solutions Customer Engagement Technology June/July 2020 Issue 26 also in this issue: Securing Public Spaces Best Practices for Digital Signage Returning to Work Post-Lockdown A New Normal of Patient Care Making touch screens touchless kiosks | digital signage | engagement technology KIOSK ISSN 2398-2837Kiosk Solutions magazine kiosksolutionsmagazine.com Kiosk Solutions website kiosksolutionsmagazine.com KDS 2020 Kiosk and Digital Signage show kdseurope.comcontents KIOSK solutions 3 FOREWORD 5 NEWS 6 SECURING PUBLIC SPACES 16 When it comes to kiosks or other self-service solutions, security is an essential and much-discussed topic. A NEW NORMAL OF PATIENT CARE 20 Even before COVID-19, hospitals and healthcare systems were already facing a new normal associated with patient care. BEST PRACTICES FOR DIGITAL SIGNAGE IN AN IT-CENTRIC WORLD 24 What was traditionally an 'AV' space is now part of users' wider IT networks - with the opportunities and challenges that entails. NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION 28 How the latest kiosk solutions can help with a safe return to work post coronavirus lockdown. DO NOT TOUCH! MAKING TOUCHSCREENS TOUCHLESS 32 Contactless technology is proving invaluable during the current coronavirus pandemic. But for many businesses the only option for taking a customer’s initial order without face-to-face contact is a touchscreen. Could the latest audio technology provide a contactless solution? 32 24 20 contents 16solutions Customer Engagement Technology KIOSK Kiosk Solutions reaches an audience of 15,000 decision makers on a bi-monthly basis right throughout the UK. These 15,000 individuals are comprised of Customer Service Directors, Project Managers, CIOs , CTO’s, FD’s and many more besides. This unique readership presents you with a unique opportunity to reach an audience that is not available through any other media. Independent Kiosk Solutions is an independent publication, aiming to offer an objective view of the industry. Articles may present newsworthy acts and/ or opinions of named companies, but all measures are taken to ensure that articles within Kiosk Solutions report the objective facts without bias. Editorial We welcome contributions and submissions of news, features, thought leadership posts and interviews from companies and individuals regarding the kiosk and digital signage industry. These can be sent to the editor; Laura Vallis at editor.kiosk@abacus-comms.co.uk. All editorial that we receive from third parties is subject to the editor-in-chief's ultimate approval, and submission of an article is no guarantee of publication. In order to ensure that all articles meet the editorial policy, we reserve the right to edit the whole or part of any material selected for publication. You can find our editorial policy on our website: www.kiosksolutionsmagazine.com/guidelines. Advertising If you would like to discuss one of our advertising or advertorial packages please contact Lloyd at lloyd.vella@abacus-comms.co.ukPOST-LOCKDOWN LIVES As I write, the lockdown that has affected the entire country is slowly being lifted. Apart from certain regional areas, shops are beginning to open, restaurants and bars are looking to serve customers and even theme parks are considering how to get those thrill seekers back through their gates. Of course the potential rise of Covid-19's R rate with a second wave of the virus is far from our minds. Although touchscreens continue to be the preferred option to avoid face-to-face contact in our lockdown lives, we need to be ever more aware of their potential to actually increase infection spread. Could audio technology be the answer to make touchscreens touch-free? We also take a look at how the health sector is looking at the retail, hospitality and travel industries as real-world examples of the power of self-service. With patient care as a priority, self check-in, triage and wayfinding are just some of the ways that hospitals and medical centres are currently using self-serve platforms. And while temperature checks at entry points across our post- lockdown lives are now becoming a usual sight, access control systems are ever more important to swiftly account for visitors and staff to schools and workplaces. We take a look at how the kiosk can help with a safe return to our places of work and play. If you would like to contribute to the next issue please forward your article or news item to editor.kiosk@abacus-comms.co.uk. In the meantime, as always, stay safe, stay well. Laura Vallis Editor foreword KIOSK solutions 5Evoke Creative innovates with contactless technology Wirral-headquartered Evoke Creative, a design-led manufacturer of interactive digital solutions, has developed a series of innovative new products which address the challenges faced by its blue-chip client base as they re-open for customers and employees. Evoke Creative – which received investment from BGF in 2018 – supplies interactive digital solutions, including self-service kiosks, video walls, digital signage and payment terminals to organisations such as JD Sports, McDonald’s and Google. Evoke Creative has invested in the design and development of a kiosk - EV LITE|Temperature Check - which screens customers and employees on arrival at a premises and has a contactless temperature check function along with an automatic