08/14 — More than 15,000 Canadians have died of an opioid-related overdose since January 2016. is transforming the distribution of regulated products with an integrated platform that combines industry-leading software, advanced biometrics, and tamper-resistant hardware. Article
Click for full size Opiod dispenser
08/13 – Digital signage news — Fourwinds Acquires SmartSpace. Workplace software for employees (tough market). Expands FWI’s international presence and capabilities with offices and employees in the US, UK, Europe, and Asia. Link
08/13 – report from IPVM on the Alabama Fever Detection deal which involves HKVision (blacklisted). $1M deal. Link
0812 – VA and Cerner appear to be “back on”. This time the date is October. Veterans Patient Check-in kiosk and Mobile in play here. Link
08/12 — Recommended Accessibility requirements for RFPs article by The Paciello Group (TPG). Link
08/11 – TSA is putting in new ID verification (CAT). Credential authentication technology (CAT) at Thurgood Marshall Airport and others. Not kiosks, just desktop devices inline for use. Link
08/10 — GRUBBRR works with BlueStar. BlueStar is a Solutions-based distributor seeking to offer its customers complete solutions which can be taken to market and not just individual pieces of hardware. GRUBBRR will work with BlueStar for ready-to-go self-ordering solutions. BlueStar distributes much of the hardware used in GRUBBRR products, and now will have access to the software that can transform those products from simple hardware into automation solutions. Link to full article
08/04 — From HotelBusiness — Temperature Scanning Can Help Employees & Guests Achieve Peace of Mind– article link
08/04 – Elo announces Elo AccessTM temperature screening kiosk. Looks to be a “turnkey solution” application for wellness-check at the door. Specs for bolometer and camera not disclosed. Press release link
08/02 — Curative deploys first Covid19 testing kiosk in California. Not bad looking. Link
07/29 – Henry Ford hospital adds temperature screening kiosks. Note that this has been misreported as retinal scanning when in fact after speaking to hospital they confirmed to KI that it is in fact inexpensive Infrared sensors.
07/26 — A man using a prosthetic mask stole more than $100,000 at casinos, prosecutors say. Colletti, 55, allegedly targeted his victims by illegally obtaining their personal information and then using counterfeit driver’s licenses to withdraw funds from their personal bank accounts via self-service kiosks at the casinos. The kiosks, operated by Global Payments Gaming Services, are used by the casino industry for bill-breaking, jackpot processing, cash withdrawals, cash advances, and ticket exchanges, among other services, according to the complaint. The kiosks require users to insert their driver’s license and the last four digits of both their Social Security number and phone number before checking account funds can be withdrawn. Each victim had previously enrolled to have their bank accounts linked to their profile in Global Payments’ “VIP Preferred Program,” the complaint said. Link to article on CNN
07/21 — How the pandemic is affecting business travelers in airports. Lots of pictures with this article. Malaysia, UAE, Canada, Doha. Link
07/21 — 170 companies now offering thermal imaging. In Just 6 Months, ‘Fever Cameras’ Have Become a Full-Fledged Industry More than 150 companies now sell alleged fever-detecting technology aimed at the coronavirus. Link
07/21 — Temperature screening — Suprema Adds Thermal Camera to Biometric Kiosk Solution LINK
07/21 – American Airlines unveils touchless kiosks. The kiosk prints the bag tags, all without the customer having to touch the kiosk. Link
07/20 – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) has selected passenger temperature screening technology for use at Hawaii’s public airports to help protect the community and identify passengers with a potentially elevated body temperature. Nice article too at Homeland Security
07/20 — Olea offers financing on temperature kiosks. $8 per day for a temp screening kiosk including shipping and extended onsite warranty when you finance. Compared to assigning and employee to scan everyone coming in the building not to mention safety it’s a no brainer really.
07/16 – Olea Hires Director of Alliances & Partnerships – Olea announces the hiring of channel sales and partnerships industry expert, Rusty Gaynes, as Director of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships.
07/16 – Networld announcers new virtual summit — Self-Service Innovation Virtual Summit Dec. 8-9, 2020. Wide range of self-service interest including vending, food packaging and more.
07/16 – South Hall Kroger gets new DMV tag renewal kiosk. Link
07/16 – Webinars – July 16th — Panel Discussion — The rapid growth of kiosks and the next evolution beyond self-service
Thursday, 16th July at 4:00pm UK time
Tradeshows – Yesterday (7/9) NRF announced the Big Show will not be happening in January. Instead it will be in early June. A virtual show will occur in January. Here is the link. We will be in 1503. Now NRF is just about two weeks after the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. We were expecting the postponement as we became aware of several of their marquee “biggest show of the year” companies grounded their travel thru January. At NRA the KMA has a 10×20 in the Tech Pavilion. Here is our booth location.
Customer Experience – Top 80 Stats About A Future Customer Experience Shaped By Technology — Link
Electric Cars – Electric Car Charging Stations Are Finally About to Take Off – Bloomberg
Kiosk Software – KioWare for Windows | Configuring KioTouch™ YouTube Video
Airlines – Changing the way we fly and interact at airports with smart self-service solutions by Materna IPS GmbH. This is not a short #COVID response but a sustainable solution to upgrade the flyer’s customer journey. Pyramid Computer GmbH is very proud to be part of that solution. New Self-Bag Drop Materna
Thermal Imaging — MoviTHERM launches FLIR A500-EST. A camera designed with your elevated skin surface temperature screening needs in mind. https://zcu.io/yEJu
Coming soon: The new embedded RFID module from Zebra Technologies. The RE4000 is Zebra’s first RFID module designed to be embedded into Zebra’s RFID printers and third-party OEM equipment. Endless applications include medical devices, kiosks, access control, smart lockers, robots, vending machines, casino terminals, ticketing systems, POS terminals and many more.
June
McDonalds Kiosks — McDonalds permanently closing Times Square Flagship. Link. McDonald’s confirmed this week that the company has made the “difficult decision” to close the famed corporate store in Times Square, a move that was in the works prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
Healthcare Kiosks — as news reports detail the impact COVID-19 will have on our population and the healthcare system that serves it, many medical facilities have put systems in place to streamline services and keep frontline workers safe…… — Link
Budget Considerations for Self-Service Kiosk Success — Link — carefully consider each of these five high-level areas in solution budgeting – they will all come up. This is a macro view of the main elements of project budget, and supplier evaluation considerations that can most effect your budget
Custom America announces the availability of the all new D4 desktop label printer – read more about the new product release here:
Appetize on “What is a Virtual Kiosk” — Virtual Kiosk allows guests to instantly access mobile ordering on their smartphone. It uses QR or Quick Response Codes– a surprisingly easy to use technology– to bring guests directly into the ordering site.
Evoke Partners with Core Intelligence on Distancing Application — We’re excited to partner with Evoke Creative for CORE | Intelligence Powered By FastSensor, designed to allow business owners to monitor social distancing in real-time through our groundbreaking, AI technology, all while allowing you to get to know your customers better than ever.
Frank Olea Podcast with 16:9 — Excerpt on touchless — Yeah, it’s fun. It’s gimmicky. But yeah, getting the public to change their behavior is gonna be really hard. I mean, it ‘s about the path of least resistance, right? So unless it’s easier, it’s not gonna happen.
New telemedicine kiosk option from Lilitab — Introducing new Telemedicine Tablet Cart. It’s perfectly suited for any healthcare environment to be wheeled into patient rooms allowing doctors to “see” their patients at a safe distance. It meets all ADA requirements for lying, seated, and standing positions with self-adjusting tilt.
FDA Makes Hand Sanitizer Recommendations — FDA advises consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico, due to the potential presence of methanol (wood alcohol), a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested. FDA has identified the following products
Video Call Kiosks from KIOSK — Compunetix is pleased to announce a partnership with KIOSK Information Systems (KIOSK) to deliver Video Call Center™ (VCC) on digital kiosks. Compunetix Video Call Center (VCC) for Healthcare is a browser-based, real-time voice and video workflow solution for healthcare providers that need to remain available to their patients in a safe and secure manner.
Moviegoers return as Cinemark cautiously reopens — Cinemark is the first major theater chain in North Texas to reopen its doors, welcoming customers Friday at locations in West Plano, McKinney and northwest Dallas off of Webb Chapel. It will resume operations at other locations on a rolling basis in the coming weeks.
Electronic Shipping Kiosks — D’Arrigo California has implemented shipping kiosks at their shipping facility in Salinas, CA. This innovative tool, which contains a proprietary software program, was developed to improve efficiencies of the shipping process. D’Arrigo California’s investment in the electronic shipping kiosks and its proprietary software program demonstrates its commitment to provide efficiencies throughout its supply chain.
Wow Bao announced further expansion plans within the East Coast market. In quarter one 2020, Wow Bao will open three new locations at some of the largest transportation hubs in the region, including Dulles International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/wow-bao-plots-east-coast-expansion-2020
Editors Note: You could see this coming given the test being run in Illinois which has some of the strictest privacy laws.
In Brief:
McDonalds testing AI-powered drive-thru ordering at 10 restaurants in Illinois
Voice Analysis and Recognition being used
Data retention — McDonalds is not informing customers how long their data will be retained
Machine Learning – personalization via license plate match to customer, past orders, past locations
No comment from McDonalds yet…
Excerpt:
And while the reality of AI drive-thrus is still far in the future, one customer is raising a red flag on the legality of such an operational setup. According to his recently filed lawsuit, McDonald’s doesn’t have permission to use voice-recognition software on customers without their prior approval. In doing so, the fast-food giant is in violation of the Illinois state law. He is suing the chain for using the technology to capture his voice data without permission at one of the Chicago-area test sites in 2020.
Using a voice-recognition system to identify repeat customers, which is exactly what McDonald’s plans to do with the technology, violates Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. BIPA states that collecting biometric information such as voiceprints, fingerprints, facial scans, handprints, and palm scans requires consent from the parties in question. The voiceprints collected by the AI technology can identify customers’ pitch, volume, and other unique qualities. The law also requires McDonald’s to make its data retention policies public and clarify how long the information collected will be stored and how it will be used.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s connects the unique voice information to license plates to more easily recognize customers at any location they end up going to.
Several of our sponsors and members are instrumental in ADA, Accessibility and Assistive Technology.
Highlights Assistive Technology for Kiosks and More
Vispero – The world’s leading assistive technology provider for the visually impaired. Did you know Blindness and Low Vision impact over 282 Million people globally? That number is expected to increase by 72% over the next 11 years.
