Interactive kiosk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Interactive kiosk is a computer terminal that provides information access via electronic methods. Interactive kiosks sometimes resemble telephone booths, but can also be used while sitting on a bench or chair. Interactive kiosks are typically placed in high foot traffic settings such as hotel lobbies or airports.
Integration of technology allows kiosks to perform a wide range of functions. For example, kiosks may enable users to enter a public utility bill account number in order to perform an online transaction, or collect cash in exchange for merchandise. Customised components such as coin hoppers, bill acceptors, card readers and thermal printers enable kiosks to meet the owner's specialised needs.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first self-service, interactive kiosk was developed in 1977 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a pre-med student, Murray Lappe. The content was created on the PLATO computer system, and accessible by plasma touch screen interface. The plasma display panel was invented at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Donald L. Bitzer. Lappe's kiosk, called THE PLATO HOTLINE allowed students and visitors to find movies, maps, directories, bus schedules, extracurricular activities, courses and email student organizations. When it first debuted in the U of Illinois Student Union in April 1977, more than 30,000 students, teachers and visitors stood in line during its first 6 weeks, to try their hand at a "personal computer" for the first time. [1]
The first successful network of interactive kiosk used for commercial purposes was a project developed by the shoe retailer Florsheim Shoe Co..[citation needed]
Today, interactive kiosks can be found in a multitude of environments and for many purposes including: self-checkout lanes, e-ticketing, information and wayfinding, and vending.
The first touchscreen is shown by Elotouch at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN. 1982 is also the first year that the word "Internet" is used. Factura (which was first kiosk company of any note) will be founded 4 years later. [1]
[edit] Construction
Interactive kiosks sometimes have a bill acceptor or a credit card swipe, and nearly always have a computer keyboard, a pointing device (such as a mouse, trackball or touchscreen), and a computer display.
[edit] Interactive Kiosks Around The World
[edit] Government Usage
Several countries have already implemented nation-wide installation of kiosks for various purposes. One example of such large scale installations can be found in the United Kingdom, where thousands of special-purpose kiosks are now available to aid job-seekers in finding employment.[citation needed]
In the U.S. the Department of Homeland Security has created immigration kiosks which visitors into the United States register when they enter the country. There are also Exit kiosks where visitors register at when they leave the U.S.
Internally the U.S. government has institutions such as the Postal Service which utilize HR kiosks for their disconnected employees to update their training as well as monitor and maintain their benefits.
[edit] Industry Usage
It is estimated that over 131,000 kiosk terminals exist in the U.S. alone.[citation needed]
Groups who use kiosks in their business environment include: Northwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, GTAA, Future Shop, The Home Depot, and Wal-Mart.
[edit] Types of kiosks
[edit] Banking Kiosk
A banking kiosk can provide the ability for customers to perform transactions that may normally require a bank teller and may be more complex and longer to perform than desired at an ATM.[2]
[edit] Digital Minilab
A kiosk that functions as a digital minilab allows users to insert a memory card to print photographs.
[edit] Internet Kiosk
An Internet kiosk is a terminal that provides public Internet access. Internet kiosks sometimes resemble telephone booths, and are typically placed in settings such as hotel lobbies or airports for fast access to e-mail or web pages. Internet kiosks sometimes have a bill acceptor or a credit card swipe, and nearly always have a computer keyboard, a mouse (or a fixed trackball which is more robust), and a monitor.
Some Internet kiosks are based on a payment model similar to vending machines or Internet cafés, while others are free. A common arrangement with pay-for-use kiosks has the owner of the Internet kiosk enter into a partnership with the owner of its location, paying either a flat rate for rental of the floor space or a percentage of the monthly revenue generated by the machine.
[edit] Movie Ticket Kiosk
Many movie theater chains have specialized ticket machines that provide information about the movies that are being show now or in the future.
[edit] Vending Kiosk
An excellent example of a vending kiosk is that of McDonald's Redbox kiosk.[3]
[edit] Kiosk Reliability
Reliability is an important consideration, and as a result many specialised kiosk software applications have been developed for the industry. These applications interface with the bill acceptor and credit card swipe, meter time, prevent users from changing the configuration of software or downloading computer viruses and allow the kiosk owner to see revenue remotely.
[edit] Kiosk Manufacturing Industry
The development and supply of the overall kiosk technology has been dominated by three companies: Kiosk Information Systems, IBM, and NCR Corporation. The kiosk industry surpassed $1 billion in worldwide annual revenues in 2004.[citation needed]. The manufactured kiosk industry is comprised several segments.
POS-related "kiosks" are "lane busting" check-outs such as seen at large retailers. Fujitsu, NCR and IBM are the major players in that segment.
Simple touchscreen terminals or panel-pcs are another segment and enjoy most of their footprint in POS retail applications. IBM, NCR and Wincor Nixdorf are the players in that segment.
Historically electronic kiosks though are standalone enclosures which integrate many devices, a software application and remote monitoring and are deployed widely across all industry verticals. Kiosk Information Systems is the major player in this segment. These units include photo kiosks (Kodak has largest installed base), government, airlines, internet, music, retail loyalty, HR and financial services (TIO is one example), just to name some.
[edit] Tradeshows, Publications and Awards
Several tradeshows based around kiosk technology exist. One such is KioskCom, which is an annual show typically held in Las Vegas [4] and now also runs in New York, London [5] and Dubai. More recently hf media & events, publishers of Europe's leading self-service magazine KIOSK EUROPE, has launched an annual self-service event to be held in Essen from 2007.
The kiosk industry has several annual awards competitions and an industry Hall of Fame. Inductees into the Kiosk & Self-Service Hall of Fame include: Craig Keefner, Dr. Sylvia Berens, Dr. Peter Berens, Lief C. Larson, Lawrence Dvorchik, Francie Mendelsohn, and Alex Richardson. All have been recognized for their pioneering work and lifetime achievements in kiosk technology.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
http://www.arcdesignconsulting.com
This article was originally based on material from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, which is licensed under the GFDL.