hand sanitiser. Amongst a range of new solutions, the business has also launched a contactless user experience which can be integrated into existing touchscreen applications. The Evoke CORE|Contactless Interface has far-reaching application, particularly in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Dean Ward, founder and CTO at Evoke Creative said: “Brands need to connect and communicate with employees and customers more than ever, but they need to find new ways of doing this. Safety is paramount and businesses are looking to protect and reassure audiences, so they feel safe as an employee or customer. Technology has a huge role to play in this. “Our systems allow organisations to connect and engage with their customers in dynamic and rewarding ways, helping to maximise transaction conversion rates, improve customer journeys and reduce costs. Businesses still need to do all of these things. In the past few months we’ve innovated at pace to come up with a range of solutions which will allow brands to continue to engage customers safely as we emerge from lockdown. “As a business, we’re looking towards new sectors and potential applications for our technology.” Led by founders Neil Clark and Dean Ward, Evoke prides itself on creating bespoke solutions and providing an end-to-end service for customers, with design, software development and product assembly performed in-house to ensure quality is maintained. Evoke has been voted as one of the 50 fastest growing companies in the North at the Northern Tech Awards for the past five years. n KIOSK solutions Abacus Communications Limited 1 Tudor Business Park, Waterhouse Lane, Kingswood, KT20 6EN www.kiosksolutionsmagazine.com Published by: Abacus Communications Publisher: Greg Ward Editor: Laura Vallis Sales: Lloyd Vella ISSN 2398-2837 The views expressed in the articles and technical papers are those of the authors and are not endorsed by the publishers. The author and publisher, and its officers and employees, do not accept any liability for any errors that may have occurred, or for any reliance on their contents. All trademarks and brandnames are respected within our publication. However, the publishers accept no responsibility for any inadvertent misuse that may occur. This publication is protected by copyright © 2020 and accordingly must not be reproduced in any medium. All rights reserved. Would you like to contribute to Kiosk Solutions? Please submit news stories, articles, press releases and industry expert opinions to Laura Vallis editor.kiosk@abacus-comms.co.uk including high resolution (300dpi+ CMYK) images. We publish all news and articles free of charge. This ensures our content is unbiased and relevant to our industry. news 6 KIOSK solutions6 KIOSK solutionsnews BrightSign signage merges culture and retail at K11 MUSEA BrightSign, LLC's series 4 players are powering an artistic digital signage solution at K11 MUSEA. Located in the heart of Hong Kong’s Victoria Dockside cultural district, K11 MUSEA is an experiential landmark. Covering over 1.2 million square feet, it offers visitors immersive experiences in retail, art, culture, entertainment and gastronomy, all under one roof. BrightSign Series 4 XD1034 players installed by BrightSign’s partner in China, SCHOT, power seven LED video walls, showing impressive installation art across the cultural- retail facility. Displays are positioned at retail outlets and in other conspicuous positions across K11 MUSEA, engaging customers and boosting sales volume for the associated brands. K11 MUSEA uses BSN.cloud to deliver a weekly program of live streamed events. Other innovative features of the installation include a highly original mirror display solution in the lifts and washrooms, providing useful information on weather, real-time temperature and shopping mall events. Seats with hidden circular LCD displays, lift lobby displays and an interactive gaming facility are another surprise for visitors. Commenting on the project, Cliff Wong from SCHOT said, “The BrightSign powered digital signage plays an important role in adding colour, brightness and visual interest to the whole cultural-retail centre. The installation boosts sales for brands, engages customers effectively and produces a creative environment in which visitors can immerse themselves.” Jeff Hastings, CEO of BrightSign said, “The K11 MUSEA installation is an exciting example of how digital signage can at once improve a building’s aesthetics, enrich the visitor experience and enhance convenience. Featured promotions and special events at K11 are presented in the most dynamic and visual way possible while the wayfinding solution helps customers find the location of restaurants and retail stores.” SCHOT has installed 1000 BrightSign XT1144 players at K11 MUSEA, providing images and videos throughout the complex. The XT1144 offersBrightSign’s highest performance graphics engine, matching the performance of a top PC to deliver the ultimate in HTML5 performance as well as True 4Kp60 video playback supporting Dolby VisionTM, HDR10 and HLG. The live events at K11 MUSEA harness the players’ support for Live TV playback of content. Installation of the system was simple, with the XT1144 offering Power over Ethernet (PoE+). n Zytronic’s rugged touchscreens help improve quarry efficiency Australia’s largest construction