TPGi — a subsidiary of Vispero, TPG Interactive (TPGi) is a world-class accessibility solutions provider with a reputation for excellence. We help clients achieve end-to-end accessibility in their digital assets (websites, software applications, mobile applications, documents, etc.), as well as assist in embedding accessibility into their processes and procedures. Whether you are new to accessibility or mature in your accessibility processes, TPGi can assist your organization.
Storm Interface — Storm Interface develops and manufactures responsive human interface devices for use in a wide range of public and industrial applications. The company’s award-winning products are now globally deployed, internationally recognized and widely acclaimed.
Tech For All Consulting — For over 15 years, TFA’s expert teams have been providing consulting services to its clients to ensure the accessibility and usability of their products, websites, mobile apps, kiosks, and services. Tech for All’s Accessibility Compliance and Universal Design Services — Web, Mobile, and Multiplatform Applications — Kiosk and Self-Service Systems — Training — Planning and Strategy
YourDolphin — Welcome people who are blind and partially sighted into your business by enabling them to fully engage with your self-service points through SuperNova Accessible Kiosks. SuperNova Accessible Kiosks can deliver a range of support—magnification, speech and full screen-reading—without expensive retrofits. SuperNova differentiates itself from other kiosk accessibility software through crystal clear magnification at any level, unrivaled intuitive touchscreen capabilities, 24 changeable color themes and full screen-reading with human-sounding voices. It’s also fully compatible with Storm AudioNav Keypads and the SuperNova API is customizable for your bespoke kiosk projects.
MimoMonitors — Haptic Touchscreens — The first of its kind, this new 10.1” touchscreen leverages the durability, reliability, and quality of the Mimo Vue display and the groundbreaking technology of TanvasTouch to allow users to feel what they see on screen. The result is a multisensory experience that brings touch to life on a new dimension.
Potential Consequences of Inaction
June 16, 2021 — A proposed class of consumers with mobility disabilities has slapped the owner-operators of 139 Wendys franchise restaurants with a suit in Wisconsin federal court, claiming they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying disabled customers full and equal access to the eateries.
Click for full size DMV Kiosk Motor Vehicle Registration
PIERRE – Twenty new license renewal kiosks have been placed throughout South Dakota, now offering additional services.
Previously, the DMV Now License Renewal Kiosks were fully automated motor vehicle registration renewal stations that dispensed only license renewal tags on the spot. Now, these kiosks are able to update contact information and mailing addresses.
Certain documentation is needed when completing your transaction at the kiosks. For all transactions, have your South Dakota Driver’s License or ID Card. For renewing your vehicle’s tags, bring a form of payment (credit or debit card).
Soon, customers will be able to report vehicles sold, print a seller’s permit, and renew their driver license. More information will be coming when those transactions are available on how those new transactions will work.
Ten new kiosks have replaced the old ten kiosks in the same locations they were held before. The other 10 kiosks have been placed in different areas throughout South Dakota.
Locally, one of the new kiosks is at Lewis in Brookings.
Please be aware that the new kiosks no longer have check readers. As a result, no ACH payments will be accepted at the kiosks. South Dakotans also have the option to complete these services electronically.
Andy Hermann • Guest Experience Leader at McDonald’s Bahnhofplatz Zürich | London School of Economics MSc | Andy meets Warhol
McDonalds Restaurant Kiosk Switzerland
The newest and most sustainable McDonald’s Restaurant in Switzerland is located in Hendschiken, Aargau. At this location, a real-world experience on new sustainable packaging as well as on other measures prior to the nationwide rollout is being gathered. Feel free to swing by and take a glimpse yourself!
McDonald’s Switzerland has been committed to a more sustainable gastronomy for many years. How? Quite simply: with green electricity from hydropower, fuel from used cooking oil, and daily clean-up tours for cleaner streets. And we’re proud to share our next step on the agenda: reducing plastics and introducing more sustainable packaging that is to be rolled out in Switzerland step-by-step in the years to come. By 2025, plastic should account for no more than 2 percent in food packaging at McDonald’s.
UCP has joined the Retail Solution Providers Association and will be attending the RetailNOW show this July in Nashville. If you would like to meet at the show and discuss the future of payments in the self-service space send me a message.
Description of company Unattended Card Payments is a Vegas-based P2PE Validated Key Injection Facility and value-added-reseller. UCP specializes in assisting kiosk manufacturers, and self-service solution providers, with the consulting and support that is vital to the successful deployment of unattended payment terminals. UCP also carries attended and mobile devices from leading manufacturers.Why did you join RSPA? To increase our visibility as a consultant and hardware value-added-reseller of unattended payment technologies to retailers, restaurants, hotels, and any other company looking to expand their current offering to include self-service.
What are the core values of your company?
We pride ourselves on having a holistic understanding of the players in the unattended payment space and offering unbiased information on which payment solution provider’s overall offering aligns most with our client’s operational and strategic objectives. It is important to us that our clients feel educated about all their options and ultimately decide what is best for them. Our top-notch presales approach is augmented by our post-sale commitment to superior customer service.
What verticals do you serve?
Retail, Hospitality, Restaurant, Leisure, Entertainment, Bill Pay, Transportation, Parking, and more! You can find self-service kiosks everywhere these days!
What products/services do you provide?
Cashless payment solutions consulting, payment software, and payment hardware.
Name one fun fact that makes your company different from others.
We are a tight-knit family-run organization. You’ll see a lot of the same surnames amongst senior leadership. Just about every employee is someone else’s spouse, sibling, previous co-worker, or friend from college.
What is the most encouraging thing you see for the future of the retail IT industry? The adoption of self-service technologies on a vast scale of course!
Editors Note: We have direct experience using TDS Touch and found them to be very reliable, very cost-effective and many are designed as drop-in replacement for premium EloTouch
Based in Silicon valley Since 2003
Our Touch Screen Solution Products
Touch display solution manufacturer providing complete customized touchscreen solutions from 10“- 55” for POS, self-service kiosks, retail environments, digital signage, and more. Customization includes:
Customized Sizes & Glass
Cover glass sizes up to 86″ and 8mm thick
Custom sizes, shapes, and aspect ratios
Strengthened glass (chemical, heat tempered)
Glass treatments including
anti-glare
anti-friction
anti-reflection
IR blockers
privacy filters
Our Service
Touch Screen Solution Provider
High-value performance：Complete in the specification and offering all leading touch technology
Efficiency: From order to delivery within four weeks
We work with your needs: Complete testing, complete certification of system
DigitalBusiness also acts as a reseller for TDS Touch and offers a 15 inch and 21 inch All-In-One desktop computer (Windows, Android or Linux). Approximate cost is $750 for 15 and $1350 for the 21. See the All-In-One Touch Computer Solutions products page at DigitalBusiness.us
Consumer buying behaviors have evolved throughout recent years. Some of that is driven by technological advances, some by social and economic shifts, and some by consumers simply wanting more flexibility.
Shortly after the pandemic started, people flocked to fast-food establishments because they had contactless ordering, touchless pick-ups, and standardized menus, making the whole process simple and convenient. It provided an experience that was familiar, affordable, quick, and didn’t require a lot of in-person interaction.
And now we’re seeing many of those efficiencies, especially around the logistics of orders and pick-ups, increasingly borrowed by other elements of the food-service industry, from fast-casual, all the way through to and including other aspects of hospitality, retail, and even healthcare.
We’re all looking for simple, flexible, on-demand experiences. Interacting or buying from a kiosk or on a mobile app is much more convenient and efficient than making your way to the front counter.
Consumer-focused companies will need to invest in the data, technology, and systems required if they are going to deliver the kinds of exceptional experiences that will give them an edge over the competition and position them as customer-experience leaders.
Consumers want the purchase or patient journey to be as frictionless as possible, and in order to deliver on experience, there has to be close collaboration between the physical and digital channels along with innovation in building omnichannel capabilities. Whether the person is interacting with you from a desktop or mobile device, by kiosk, telephone, or a brick-and-mortar point, it has to be seamless.
Regardless of the industry, when it comes to serving the customer of the future, the key is to focus on being client-centric.
Customers Look For
Convenience
Control
Personalization
Self-Service Convenience
There’s a lot to be said for convenience. We’re all time-starved and looking for instant gratification. The trick is to remove all unnecessary obstacles in the customer or patient journey so consumers can achieve their objectives quickly and easily.
Covid-19 has only amplified the need for easy access to products and services, convenience, and relevant information. And delivering this kind of convenience has been shown to increase loyalty.
Consumers want service providers to look at the following ways of enhancing convenience:
Minimize waiting times
Manage queues/wait time effectively
Reduce ambiguity–explain exactly what I need to do next at all points in my task or purchase journey
Make my time investment feel worth it
So as each of our industries continues down its path of digitally transforming the customer experience, it’s important for each business to test the full experience and confirm that it makes sense.
For example, offering contactless check-in or a digital key on your phone from a hotel is great, provided the guest doesn’t need anything else to come and go as they please and enjoy their stay.
Unfortunately, when that digital check-in is performed over the app, we are discovering that sometimes there are pieces of the physical check-in process that have now been eliminated (or forgotten), but still need to be performed.
If the guest requires a parking pass to place in their vehicle, we need to think about another way to deliver that pass without asking them to wait in the check-in line. In some locations, waiting in line might not be a big deal, but if you consider large hotels and resorts like those in Las Vegas, long check-in lines are not how you want to kick off the guest experience.
While most digital keys work great, if the reservation wasn’t made in your name, it can be quite an ordeal to complete identity verification for another individual to get that digital key.
Self-service kiosks, unlike phones, can provide physical deliverables, like a parking pass, a wristband or even an encoded hotel key. And these kiosks can perform the required security checks to ensure continued safety.
Bottom line, we need to look at the whole process and ensure we haven’t created a service gap as we modernize and automate processes. Review every part of the experience to ensure guest wait times have been minimized and confirm you haven’t created ambiguity or another hoop for the customer to jump through.
Customer Control – Put the User in Control
With the rapid proliferation of technology at our fingertips, consumers are indicating they prefer the control that self-service options provide them. If it’s simply fast-food ordering from a kiosk or app or self-checkout at a retail or grocery store, consumers are increasingly drawn to self-service methods.
But why?
Minimize Errors by Staff
When you put the customer in control of checking-in, ordering, or the payment process, it minimizes the errors made by order takers. You don’t have to worry about either party misunderstanding the name, the order, or entering the wrong items. The user is less likely to make an error when they’re entering their own information.
Self-Service Customization Benefits
Consumers feel comfortable customizing their orders when they’re inputting the information themselves. If someone else is taking their order, they might feel pressured by people waiting in line behind them. Self-service kiosks will give people the chance to see a full list of modifications and make more informed choices, which leads to greater customer satisfaction.
How To Shorten Lines
Think back to the long snake lines at airline check-in counters. Just seeing that line created anxiety for travelers. Now that many airlines offer self-service check-in kiosks and mobile apps, the experience has been enhanced dramatically. This also puts the customer in control because they can decide if they’d like to wait in line or self-serve.
Customer Personalization by Self-Service
It all begins with data. Many service providers have the data, contextual, timely information that can dramatically improve and personalize the experience.
Personalized marketing can be something as simple as including a person’s name in an email or as complex as notifying them about a service they’re interested in is now available.
Self-Service Benefits
In order to deliver personalization, the organization might collect data on the person from a number of sources. This data might come from customer profiles or behavioral data from brand interaction, or it could be data purchased from another organization. Some brands are even using AI for hyper-personalization.
A business can benefit from personalization as it can help build and maintain customer engagement which often leads to purchases. It helps to create a stronger brand image and greater customer loyalty.
But there are risks too. When you collect that data and store it, you’re responsible for keeping it private and ensuring that it is only used with customer permission. You also have to ensure that you aren’t using it with aggressive, insensitive, or stalking tactics.
Personalization was once limited only to targeted offers. But this now can extend to the entire customer experience. Customers want personalization throughout their interaction because it enables them to allocate their time and money to their preferences.
The challenge here is that if we give you access to all our data, we’re expecting you to use it to enhance our experience, not just your sales opportunities. If I’m willing to sign up for your loyalty program and I use that program to book my next stay, I’ve agreed to give you my data. And many people are willing to give up their data, but you need to know that they want something in exchange. How will you deliver value in return?
This is where many organizations need to review the customer experience and ensure it’s being used to attract, engage and retain customers. Mapping the end-to-end customer experience to identify any pain points is necessary.
Pandemic or no pandemic, the customer is still king. But the customers of the future will expect more. Olea Kiosks has tremendous experience in helping our clients deliver an enhanced user experience throughout the customer journey. If you’d like to discuss how self-service kiosks can be used to boost productivity and improve the guest experience, contact us now to schedule a call.
Bill Payment Kiosks going in at Frankfort, KY from Lane Report — Courthouse Kiosks — Kentuckians will be able to pay court costs, fines and fees at ATM-like contraptions in select courthouses across Kentucky by next year.
The Kiosk Tradeshow and Kiosk Event Calendar is now back in operation! It has been in inflicted hiatus since March of 2020 but big shows in Vegas in August (HIMSS) and we are attending physical show here in Denver in October for Fast Casual.
Mental Health Kiosks by Amazon — AmaZen kiosks giving off the wrong vibe article from techspot. Everybody likes to beat up on Amazon.
New scanner kiosk from Pyramid — Each wing of the kiosk includes a printer, a kiosk payment module, an optional scale and twelve handheld scanners.
New Fulfillment Channels (Ways to Buy)
New catalog (with pricing) for All-In-One Computers, Touchscreens, Browser Lockdown, Digital Signage CMS and kiosk remote monitoring is live from Digital Business
RFP and RFIs of Note This Week?
100 units or so for internet services for DMV customers at all DMV locations.
Photo of the Week?
We are going to go with the new Burger King Self-Order Pickup. Not a big fan of the “lollypop” format but to their credit the AudioNav from Storm Interface is attached for accessibility. We’ll give them points for that. Most retailers going cheap are the same ones that do not provide accessible technology (and more liability down the road).
Video of the Week
There was a big RFP for temperature kiosks this week from Federal Government and so we’ll opt for nice video of the Olea Kiosks production floor with lots of temperature kiosks, both standup and counter, being prepared for shipment. These units also can be repurposed later for visitor check-in worth noting.
Automated Border Control Kiosks Reach 71 Installations
C. Maxine Most Principal, Acuity Market Intelligence
Border authorities have embraced digital identification and biometric-based automation to simplify and accelerate border control processing. Acuity’s latest report on border control kiosks reveals that 71 installations deploying 2283 border control kiosks are active at 59 ports of entry across the globe. These include Automated Border Control (ABC) Kiosks, Automated Passport Control (APC) Kiosks, and Primary Inspection Kiosks (PIK).
As airports and other ports of entry struggle to keep up with increasing volumes of global travelers, automation is the only solution for border control. Integrated digital Identification technology, including document readers and biometrics, allow border agents to securely facilitate low risk international travelers while focusing expensive, high value human resources on genuine threats.
The number of border control kiosks increased more than 60% over last year with CAGR projected to exceed 20% for the next 3 years. The US and Canada dominate the market landscape with 60% and 35% of all border control kiosks deployed. Though only about 100 kiosks are deployed at ten locations across the Caribbean, Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East, Acuity expects the use of these highly efficient and cost-effective border control solutions to migrate broadly within existing regions while expanding to include Asia, Latin America, and Africa over the next few years.”
Today, kiosks are deployed at just a few cruise ports, but Acuity expects broader use of kiosks at more seaports and land crossings over the next three to five years. Vancouver Airport’s Innovative Travel Solutions group dominates the global market with more than 60% kiosks unit and installation market share.
Acuity Market Intelligence’s “APC Kiosk Deployment List” (http://www.acuity-mi.com/APCdep.php) provides details for all kiosk border control deployments including location, program, owner, units, vendors, costs, and market share analysis.
About Acuity Market Intelligence: Acuity Market Intelligence (http://www.acuity-mi.com) is an emerging technology strategy and research consultancy with a proven record of accurately anticipating biometric and digital identity market trends. Follow us on twitter @cmaxmost
Peerless-AV Outdoor Displays Webinar Tomorrow 3/21, 11 am CT
This special webinar training focuses on the two types of outdoor displays offered by Peerless-AV. The webinar will cover the Xtreme™ outdoor display, which is fully weather proof and impact resistant, making is perfect for commercial applications. The webinar will also feature the UltraView™ outdoor TV, which is perfect for residential and light commercial applications.
There has never been an outdoor daylight readable display built to withstand the harsh outdoor elements like the Peerless-AV® Xtreme™. The fully-sealed weatherproof design provides the ultimate protection, while the patented Dynamic Thermal Transfer™ system passively cools and thermally heats the display eliminating the need for filters, vents or fans. With the highest water and dust ingress protection ratings in its class, the Xtreme display is a perfect choice for any indoor or outdoor location.
For more information on Outdoor see Outdoor Kiosks here on KI.
Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.’s newest account executive Pete Balistrieri brings more than two decades of experience working with global brands on integrated marketing campaigns. His extensive understanding of targeted brand strategies and consumer preferences allows him to partner with his clients to effectively impact their customers’ purchasing decisions. Pete is based out of Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.’s headquarters near Milwaukee.
See latest issue of Systems Contractor News pages 20 and 21 Nice interviews with Tomer Mann of 22Miles and also Rob Goldberg of Panasonic on what the future holds. Highlights: Tomer new stuff immersive experience centers, video walls, mobile controlled and multi-device wayfinding Content management systems will move to next generation promoting interaction and two-way communication Rob Not… Read More »
Click for full size image — Ingenico pci compliance kiosk credit card reader
Editor Notes: Updates to this are found at the end of the article. Example is three new devices which are EMV Level 3 and PCI PTS version 6. Other new emerging “now available” include all types of connectivity including 4G and fallback to 3G/2G. Bluetooth, ethernet, and even Smart Cards now. Video of the new Self-4000 being received by Alveni.
We’ve fielded several questions regarding PCI Compliance for kiosks so it seems a good time for us to provide some updated info. Thanks to Rob at UCP , Bruce with Ingenico and Pazit with Otiglobal for helping with the background detail.
To discuss your options and get price quotes contact [email protected]. UCP provides free-of-charge consultations to help identify the best solution or solutions for your physical and digital environment, as well as your self-service use case. Some gateways can do things other gateways can’t for instance, and UCP can help you cut through the weeds and get to the most suitable payments partner quickly.
Kiosk Association positions
We support and recommend using modern technology for card readers
We are a paying Participating Organization with the PCI SSC
Right now we are just looking at Ingenico readers and OTI Global readers.
Are your typical transactions below $25 or above
Best to engineer modularity and the ability to use pinpad or not. Outdoor is another consideration
Ensure the device is PCI-PTS v4 at minimum (which Ingenicos for kiosks are those?)
All v3 Ingenico kiosk hardware has been end of life for over a year. The iSelf which we are still selling is PCI v4 as is the iUC285. These are eligible for installation into net new kiosk deployments until April 30, 2023. The Self lineup is PCI-PTS v5, good for net new installations until April 30, 2026. Note: Historically i is possible to recertify to a later PCI-PTS version without changing the form factor of the unit provided nothing in the later specification required it. Ingenico did this with the iPP and iSC for example. I am not saying they will definitely do that with the Self, but there is a precedent for it if a device is a popular workhorse.
v3.2.1 Otiglobal includes the Trio IQ which provides
Detail — both readers have water evacuation drain holes. Of course taking all your normal precautions regarding direct sunlight primarily for daylight readability and thermal load concerns. Follow best practices for facing kiosk North or South, avoid East and West facing installations. Instruct cleaning crews to not power wash kiosk etc. etc.
Audio
no commissioning required — this is a big deal. Maintenance and service and downtime can be ruthless.
In detail — This is a time and money saver in that it no longer takes two technicians with special issued smart cards to install the hardware in the enclosure any more. This was originally a requirement for PIN entry capable payment terminals that are comprised of individual components (the iUP PIN pad and iUR card reader for example). With attended terminals the reader and PIN pad share a common plastic housing that is equipped with all kinds of tamper sensors. With these components, the kiosk enclosure is their common housing so anti-removal/anti-tamper sensors were installed on these devices so it can tell when it is mounting in a kiosk or not. Additionally the smart cards and commissioning process was a way to do a digital handshake between the PIN pad and its reader mate so they would trust each other with the idea being if one of the components was removed and replaced with a rogue device the other component wouldn’t trust the rogue device. Additionally if a bad actor did remove one of the components with this intention it would trip the anti-removal sensors anyway so they’d be unsuccessful from the very first step. With the Self 2000, 4000, and 5000 the PIN pad and reader share a common housing as they are “all in one” units so no trust handshake needed between PIN pad and reader any longer. Beyond that this part of the PCI-PTS specification was deprecated.
More detail — Commissioning is not a manufacturer’s requirement but rather one that PCI determined was the best way to confirm that a terminal had been installed by an authorized party. This is no longer a requirement under PCI v5, so the Self 2000, 4000 or 5000 do not require it. The Self 7000 and 8000, a modular solution to be used together and due to be released later this year may require commissioning, but our goal is to avoid it if possible. Commissioning does not have anything to do with key injection, it’s merely to put the terminal into a “ready” state once installed within the kiosk.