material supplier, Boral Limited, decided to apply ‘smart’ technologies. As a result, haulage drivers now use specially designed kiosks, with Zytronic’s interactive touch sensors, at Boral’s incoming and outgoing weighbridges to avoid bottlenecks. The initial brief was to build a bespoke quarry truck ‘check-in’ kiosk rugged enough to operate reliably in the harshest of environments, as the units would be deployed in remote quarries across Australia. Furthermore, dirt, grit and dust are also factors to consider. The check-in kiosks are fully sealed and IP66 rated. The internal temperatures are maintained by a ventilation system that integrates positive pressure filtration with a compact heat exchange unit. George Grochowski, Managing Director, JEA Technologies said, “For this project, the solution had to deliver faultless performance in the toughest of environments. After careful consideration, we recommended Zytronic’s projected capacitive touch technology.” JEA Technologies has been partnering with Zytronic as its distributor in Australia and New Zealand for over 12 years. Zytronic’s projected capacitive technology (PCT and MPCT) offers the ultimate touch solution for challenging environments such as Boral’s quarry application. Working closely with JEA Technologies, Zytronic designed a bespoke printed glass 19” ZyBrid touch sensor that incorporates UV and IR filters to aid thermal management of the kiosk. A 6mm thick, thermally toughened glass was selected, which ensures optimum impact and scratch resistance and protects the underlying display. In addition, the specified glass incorporated an anti-glare etched finish to reduce reflection. With its experience and flexibility regarding low-volume custom solutions, Zytronic was the natural choice for this project. After the installation and commissioning of the ruggedised kiosks, Boral has seen its quarry truck check-in times drop by 20 to 30 minutes. TouchMate Managing Director, David Ellsworth adds: “The reliable and robust nature of Zytronic’s touch sensors has once again proven their worth for our business. There are now hundreds of these quarry check-in kiosks deployed in some pretty extreme Australian conditions and, to this date, we have not seen a single field failure with the ZyBrid touchscreens.” n KIOSK solutions 7Crowd alert tool to manage safe social distancing launched GlobalReach Technology has launched a new tool to help manage safe social distancing as offices and venues reopen after lockdown. Crowd Insights uses existing public Wi- Fi networks to collect anonymous location, volume and movement data, even without user authentication. Pre-set limits identify crowding, triggering alerts to help the venue proactively manage social distancing and keep customers and staff safe. GlobalReach Crowd Insights uses data from devices and wearables to monitor, predict, alert and notify with real-time alerts when thresholds are breached. This helps to identify mass gatherings, traffic pinch points, queues, over-capacity that could risk public health, and to find ways to reduce crowding before it becomes a problem. Offices can also use the tool to manage social distancing as workplaces reopen. The tool proves employers take steps to responsibly maintain staff and customer safety and meet government guidelines. Alerts, real-time and historic reports are delivered through the Crowd Insights dashboard. The information can also be shown on digital displays for citizens, customers, passengers and others to take their own action. Chris Bruce, Managing Director, GlobalReach Technology said: “Our customers' priority is that their staff and customers are confident safety measures are being taken. This is a valuable way to use existing public Wi-Fi networks, to help proactively protect staff, customers and the public, so that they can reopen faster, start to trade and see revenue again.” n news Verotec provides configured hardware for 7th Sense’s Juggler pixel processing system By designing and delivering a custom 19” rack case in only four weeks, Verotec helped 7th Sense to launch their new Juggler hardware-based modular pixel processing system. The Juggler system offers unlimited I/O scalability, with DisplayPort, HDMI, SDI, and video over IP supported as both inputs and outputs with seamless full high-bit depth pixel-based colour processing, warp and blend with a bandwidth of 14GB/s. It transfers server PCI/PCIe card processing elements into a modular hardware base, offloading valuable media server processing bandwidth. It genlocks all sources to same-frame accuracy with instant system failure fall-back across all connected devices via frame-data monitoring, reducing latency to a minimum. Verotec provided a custom size, thermally managed 1U 500 mm deep 19” rack mounting chassis comprising formed steel base and top with extruded front and rear panels. After supplying production quantities of the basic hardware throughout 2019 to 7th Sense, the supply, assembly, wiring and test of the complete electro- mechanical sub-system has now been subcontracted to Verotec. Juggler is based on a FPGA motherboard, populated with mezzanine FMC cards that map the individual inputs to outputs. The units as now supplied makes use of Verotec’s extensive in-house capabilities, with a machined and printed extruded rear panel and individual I/O