What About Verifone devices?
There is no Verifone device that would be a true comparison to the new Self 2000, 4000, and 5000 line. They don’t currently have a PCI-designated CAT (cardholder activated terminal, aka unattended terminal) that has PIN on display, or is an all-in-one, or has an integrated QR code reader.
Verifone, to our knowledge, does not have competing devices to match the Self family. They simply haven’t invested in unattended terminals, preferring to focus on their Zivelo acquisition and to push customers to use attended terminals on kiosks. While this works, this is not always in the best interest of the customer in our opinion as these terminals aren’t built for self-service use and may face shorter life spans when used in this manner.
Smart Vending Card Reader Solution Videos
The Ingenico 2000, 4000 and 5000 readers are also targeted for Smart Vending. Here is a video on that segment by Ingenico.
Here is a video by Otiglobal on Smart Vending
Some Background on Key Injection
This is an older write-up on Key Injection but still relevant at very least from point of view in 2015. Terms and requirements for this are dated to 2015
Key Injection Service is the secure process by which payment hardware (credit card terminal/ reader/ pin pad) gets loaded with the encrypted Debit and Data keys which in effect “marries” the terminal to the merchant’s processor and bank to make the device functional and secure. Debit Keys are now called PIN Keys. This process is mandated by PCI (Payment Card Industry) to mask and protect card holder data during the transaction. A debit key is needed to scramble the pin data and a data key is needed to scramble card data. A debit key is mandatory if a customer wants to accept debit cards. Customers accepting only credit will not need key injection.(1)
Only an ESO (Encryption Service Organization) can perform the key injection service to be PCI compliant.
A debit key encrypts the customer’s debit card personal identification number (PIN) when entered during the tender process at the point of sale. The debit key is loaded into the terminal by an ESO, like our key-injection facility, and allows the transaction terminal to complete a debit transaction by securely authenticating the PIN with the issuing bank. This key is not used during a “credit” transaction where a signature is used for authentication or to encrypt the actual card data. This key is always required if you are accepting debit transactions due to PCI standards.(1)
A Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) key encrypts the customer’s card information when swiping a credit or debit card at the point of sale. It is also commonly referred to a data key or end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This works separately from the debit key. P2PE keys are recommended but are not required by current PCI standards. P2PE keys lower the risk of unauthorized interception of sensitive card information during the transmission from the payment terminal to the payment processor. P2PE keys must be injected through an ESO like debit keys.(1)
Ms. McInerny also pointed out that only about half of the equipment is being shipped with encryption, and at the same time, business is growing exponentially. “Point-to-point encryption is an excellent solution because of its security. P2P is a great workaround and protects the merchants.”
“Resellers should empower the end user now, and not wait for the processors to tell them what to do.”
Now – last key point – devices purchased last year, or early in 2015, may have been shipped without the final encrypted keys in place.
Retailers should find out NOW if their device needs injection and make plans to either have it done remotely, or to ship their terminal to an authorized center. Retailers with equipment should contact their own supplier about this. Retailers who have changed banks or processors may also have to have their equipment re-injected with the new key.
ONGOING “After Original Publish” UPDATES
As soon as start proclaiming v5, along come v6 iterations. These are from Ingenico and are preliminary specs. Worth noting on the audio front, the 7000 is your conventional Beep while the 7500 and 8000 are both polyphonic WAV file capable.
Historically when EMV is discussed it is L1 or L2. Well, now we have L3 (see new Ingenico v6s above).
What does EMV® Level 3 testing mean?
EMV Level 3 (L3) testing aims to validate the integration of an EMV payment or cash dispensing terminal with any merchant or bank systems to ensure end-to-end transaction acceptance.
L3 testing includes the series of processes required to ensure that a new or upgraded terminal (hardware and/or software) meets the specific requirements and recommendations of the individual payment systems before being deployed in the field.
As background, EMVCo has historically been involved in managing Level 1 and Level 2 acceptance device testing processes, collectively known as Type Approval.
• Level 1 focuses on the physical hardware capabilities of a payment card or device, ensuring its electro-mechanical components meet the required specifications.
• Level 2 focuses on the software or firmware interactions between the card and terminal, specifically driven on the terminal side by a component called the ‘EMV Kernel’.
For Level 1 and 2 testing, the requirements for compliance are detailed in the EMV Chip Specifications. More information about the Type Approval process can be found here.
Level 1 and Level 2 testing is typically performed in ‘component’ mode – meaning that each area is tested independently of the other, and typically only within a laboratory environment. In contrast, L3 requires that the terminal be complete with its
EMVCo-approved hardware, software kernel, and payment application in place, and must be connected to a test environment or host simulator which mimics authorisation responses from payment systems.
No longer the realm of outdoor or indoor mass display, moving into corporate, banking and retail spaces
98 inches is the topmost “common” benchmark
RLCD displays making inroads in outdoor (no backlight needed)
Large displays in drive-thru and menuboards for restaurants increasing
Fine pitch LCD becoming option of choice
Although the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be on the decline, many of the changes will be with us for the long term. An increase in the number of workers doing their jobs from home, services such as curbside pickup at retail stores, continued social distancing recommendations and contactless payment at the point of sale are among the ways of doing business that will likely be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.
And as face-to-face interaction becomes less of a priority in the marketplace, organizations of all types are reconsidering the ways they communicate with their customers. In many cases, they’re incorporating large-format displays to accomplish the task.
“Previously, large-format displays most commonly were used for immersion and “wow factor” in experience centers or lobbies,” said John Steinhauer, vice president entertainment sales, Americas at global technology company Barco. “Now, these technologies are becoming more common for practicality in board rooms and large meeting spaces as workplaces accommodate both employee distancing rules and remote workers.”
With a trillion dollar-plus infrastructure budget being proposed by the federal government, experts say we’ll see much more digital spread through the community, not just for advertising but for information dissemination and other uses as well. Large-format displays will be at the center of those efforts.
“Since COVID seems to be on the decline, there has been a large spike in people traveling and participating in outdoor activities,” said Nick Lee, chief technology officer with global digital signage company Keyser.
“Digital doesn’t need to be the typical advertising or information,” Lee said. “It can be engaging the public. For instance, two strangers can utilize a 10′ LED pylon to play Pong for 30 seconds to win a free drink at an amusement park. They shouldn’t be treated as technology eyesores but created as artistic features that combines grace, beauty and technology into one.”
A matter of size
digital signage solution Keyser
Before getting into a discussion of the role large-format displays will play in a pandemic-aware world, it’s helpful to get a sense of the various types of displays on the market.
Twenty years ago, a 42-inch LCD display was considered massive, while today those displays are available in sizes as big as 98 inches or more. LCD displays leverage the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to create an image. The liquid crystals do not emit light directly, instead using a backlight or reflector to create an image. A resolution of 4K is becoming common, with 8k displays beginning to come down in price.
It’s unlikely displays in sizes much greater than 98 inches will be in common use, simply because of the price jump.
“You can build panels that are higher than that, but there’s going to be a very large jump in price,” said Ben Hardy, Senior Product Manager at Sharp NEC Display Solutions of America. “There are 8k 120s that are absolutely massive and beautiful, but the price jump from a 98 is at least four or five times.
In addition, there’s the difficulty in transporting such displays. A pothole on the interstate could potentially send a $10,000 display back to the factory for repairs, if not to the trash heap. Instead, a similar effect can be created via a video wall comprised of multiple 42-inch displays.
“I think large-format LCD is about as big as it will get, as the Korean and Chinese display manufacturers are not investing in billion-dollar manufacturing plants that would be necessary to make even larger LCD display mother glass,” said Dave Haynes, founder and editor of the digital signage news and information site Sixteen:Nine
Variations on the LCD concept include the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. Because the pixels in an OLED display emit visible light, there’s no need for a backlight. That allows OLED displays to be extremely thin, and in some cases, flexible. Although visually appealing, OLED displays are still relatively pricey compared to their LCD counterparts.
Transparent LCD displays are based on the same technology as typical LCD displays, except for the backlight being eliminated. Instead, transparent LCD displays depend on ambient lighting to create a visible image. That makes them suitable for applications such as the door of a food or drink case in a grocery store. Images on the door are made visible by the lighting in the case.
Another format making inroads is reflective LCD, or RLCD. Reflective LCD displays depend on ambient light to illuminate the image and don’t require a backlight. Because of that power consumption is low and the displays can be extremely thin. RLCD displays are a good solution for outdoor applications, although they’ll need additional lighting to be seen in the dark.
“While RLCD panels themselves may not be 84 inches for more now, you can tile them side by side to create larger displays,” said Mike Casper, co-founder and CEO of display technology company Azumo. “And the bezel is thin enough to where it won’t be noticeable from a distance.”
And making a strong showing in the large-format domain are LED displays. Such displays use the same technology behind those time-and-temperature signs that were once a feature on the side of the local bank. The difference is that pixel pitch, or the distance between individual pixels, continues to shrink, with some displays boasting a pixel pitch of 0.9 mm or even smaller. What that means is that the viewing distance, or the distance from the display the viewer needs to be to perceive a quality image, continues to fall as well. There are a variety of ways to calculate optimum viewing distance, but one common method is to multiply every 1 mm of pixel pitch by 10 to get the viewing distance in feet. So if the display features a 0.9 mm pixel pitch, viewers should be at least 9 feet away from the screen for the best effect.
Advantages of LED displays include the ability to manufacture them in virtually any shape or size. In addition, those screens can be shipped to the deployment and assembled on site. If a panel fails, it can be easily replaced. They’re much brighter than LCD displays, making them great for outdoor and/or high ambient light situations. Brightness can be easily adjusted depending on conditions.
“Large footprint video walls are already being supplanted by LED video walls, despite costs that can be three times or more the capital cost of LCD for the same physical footprint,” Haynes said. “The people who spec big video walls also like the absence of seams, longer operating life and easier maintenance.”
On the downside, LED displays can be expensive and power consumption is higher than an LCD display of comparable size, although both of those issues are being addressed as the technology improves.
First, let’s take a look at where large-format LCD displays are likely to be prominent:
Restaurants
The restaurant industry was among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the National Restaurant Association estimating that more than 110,000 eating and drinking places closed either temporarily or for good in 2020.
Still, one of the restaurant verticals that fared reasonably well during the pandemic (when they could find workers) was the quick-serve segment. Thanks to existing drive-thrus, they could serve customers in a close-to-contactless manner. The challenge, though, was to speed up drive-thru service for the lack of dine-in revenue. Many accomplished that by trimming their menus, eliminating items that took longer to prepare and spotlighting higher-margin offerings.
In addition, some took the opportunity to incorporate digital menu boards at the drive-thru to speed up service. A study conducted by Atlanta-based research firm SeeLevel HX found that the use of pre-sell menu boards that display menu highlights before the customer reached the speaker cut service times at the drive-thru by an average of 13.2 seconds. Those with digital menu boards were also able to update their menus easily, avoiding the printing costs associated with static signage. The SeeLevel HX study found that those with digital menu boards reduced service times by an additional 12.3 seconds, while digital “order confirmation” boards not only increased order accuracy but sped up service times as well, by an average of 17.4 seconds. Incorporating presell boards, digital menu boards and order confirmation boards as part of a complete drive-thru solution can lower service times by as much as 42 seconds or more, critical when revenue depends on serving customers as quickly as possible.
And because the viewing distance from the customer to the board is likely to be relatively short, LCD displays will likely continue to dominate the QSR space.
Education
The pressure is on to reinstate in-person instruction, but social distancing remains a concern. One of the ways schools can address social distancing concerns while still delivering face-to-face instructions is via the use of large-format displays in lecture halls. Instructors can supplement lectures with PowerPoint presentations and/or videos, displaying those images on a screen large enough for those in the back of the hall to see clearly.
“In recent years, schools have dipped their toes into the waters of digital presentation technology—digital whiteboards, short-throw projection systems, etc.,” wrote Victoria Sanville, National Sales Manager, Public Sector Vertical at LG Business Solutions USA, in an article appearing on the education site spaces4learning.com.
“But the future isn’t about presentations; it’s not defined by teachers showing on a screen what students need to learn,” Sanville wrote. “It’s about students and teachers actively and easily engaging with what’s on a screen—manipulating it, collaborating over it, even determining what ‘it’ is.”
Modern display technology allows for this classroom engagement, Sanville wrote.
“Interactive digital boards (or Interactive whiteboards)—that is, large-format displays with integrated touch functionality—serve two important purposes,” she wrote. “Touchscreen technology allows elementary school students to interact with learning material, while boards with screen-sharing capabilities allow upper classes to see the work that a single student performs on her personal computing device—she’s able to wirelessly share what’s on her screen via the interactive whiteboard.”
Of course, cost remains a concern. Lecture halls with large-format displays may be a way to have a single professor teach in multiple locations at once. Wayfinding and sports presentations will be a factor as well.
Retail
The enclosed shopping mall is on the way out, retail industry insiders stay. A 2020 report from retail intelligence firm Coresight Research predicts that as many as 25 percent of the roughly 1,000 shopping malls in the United States will close in the next five years, with the pandemic speeding up a trend that had been gaining steam over the past decade. In the ultimate irony, many of those vacant malls are being bought up by the company that contributed to their demise: Amazon. The online retailer has converted about 25 shopping malls into fulfillment centers over the past five years.
Replacing the enclosed shopping mall is the open-air retail center. Advantages of the open-air concept compared with enclosed malls include lower operating costs, increased visibility for individual stores and a sense of increased safety when it comes to social distancing.
The challenge for store operators is to capture the attention of shoppers either from their cars or from the sidewalk. Large-format displays at the street, in windows and on sidewalk kiosks will be part of meeting that challenge.
And of course, once the customers are inside the store the same rules regarding digital signage apply. Video walls and other in-store signage will continue to deliver messaging to shoppers. More and more, though, deployers will incorporate IoT devices such as temperature sensors and Bluetooth beacons to deliver more targeted and personalized content.
Transportation and smart city efforts
Lockdowns pressed the pause button on many smart city initiatives, but they are likely to be picking up shortly. Kiosks and large-format displays are a part of those efforts. Some cities are realizing that the pandemic spotlighted the need for smart city technology.
According to a recent survey of senior officials from 167 cities across 82 countries, sponsored by technology company Oracle, 65 percent of city leaders noted the biggest lesson learned during the pandemic was just how crucial smart city programs were for their future. In addition, 37 percent of city leaders said COVID-19 highlighted the need to invest more in upgrading core infrastructure.
The pandemic highlighted several issues facing cities, including transit and mobility and Internet connectivity for digital services, teleworking and remote learning. The pandemic also shone a spotlight on the role of data and technology in delivering citizen services and making informed government decisions. And as a sense of normalcy begins to return to cities, some are incorporating technology as a way to boost efficiency.
“Pre-pandemic, cities were in relatively good shape,” Steven Goldsmith, who directs the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, told the news site Govtech.com. “Then you wake up one day and you’ve gone from 4 percent unemployment to 20 percent unemployment. Your revenues have gone from a surplus to a really bad negative. And you’ve got a lot of ill people in your community straining your resources. These are disruptions like never before in the modern U.S. city.”
Large-format displays have long had a place in transportation, and they’ll continue to do so, albeit with some enhancements. In addition to displaying arrival/departure information at transportation hubs, large format displays are being incorporated into ticketing and wayfinding kiosks.
“Large format signage is where the kiosk industry has moved to and vice-versa,” said Neil Farr, managing director of Boston-based Acquire Digital. The 22-year-old company is a global leader in innovative digital signage software and interactive experiences.
“No matter what the format of display, ‘smart’ information can be shown – this includes messages like the best place to stand on a train platform for a less-crowded carriage, which airport security queue is shorter, and which area of the parking garage to park to get the best location,” Farr said. “In our case, we are just about to roll out our ‘smart signage’ integration of our wayfinder and DOOH advertising platform, so that adverts in the airport are only shown for retailers who are open and nearby automatically, with distance and direction automatically added, and issues such as flight delays and cancellations trigger and advise to visit a restaurant or bar if open.”
In addition, Acquire is enhancing its smart city and ticketing solutions with cameras, as with its Video Link Ticket Machines, to allow users to connect with a remote agent for assistance with issues such as buying tickets or journey planning information.
The other side of the coin
These are just some of the situations where large-format LCD displays will play a role going forward. Let’s take a look at LED displays.
Although fine-pitch LED has just begun to make inroads into the indoor market, it’s becoming the display of choice for outdoor applications. About 75% of the LED market is outdoor displays. Fine-pitch LEDs no longer limit the end user on the standard 16:9 aspect ratio of LCD.
“There are lots of applications for LED displays in outdoor settings such as sports stadiums, the side of buildings, digital billboards and so forth,” said Keyser president Kim Keyser-Clisham. “It’s easy to create a configuration of any size or shape.
Fine pitch LED is slowly encroaching on the large-format LCD display market, although the price point is not yet competitive with LCDs. Still, this doesn’t mean that within the next 5-10 years we won’t see significant growth in the market for indoor and outdoor LED displays.
Here’s where LED displays are likely to shine going forward:
Entertainment
Click for full size — LVCC LED digital signage (22Miles software)
Large-format LED displays were playing a role in entertainment long before the pandemic. In 2014, for example, Panasonic unveiled a $12 million LED “Big Board” In Louisville, Ky., at Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby. At the time, it was the largest 4K video board in the world at 52 meters wide and 27.5 meters tall. Content included multiple split-screen presentations of video, images, data and live and recorded programming The board offered fans in the 55,638 clubhouse and grandstand seats and the thousands of fans in the track’s 26-acre infield a clear view of the action.
“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Churchill Downs and deliver a 15,224-square-foot board to an icon of the sports world,” said Jim Doyle, President of Panasonic Eco Solutions North America in a press release announcing the effort. “4K content is truly the wave of the future and we are excited to bring avid racing fans this technology that gives them the ability to view content on a big screen as if they were up close and personal with the racetrack.”
In 2018, Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters incorporated a 64.5m wide x 12m high LED display supplied by Shenzhen, China-based INFiLED as the backdrop of his Us + Them concert tour. At 21.8 million pixels and a 5.9 mm pixel pitch, the display was the highest-resolution touring LED screen in the world to date.
“As always with our displays, and events of this nature, content is key,” said infiLED Head of Engineering Si Jones in a release. “We were blown away by the whole production and the way the show captured the crowd. The music and atmosphere, supported by incredible content on such a significant display screen, just created an amazing all-round experience.”
And Disney’s Star Wars-based series The Mandalorian substitutes LED displays for green screens. According to the film industry publication American Cinematographer, the filming set, known as The Volume, consists of a curved, 6-meter-high-by-55-meter-wide LED video wall comprised of 1,326 individual LED screens with a 2.84mm pixel pitch. Topping that was an LED video ceiling, set directly onto the LED wall.
“The Volume allows us to bring many different environments under one roof,” Visual effects supervisor Richard Bluff of visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic told the publication. “We could be shooting on the lava flats of Nevarro in the morning and in the deserts of Tatooine in the afternoon. Of course, there are practical considerations to switching over environments, but we [typically did] two environments in one day.”
Background scenes were displayed on the LED wall during filming. The wall offered several advantages compared with a green screen, including eliminating the cost of adding those effects in post-production and making it easier for actors to immerse themselves into the scene.
Advertising
Most of us have seen LED billboards along the country’s highways and byways, and anyone who’s been to New York’s Times Square has been inundated with ads from countless LED displays.
“We’ve seen a rush to continued higher resolution, and the price point continues to come down as there’s more scale and more product,” said Kyle Dines, VP Sports and Indoor at Danville, Ill.-based Watchfire Signs.
Watchfire has about 65,000 LED displays operating across four distinct markets: out-of-home, on-premise, indoor and sports.
“The other big thing is just the overall flexibility of design of LED,” Dines said. “We’re seeing architectural uses, things besides just as a flat screen on the wall, and really odd-shaped applications.”
Watchfire is the company behind the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, the largest single video screen in the world. The quarter-mile-long canopy display consists of more than 49 million LEDs. suspended 90 feet in the air.
Other innovative applications include the Coca-Cola sign in Times Square. The sign has been updated many times since it was installed in 1920, but it’s the one unveiled in 2017 that demonstrated the potential for new opportunities in digital displays.
Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s first 3D robotic billboard, the sign measures 210.2 square meters and is made up of more than 1,700 moving LED cubes and 245 static cubes. The moving cubes can be programmed to create effects ranging from a wave rolling across the screen to flowing liquid to that of a flag waving in the breeze, and many more.
LED displays are being used to create 3D effects, such as in a digital signage art installation in Seoul, South Korea, manufactured by Samsung. The curved 80m x 20m display, called “the world’s largest 3D wave,” shows what appears to be a giant wall of water crashing inside a huge aquarium. The display is comprised of 31,000 LED panels installed at the Coex Artium in K-Pop Square in the city’s Gangnam district.