panels with connectors and wiring, a power supply, thermal management, all functionally tested before despatch. n ISE looks forward to Barcelona debut Planning for Integrated Systems Europe 2021 is well underway with its organisers, Integrated Systems Events, committed to delivering a compelling and safe exhibition for the world’s audiovisual integrated systems community. The 17th edition of ISE is set to take place at its new home at the Fira de Barcelona, Gran Vía, 2-5 February 2021. The world class exhibition centre plans to reopen for business in September. This will follow the successful completion of a collaboration with risk mitigation consultancy AON and the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona which will determine the specific security criteria for holding B2B events at the venue later this year. Over 850 world leading technology and solutions providers have already committed to participate at ISE 2021. n 8 KIOSK solutionsnews Ventola Projects launches new iCheck system Businesses looking for ways to safeguard the health of customers as they reopen following the lockdown can now benefit from an advanced kiosk system that helps them manage entry and exit, and check visitors have normal body temperatures to within an accuracy of 0.5°C. The new range being launched by Leicestershire electrical installations firm, Ventola Projects, is set to add to the collective armoury in fighting back against the virus and safely reigniting the economy. The system not only monitors footfall and individuals’ and groups of customers’ temperatures but it can also dispense hand sanitiser and check and remind people to wear face masks, acting as virtual concierge or gatekeeper to event locations, entrance ways, shopping malls, and retail and entertainment venues of all kinds. Able to make bookings and take payments, the 4G/5G compatible VAvR iCheck range has several levels of complexity. It is an app-friendly and efficient solution for the many businesses considering starting appointment systems and the like to protect consumers and help get society back to some semblance of normality. Operators of larger venues can sync numerous kiosks to manage different locations which means businesses can not only meet customer needs but attain a real-time picture of in-house activity and ensure different areas aren’t crowded beyond safe levels. Mick Ventola, Ventola Projects’ founder and managing director, said the iCheck range has been in development for some time. “We’ve been experimenting with partners on this kind of technology for a few years and have finally settled on a format and suite of functions that can really help businesses now and when the pandemic has been defeated. “Of course, the need for heat monitoring is relatively new but we’ve been able to incorporate it into the system at a time when it can offer people vital reassurance. It is our hope that the VAvR iCheck range can be of real benefit for businesses facing tough challenges and real operational dilemmas.” There are six ‘plug ‘n’ play’ kiosk models to suit various contexts and requirements, and each wall-mounted or free-standing unit is robust and weatherproof for outdoor use. Its many different levels of functionality can be turned on and off easily, so businesses can adapt to the changing environment and manage their monthly subscription costs. n Contact free technology to prevent the spread of virus in queues Moviik has launched a contact-free queuing app platform to allow the virtual management of queues inside and outside the stores while promoting social distancing and ensuring greater protection for employees and customers. “It reduces the risk of contagion, decreases the panic of queues, and even the fear of leaving home”, affirms Moviik’s CEO, Daniel Sousa. The company assures that the system is simple, fast and robust and that without any contact, it is possible for anyone to take a virtual ticket and wait protected in their space or even in the car. “Visitors only need a smartphone to send an SMS or issue a virtual ticket via a QR-Code or weblink and, even for those who do not have the equipment, they just need to ask for help from the doorman at the entrance, to do the registration. The tickets called are displayed on a screen visible outside the store and also by mobile notifications”, says Sousa. From the store’s point of view, simple and quick installation is guaranteed, without the need for any software download or hiring an external team. “Only a screen with a web browser and equipment such as a smartphone, is required for the employee making the call”, assures Sousa. This robust, tested and safe solution was presented last February at ISE, and is already installed around the world, and has been tested by several global companies. “In a time of great anxiety and uncertainty, the contact-free system allows people to wait in peace, safeguarding their health. This is a new experience for all being in a pandemic context. We are evolving the solution with a focus on the experiences described by customers and the constant challenges posed by this reality. Moviik is a disruptive and agile company, and we will present more solutions soon”, Sousa concludes. n KIOSK solutions Email editor.kiosk@abacus-comms.co.uk if you have any news to share in the next issue of Kiosk Solutions KIOSK solutions 9Next >