Other scenarios displayed on the screen include a rain forest, a giant whale and flowing 3D animation.
Or consider the signage wrapping around the sales center of real estate developer Kaisa Prosperity on the Guangzhou Baiyun Kaisa City Plaza in Guangdong province, China. The 275 sq m trapezoid-shaped LED wall displays everything from underwater scenes to robots. Inside the building, LED panels mounted on the ceiling show scenes of the galaxy.
“While in the short to medium-term, there’s no doubt in my mind that LCD will continue to reign supreme as the best manufacturer choice for large format displays, there’s been a strong R&D shift observable from LFD leaders like South Korea, Japan, and Europe to move focus away from LCD towards both LED subsets like MLED and other emerging light-emission techniques,” said Kaelum Ross, founder of technology site What in Tech and Project Manager at Fujitsu in the UK and Ireland.
“While this may be led by the mainstream market, I fully expect the focused research in this space to indirectly contribute towards the shift to non-LCD technology, similar to how the push of smartphone technology, due to its striking demand, has indirectly impacted manufacturing technology for PCs, laptops and VR,” Ross said.
A place for interactivity
Interactivity was a growing trend in digital signage before the COVID-19 pandemic, blurring the line between digital signage and self-service kiosks. But with consumers today hesitant to touch displays for fear of contracting COVID, what will be the place of interactive signage in a health-conscious world?
Many restaurants and other establishments shut down on-premises operations, during the pandemic, making the use of kiosks a moot point. But as those places reopen, the role of interactivity remains unclear.
Antimicrobial coatings for kiosks and other touchscreen displays had long been promoted as a solution for screens located in health care facilities, and interest in such solutions increased throughout 2020. Still, a report from New York-based Lux Research cautioned against making health claims regarding such coatings.
“COVID-19 has driven substantial interest in antimicrobial coatings this year and is proving to be a catalyst for antimicrobial research and funding,” Tiffany Hua, research associate at Lux Research, said in a news release.
“When considering the wide range of solutions used as preventive measures against COVID-19, it is important to understand the limitations of these technologies,” Hua said. “Metallic antimicrobial agents like silver and copper can be effective against both bacteria and viruses, but ensuring their effectiveness when dispersed in coating matrices still poses challenges.”
Editors Note: the most touted is antimicrobial coatings. These do not “kill” microbes, they inhibit bacteria growth once bacteria deposited. It takes time and operationally a touchscreen is repeatedly touched throughout the business cycle. The inhibit function never gets a chance. Example — If a touchscreen could go 72 hours post touch without any touching, then that original bacteria may have “starved” and died. The original recommendation to wipe down the screens periodically, if only with basic soap and water is still the best advice by far.
Antimicrobial coatings lack certainty and documentation around performance while still struggling to prove that their incorporation leads to better health outcomes, Hua said.
“Regulatory approval is another challenge, as new disinfectant and antimicrobial solutions must have EPA and FDA approval to make effectiveness claims. There are also health and environmental concerns that need to be addressed and have increased regulation and oversight. With a surge in research and funding, there will be less concern over performance and regulation.”
Others are exploring gesture controls as a way to incorporate touchless interactivity, leveraging cameras to detect hand motions and manipulate content on a display. Research firm CB Insights found more than 500 references to either hand gestures or gesture recognition in patent documents filed from 2016 through 1Q21, with the entertainment, health care, auto and retail industries poised to be the top beneficiaries of such applications. In addition, media mentions of “gesture recognition” or “gesture control” shot up dramatically during the second half of 2020, the firm said.
And while many are cautious about touching screens in public spaces, there’s one screen with which they have no trouble interacting: their smartphone display. That comfort level has spawned the development of applications that allow users to control the content on a digital display via their mobile device.
Several of these solutions incorporate a QR code on the screen that users can scan with their mobile device. They’re then connected to the display via the Internet and can manipulate content via the browser on their mobile device. There’s no Wi-Fi connection, and the user doesn’t need to download an application to connect. In addition to allowing users to interact with kiosks and other touchscreen displays without actually touching the screen, these solutions allow interactivity to be added to displays behind retail store windows, projected content and LED displays.
The final word
The world is slowly regaining a sense of normalcy, but it’s a safe bet that the way we interact and conduct business in the future will be much different than it was before 2020. We might be dispensing with masks and businesses may be reopening, but going forward we’ll likely be a bit more cognizant of social distancing, and many of us will be working remotely even after the pandemic is a distant memory. Organizations of all types are struggling to attract w
But to quote Albert Einstein, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Communication will continue to be the lifeblood of the world, and while the events of the past year have been tragic, they present a tremendous opportunity for kiosks, digital signage, and particularly, large format displays.
Payment kiosks are increasing in number and in the verticals where they are used. Many grocers and big box stores have implemented self-checkout to keep lines short, provide shoppers with greater convenience, and make the most of labor – one associate can manage multiple checkouts equipped with kiosks that accept payments rather than one traditional checkout lane.
Additionally, kiosks that accept payments are appearing in quick service and fast-casual restaurants, healthcare provider offices, utility and local government offices, and in a range of locations for accepting nonprofit donations.
1. Kiosk Payment via Facial Recognition with PopID
Drive-thru, quick service, and counter service restaurants in California have been the first to implement payment by facial recognition technology. PopID, a Cali Group company, developed this alternative kiosk payment option. Customers can sign up for a PopID account, link their credit or debit card, and then opt-in to start a facial recognition scan at any PopID-enabled business; successful scans process the payment instantly.
These kiosk payment solutions began popping up on college campuses. Cali Group CEO John Miller explained, “Young people that have grown up taking pictures of themselves and posting them on the internet have no problem with facial recognition.” Soon after gaining on-campus popularity, restaurants like Daddy’s Chicken. For businesses, implementing the solution has added benefits, including increased speed of service as well as lower payment processing fees for credit and debit transactions.
2. QR Code Payments
Another alternative kiosk payment option — and one that is quite affordable for small businesses– is QR code payment. Mobile phone camera technology enables customers to automatically read codes from several feet away and make a payment without requiring them to download apps. QR codes that direct customers to a payment page can be accessed from a customer display or printed onto a receipt.
With distanced, touchless payment experiences in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began, QR code payment adoption has seen a significant increase, driven in part by the high-profile partnership between CVS and PayPal.
3. Text-to-Pay Solutions
It’s no secret that mobile ordering increased due to COVID-19. For example, Yum Yum Brands saw a 40 percent uptick in mobile and kiosk ordering, representing 40 percent of sales in Q2 2020. However, for a first-time customer, downloading an app and setting it up with the personal information required to process the transaction may discourage them from the process. Text-to-pay solutions are designed to decrease this payment friction.
A text-to-pay solution allows a business to send a text message to a customer placing an order on a kiosk or a smartphone. The customer uses the link in the text to pay remotely. The solution can also trigger a real-time notification when the customer arrives to pick up the order.
Omnichannel Payments Grocery
Solutions Grocers Need in 2021
Grocery Omnichannel Payment
If you have provided solutions to the grocery vertical in the past, you probably focused on the terminal point of sale (POS), scales, barcode scanners, and card-present payments. In addition to the vertical changing since Q1 2020, your business has also had to transform by expanding your portfolio of grocery solutions to include:
Mobile devices for delivery drivers and staff managing curbside pickup
Mobile devices for staff that picks and fills orders
Mobile printers to print tags and labels that organize the picking, packaging and delivery processes
Mobile device management to ensure employees have functional devices throughout their shifts and that those devices are secure
Kiosk solutions for self-checkout and check-in for order pickup
Add-on solutions for delivery and route management
Robust inventory solutions that provide online shoppers with real-time information
Payment solutions capable of accepting contactless “tap-and-go” payments as well as mobile wallets
Self-Serve Order Kiosks Transforming Fast-Food Customer Experience
Congrats McDonalds: Today Grand Opening NYC Times Square wonderful McDonalds restaurant and 18 polytouch 32“ kiosks are ready to take orders. In close neighborhood, at AMC Theatre Times Square there are 16 polytouch 24“ units, selling cinema tickets since 2 years. Design, performance and reliability makes the difference.
The same principles for self-order kiosks and increasing sales in fast-food restaurants work across market verticals. At an airline kiosk, a simple upsell to get better seating usually works for example. In hospitality its much easier to click off on extra services at check-in.
This is a nice article writeup by the Mashed writer.
Highlights:
Self-Service Kiosks encourage people to spend more
20% on average
Larger sales than in-person
McDonalds saw 30% increase
Machines automatically upsell — counter people do not
Kiosks positively impact customer mood
Touch screens create “experiential and effective feelings” in customers
Excerpt:
As they become more efficient and user-friendly, self-serve kiosks are transforming the fast-food customer experience. Many of us have seen this firsthand. After all, who hasn’t taken some secret pleasure in flicking through a digital menu? However, as FoodTec discussed in a 2018 article, self-serve technology is not only making fast food service more efficient, but also subtly changing customer behavior. Namely, it is encouraging people to spend more.
The numbers speak for themselves. FoodTec has suggested that self-serve kiosks increase customer spending, on average, by 20%, and this figure is borne out by data presented in a 2015 Harvard Business Review article. According to the review, major chains, including Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Chilis have all reported self-serve kiosks generating larger sales than in-person ordering, usually by a margin of 20%. In one instance, McDonald’s even saw sales increase by as much as 30%. Self-serve kiosks aren’t just good for business — they’re great for business.
Extend Convenience with Payment Kiosks by Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.
Self-service kiosks provide a fast and secure method for customers to make bill payments in person.
Capable of accepting all forms of payment as well as providing change for cash transactions, Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.’s bill payment solution extends your customer service hours around the clock and seven days a week.
Placed in convenient locations, municipalities, utility companies, or any service provider can offer a one-stop solution for customers.
Payment kiosks can be used for:
Click for full size -Payment kiosks BMV
Healthcare – copays and bill payments
Education – registration fees and tuition payments
Municipal Government – permits and tax bills
Public Parking – parking passes
And more!
DMV offices in multiple states offer customers an easy registration renewal payment option with self-service payment kiosks.
ARS Connect Court Kiosks at Government facilities and Courthouses
Court Kiosk News — AI kiosk technology powers customer service check-in kiosks at government buildings
Court Kiosk – AI Kiosks
ARS Connect, the technology company behind a new, state-of-the-art AI kiosk workforce platform, partnered with Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. on a self-service court kiosk solution aimed at courts, government facilities, and businesses. The court kiosk’s innovative technology provides customizable customer support for visitors, defendants and plantiffs, answering frequently asked questions like how to pay a parking ticket or where to go for jury duty.
For lobbies and wayfinding
Court hearing check-in
Forms, payment, traffic, eviction, etc.
Answers 100s of FAQ’s
Multi-lingual and interpretation
Deploy offsite too, e.g. library
Connects to remote live telepresence help
When it comes to communication, for over 10,000 years, we as humans, want eye contact, body language, non-verbal signals like smiles and head tilts. When we communicate these small cues are built into our DNA. This is what ARS Connect’s A.I. avatar kiosk platform delivers! A real-time connection between Court/Institution and the constituents you serve. Simple touch-screen kiosks are a thing of the past, the future is here, engaging kiosks that talk, are friendly, helpful, and now, in response to COVID-19, are touch and TOUCHLESS!
Save Money and Serve Visitors Better
Our court kiosks solve one of the biggest problems municipalities and businesses have, staffing. They either can’t find or afford this type of help, and when they do, 30% to 50% quit. ARS Connect kiosks never call in sick, are always friendly, save your organization money, and provide amazing service. Not only that, but the data they collect can help you deliver better service and experiences for those you serve.
Designed for easy use and offering way-finding information to help a blind or visually impaired traveler navigate the station, the kiosk will be permanently installed in the LIRR terminal at Penn Station.
The “Talking Kiosk” combines a tactile and large-print map of the station with a talking computer that responds when points on the map are pressed. By following simple instructions, customers can be directed to LIRR ticket windows, track locations, MTA New York City Transit subway lines, MTA Police Headquarters, restrooms, and other important passenger services. It also gives directions to Amtrak and New Jersey Transit services at Penn Station.
The MTA and LIRR provided funding for the “Talking Kiosk,” which was originally piloted for five months in 1996 with information focusing on LIRR. It was developed at the Baruch Center for the Visually Impaired in collaboration with the American Foundation for the Blind and the Stein Partnership, and with assistance from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration, and Project ACTION of the National Easter Seal Society.
Technology Solving Restaurant Drive-Thru and Kitchen Modernization
After focusing tech investments on off-premise, restaurants will look for solutions to raise convenience and lower cost of labor
Highlights
Modern Drive-Thru Ordering – dual drive-thru lanes alongside pickup lanes, and perhaps walkup pickup windows. At first glance, the multitude of options that elevate the classic drive-thru experience might look like a complicated traffic jam. But the key here is to ease the customer experience.
Food Lockers Will See Increased Use — operators are responding with technology like preorder pickup lanes and food lockers.
Automats – Brooklyn Dumpling Shop — a New York City-based dumpling franchise that is opening its doors this spring — takes the food locker idea one step further by offering the automat 2.0. The 24-hour grab-and-go spot — which is ready to open its doors in Manhattan after delaying due to the pandemic — allows customers to place mobile orders for any number of dumpling varieties, then scan their smartphone and the correct UV-lit (for sanitation purposes) cubby will pop open.
Kitchens and Robots — Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is bringing robotics into the kitchen to add even more contactless precision, in partnership with Miso Robotics.
Effective and Useful Data Connection — Lunchbox organizes digital users into three categories: lost, regular and active customers.
Excerpt:
Taco Bell Restaurant Cubbies
Ask almost any operator and they’ll agree that the restaurant industry was headed toward a digital, off-premise-focused business before 2020 and that COVID-19 just accelerated that process.
With shuttered dining rooms and mandated lockdowns in place, 2020 became the year of off-premise innovation, with a focus on delivery, digital ordering and payment and speeding the to-go process. But as the nation heads back to normal and dining rooms begin filling up, what’s next for must-have restaurant technology?
Here’s a look at some of the challenges the restaurant of the (near) future will likely face and the tech-based solutions that are expected to be in demand.\
G2E is the premier Gaming show held every year in Las Vegas. It is a longstanding tradition for kiosk companies to be at this show. This year the G2E will be highlighting casino gaming, hospitality, player loyalty kiosks, check-in, food self order, digital signage and sports betting kiosks. Here is a preview of G2E from Olea Kiosks perspective
Olea Kiosks Introduces The Franklin Bill Payment Kiosk
LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 10, 2019 — Olea Kiosks of Los Angeles welcomes the Franklin Bill Payment kiosk as the newest addition to its self-service line-up. This secure and versatile kiosk is built to accept payments of any kind, anywhere.
The Franklin Bill Payment kiosk has the ability to accept and dispense dollar bills, dispense coins, check acceptance and take credit card payments. Because it’s a modular solution, it can be customized in a number of pre-designed configurations which make it easy to deploy in situations with first to market opportunities or where time is of the essence.
This kiosk was introduced for those industries that have a high number of cash-paying customers. “In the past, cash-handling kiosks were very costly to deploy, but with this solution, we’ve implemented some standardizations, which makes complete self-service operation attainable,” explained Frank Olea, CEO of Olea Kiosks. “The unit can be equipped with several different models of bill acceptors and dispensers to accommodate all manufacturers. In addition, we work with a suite of turnkey application providers including M3t Financial Services, Nanonation, Self-Service Networks and Dynatouch that can be integrated into the kiosk,” added Olea.
The Franklin is perfect for any cash-paying application including simple bill pay, bill breaking, ATM services, and check cashing. With its loyalty features like club enrollment with card printing, point redemption, promotional games, TITO ticket printing for promotion vouchers, and bar code/QR code scanning for text/email promotions, it’s an ideal candidate for casinos as they can deploy the same look and feel across a variety of guest services. (if we can get the Casino page updated we can link it here)
The Franklin will be on display at the JCM Global booth 4039, at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, October 15 to 17. Olea Kiosks can also be seen at work in a number of other booths demonstrating a range of applications including player loyalty, player games and tournaments, sports betting applications and food ordering. You can find more information here:
Olea Kiosks Inc., is a Los Angeles-based self-service kiosk manufacturer in business since 1975. Its technologically advanced, in-house manufacturing and services have made it an industry leader.
About Global Gaming Expo
Global Gaming Expo (G2E), the largest gathering of global, commercial and tribal gaming professionals in North America, showcases the latest developments in gaming technology and features new educational content that is fast-paced and actionable. Attendees will experience firsthand the new products and innovative technologies showcased on the expo floor. G2E has everything you need for your casino floor and across your entire operation—from traditional casino fare to non-gaming amenities and digital products—G2E is where business growth is accelerated.
About AGA
The American Gaming Association is the premier national trade group representing the $261 billion U.S. casino industry, which supports 1.8 million jobs nationwide. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, suppliers and other entities affiliated with the gaming industry. It is the mission of the AGA to achieve sound policies and regulations consistent with casino gaming’s modern appeal and vast economic contributions.
60% of under 45s prefer kiosks over cashier ordering
75% that order online also order in-store
And drum roll… – Customer that create their own order 30% more – >60% leave when more than 7 customer are inline
QSR consumers have heightened digital expectations and restaurant operators struggle to keep pace. Consumers are increasingly savvy and expect a highly personalized experience, one that is consistent across channels. Each time a consumer is exposed to an improved digital experience (i.e., Amazon, Google), their expectations are reset to a new higher level. How can restaurant operators gain a QSR advantage in this digital transformation?
To better understand this growing trend, KIOSK Information Systems and Hathway developed an industry survey and white paper. Results from this survey provide insights into QSR purchasing behaviors and customer preferences that pinpoint which factors can actually improve the customer experience and help drive significant gains.
Expanded Pennsylvania Footprint for Sports Betting Kiosks
sports betting kiosk Olea
The launch of the BetAmerica casino offering followed the start of online sports betting operations under the same brand late last year.
The BetAmerica brand marked its official entry in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2019 when it debuted a sportsbook at Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, which Churchill Downs purchased earlier last year.
The retail betting facility, which is located at the casino floor of the property, features 50 self-betting kiosks. Churchill Downs then debuted an online and mobile BetAmerica-branded sportsbook in December 2019 to tap into Pennsylvania’s digital wagering space.
To celebrate the recent launch of its online casino in the same state, BetAmerica offers both new and existing customers 100 free spins on its slots titles. Players only need to make sure they log into their accounts each day during the promotional period, February 1-5, to receive 20 free spins per day.
Commenting on the expansion of their existing product in Pennsylvania, BetAmerica President Ian Williams said that they are thrilled to expand upon what they have already built in the state and to “now give players a place to enjoy both online casino an online sports wagering from a single account.”
Another entry for the kiosk history file as longtime touchscreen manufacturer 3M is exiting the business.
We read about it first on Sixteen:Nine who heard it from one of the manufacturers. We confirmed with longtime contacts at 3M since then. We are sure the other self-service technology division are unaffected and that includes ID card readers as well as passport readers for example. We updated the kiosk history file.
About 3M Touch
3M Touch Systems was created in 2001 though the acquisitions of MicroTouch Systems (Massachusetts) and Dynapro Thin Films (Milwaukee and Vancouver, Canada). MicroTouch Systems was founded in the early-1980s and was the company that patented and commercialized surface capacitive technology, which became and continues to be the preferred touch technology for many heavy-use, public access applications, especially for video slot and card games. Dynapro was a leading supplier of 4- and 8-wire resistive and developed projected capacitive touch solutions for industrial applications. 3M Touch Systems is headquartered in Methuen, Massachusetts, with dedicated technical and sales teams in North America, Europe, Australia and throughout Asia. Within the 3M Company structure, 3M Touch Systems reports to the 3M Electro Communications Business (Austin, Texas), which is one of the five 3M business units. Link
Nice writeup feature by Craig Settles on the state of library telehealth and its benefits. 22 pages with illustrations. Worth noting that we assisted Mr. Settles in some of his research. You can download the full report at i-telehealth.com, our telehealth and telemedicine vertical information blog.
Telehealth for Libraries Guide Report
Excerpt:
Telehealth for Libraries Guide Report
Libraries on the vanguard of transforming healthcare delivery, what is your library going to do in this moment when the federal government is committing over $7 billion to communities making a difference?
This guide lays out how to a) get to the heart of patrons’ healthcare needs, b) create something that’s never been done in your community before, and c) market your telehealth and broadband grant proposal.
More than video chats, telehealth uses intranets and Internet networks to observe, diagnose, initiate or otherwise medically intervene, administer, monitor, record, and/or report on the continuum of care people receive when ill, injured, or wanting to stay well.
I’ll take this definition one step further and differentiate between
1) real-time telehealth,
2) store-and-forward telehealth, and
3) “passive” telehealth.
Real-time telehealth are activities happening “right here and now,” often involving medical or healthcare professionals. In a library setting, a patron is video chatting with a doctor from a study room or other enclosed private space, or a traveling nurse sets up in a room to do hypertension screening with patrons and video conferencing with a doctor in another location should patrons have questions.
Store-and-forward telehealth is collecting medical data and sending it electronically to another site for later evaluation. Patrons who don’t want to go over their data cap (limit) might use a library’s Wi-Fi to send medical records, test results, or digital images. For maximum privacy and security, telehealth applications receive and send using HIPAA-compliant software.
In the context of this guide, “passive” telehealth refers to educational Web content, digital knowledgebases, and software applications that help us understand, prevent, treat, or recover from threats to our physical and mental health. Few entities are as competent as libraries for making knowledge easy to find and sort through.
Telehealth making a difference
There are at least five primary ways to impact healthcare delivery through telehealth at libraries:
Retail Kiosk Trends — Generation Z and the Impact on Retail
Once upon a time, it was all about the millennials.
There’s probably a terrible joke in there somewhere, considering the fact this group is often plagued with the reputation of being the “participation trophy” generation.
Kidding aside, for years, millennials have frequently stolen news headlines that highlight the powerful group’s impact on consumerism, the changing workforce, and even the shifting trends on how we communicate with each other.
But in the last few months, several industry newsletters have appeared in my inbox with surprising editorial about the upcoming generation, dubbed Gen Z. Have millennials officially passed the baton to the next up-and-comers who will be the driving force behind retail and marketing trends?
Spoiler alert, Marketers: you’ll want to get your game plan ready for this group. Quickly.
As with all generation groupings, there’s often discrepancy amongst the various sources regarding which birth years make up the classification. Most cite the oldest Gen Z’ers being born in 1996. Regardless, this group of teenagers and early 20-somethings have become a much-talked-about dynamo as people start looking to the post-millennial era.
To understand the impact this latest generation will have on retail and branding, one must first understand the collective mentality ascribed to the group.
It should come as no surprise in our digital culture that a defining feature of this generation is being continuously connected, naturally shifting between an online and offline world without friction. And while millennials are instinctively comfortable with technology due to growing up in the Internet era, Gen Z brings the term digital natives to a whole new, mobile-friendly level – the soundtrack to their lives isn’t the click of a mouse, but the tap of a thumb.
Along with boasting a natural ease navigating mobile technology, this latest generation also expects lightning-fast Internet speeds, enjoys easy access to instant information, and are often champions behind social causes.
As consumers, they tend to be pragmatic with their spending. After all, this generation’s formative years were spent witnessing a major financial recession in 2007 and 2008. Furthermore, they’re wary of more traditional marketing initiatives in favor of recommendations and product reviews and prefer to engage with a product versus viewing it behind glass door displays.
To reach this generation of social media connoisseurs, brands will need to meet them on their turf while speaking a language that resonates. According to a white paper titled, “Uniquely Generation Z: What brands should know about today’s youngest consumers” by IBM Institute for Business Value and in association with the National Retail Federation, when asked what they do in their free time, 74 percent of Gen Z respondents listed spending time online.
Naturally, marketers would be wise to engage these individuals using social media and mobile opportunities while utilizing easily-absorbable media and messages like video and push notifications.
This group is also savvy about tuning out ads in fast-paced newsfeeds and media, so companies should aim to pique interest using branded or socially-conscious content that aims to help, inform or entertain. Companies who team up with trusted peer influencers or encourage this generation’s feedback will additionally have a leg up against the brands employing more traditional advertising.
Appealing to the group’s mobile astuteness, companies can provide seamless shopping by offering mobile apps to complement the in-store experience. This self-reliant generation will feel comfortable in a familiar mobile environment, using it to shop, peruse reviews and communicate with customer service.
When it comes to designing store displays and kiosks that will attract this age group’s attention, brands and retailers will want to be mindful of implementing experiential components. As a generation accustomed to self-directed learning (thank you, YouTube), they’ll appreciate accessible products that can be viewed, touched and manipulated.
Self-service kiosks will also be a beacon to this crew to eliminate checkout hassles, long lines and reliance on store employees. This trend toward self-order kiosks, wayfinding stations and check-in units has already started to emerge in restaurants and stores today as the technology is embraced by this next generation.
In sum, with retail already undergoing monumental shifts in operations to stay relevant in a changing market, these same companies will need to keep their fingers on the pulse of this next generation to produce an experience that speaks their language and captures their spending dollars.
The growth in e-commerce does not mean the death of bricks and mortar retail. While it is certainly true that e-commerce is growing quickly, bricks and mortar sales still account for most total retail revenue.
How bricks and mortar retailers can benefit from shoppers’ e-commerce habits
The growth in e-commerce does not mean the death of bricks and mortar retail. While it is certainly true that e-commerce is growing quickly, bricks and mortar sales still account for most total retail revenue. Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that in-store retail sales were more than 11Xs greater than e-commerce sales ($4,459 billion vs. $389 billion) in 2016.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that bricks and mortar retailers can ignore the impact of e-commerce on the way consumers shop. In-store and online shopping habits have become increasingly intertwined and are particularly impacted by mobile devices and their influence on our lives. Today’s consumers use their phones to research potential purchases, often in micro-moments, such as while standing in line or sitting in a waiting room. However, the ease of research does not necessarily lead to more on-line sales. Retailers report that 82% of customers conduct research online, but more than 90% of all retail sales are made in a physical store.
This is good news for bricks and mortar retailers, if they can create a seamless omnichannel experience for their customers.
We see 3 ways omnichannel experiences can be accomplished
1 – Make sure that your displays are branded.
Recognize that consumers do online research, even while in the store. Shoppers will be trying to find what they see online. If merchandise is shown in a way that duplicates what is seen online items can be easily recognized.
2 – Make sure your displays convey important information.
If your website provides size, product features, or benefits, your displays also need to share that same information. This will give the shopper confidence that the item found in store is the same one that was selected online.
3 – Look to incorporate technology into your bricks and mortar experience.
Interactive kiosks can facilitate multimedia immersive experiences, help shoppers find items in other locations, or improve wayfinding at large retailers. When these in-store kiosks are well designed and match your branding perfectly, they can become a seamless facilitator of an enhanced customer experience.
Bricks and mortar retailing is far from dead. However, it is important that retailers recognize that technology will become an increasingly important part of the in-store experience. Retailers that embrace opportunities to integrate shoppers’ new habits will become the success stories of the future.
NRF is the largest retail exposition in the world and we will be there. KMA will be in booth 1703. We’ll represent over 50 companies from across the world.
Standards & Regulations Opportunity
ADA and Accessibility
You can participate for free in our ADA and Accessibility Working Group. See the KMA About page for current participants.
EMV Credit Card Committee
We also invite you to participate in our just forming EMV Credit Card committee. Simply stop by the booth and have your badge scanned (or send an email to [email protected]).
Attendees present at the show include: Frank Olea CEO of Olea Kiosks, Jim Kruper CEO of KioWare, Josef Schneider and Frieder Hansen (CEO) of Pyramid, Randy Amundson (KMA ADA Chairperson) and David Anzia, SVP of Sales at Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. Matt Ater CEO of Vispero and Laura Miller Anthony Palchek of Zebra and representatives for Verifone. Additionally at the show, around the corner from our booth will be Peter Jarvis Managing Director of Storm Interface and our new ADA and Accessibility Co-Chairperson.
For inquiries and meeting times, please contact [email protected] or stop by# 1703.
The KMA booth will have two kiosks in it both oriented for QSR and both with integrated accessibility.
One will be a tablet kiosk by Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc. See additional details — Floor Standing Tablet Kiosk Spec Sheet. Integrated with a Storm Audio Nav device for ADA accessibility, Ingenico IUC285 and running ADUSA, Inc’s Qi™ software showcasing software for NYC-based Kung Fu Tea / TKK Chicken.
Pyramid will have the PE-4000 with QSR Self-Ordering. It comes equipped with accessibility devices and is running KioWare KioPay application with JAWS Kiosk Windows software from Vispero.
Meridian Continues to Grow: Searching for Their Next Innovative Engineer
Aberdeen, NC — December 11, 2018 — Meridian, an industry leading manufacturer of indoor and outdoor kiosks, interactive digital signage, and self-service software, recently announced plans to continue expanding their Engineering and Design team. In doing so, Meridian is looking to onboard an additional experienced Kiosk Design Engineer.
“We’re excited to continue growing the Meridian team as we move into the new year,” said Meridian CEO, Chris Gilder.
Meridian’s plans to continue expanding their Engineering and Design team follows their decision, earlier this year, to restructure their manufacturing leadership. Welcoming Eric Frank, Engineering Manager, to the Meridian team was a key aspect of that restructuring. As Engineering Manager, Frank is now responsible for leading Meridian’s engineering and design teams and collaborating with sales, manufacturing, and quality assurance to create new designs and improve upon existing ones. The Design Engineer will work directly under Frank and will play a key role in the fast-paced engineering team.
In addition to collaborating with Frank, and other members of the Engineering and Design team, the Design Engineer will also be working directly with the sales and production teams, as well as some of the largest tech companies in the world on a regular basis. The primary responsibilities of the Design Engineer will include creating sheet metal self-service kiosks and related products in SolidWorks, creating 3D-view and isometric drawings, and working from printed drawings, as well as taking conceptual drawings and renders and creating designs from those concepts.
“As self-service solutions have grown in popularity and found their place in a variety of industries, Meridian has noticed a steady increase in demand—especially for custom solutions.”
With nearly 20 years of experience in creating self-service solutions, Meridian is a kiosk industry pioneer, therefore the Design Engineer must also be well-versed in the kiosk industry and possess a proven portfolio of unique and effective designs.
Meridian is a self-service industry pioneer and fully integrated manufacturer of kiosks and digital signage. For nearly two decades, Meridian has specialized in helping companies optimize brand impact and extend brand reach. The Meridian team understands that together great minds create even greater solutions.
Partnerships such as Intel, HP, Panasonic, Samsung, NEC, and others have allowed Meridian’s team to collaborate, challenging the status quo to create innovative and engaging self-service solutions.Meridian differentiates itself by building kiosk solutions completely in-house.
When Mzero software was born in 2009, Meridian became one of the largest end-to-end self-service solution providers in North America. By owning the entire process, Meridian can guide clients from start to finish, creating a robust solution to help reach specific goals.
Meridian’s headquarters are located in Aberdeen, NC – only a 10 minute drive to Pinehurst and Southern Pines, NC. For more on what the Moore County area has to offer, visit our local Convention and Visitors Bureau website, www.homeofgolf.com.
To learn more about the Design Engineer position and apply, interested candidates can visit https://www.meridiankiosks.com/meridian-seeks-experienced-kiosk-design-engineer/.
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