Article

KioskCom Europe: Lines blur between digital signs, kiosks

Integrated touchscreens, networked signage hint at convergence.

October 8, 2008

PREEDY SOLUTIONS, a glass processor, used its glass expertise to develop a large-scale optical touchscreen. Images were shown using a short-throw projector placed behind the glass.

NETKEY announced at the show that its digital signage software is now available in both software-as-a-service and licensed packaged formats. Bob Ventresca, director of marketing for Netkey, said the software has seen success in a wide spectrum of markets including out-of-home advertising, corporate communications, education, healthcare, government, transportation, retail, banking and financial services, and tourism and hospitality.

VIDEO: Netkey software at KioskCom Europe.

Offering a different kind of touch technology, 3M MICROTOUCH featured an interactive game on its large-format screens. 3M uses Dispersive Signal Technology, where piezos are mounted on each corner and read "waves" activated by contact with the surface.

KIOSK MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS was part of the show's largest partner booth, along with HEMISPEHRE WEST for currency handling, PROVISIO for kiosk lockdown, CREDIT CALL for payment processes and HYPERCOM for chip and PIN solutions.

RITTAL's highlight was a movable wall kiosk that could shift up and down at the touch of a button. Rittal's Peter Hill said the unit operates on a threaded spindle rather than using a motor to virtually eliminate operating noise.

SLIDESHOW: View photos from the event

STAR MICRONICS' thermal and dot matrix kiosk printers were on display in a Royal Mail postal kiosk and a Marks & Spencer wine recommendation kiosk. Jennie Miller of Star said the printers took care of printing receipts as well as package labels.

DICOLL released a budget kiosk at the show, which is designed to be assembled by the deployer to ease shipping.

"It's multi-function, relatively customizable and aimed at the sub-Ã‚Â£2,000 market," said David Gibbins of Dicoll.

Coffee drinkers hovered around GWD MEDIA's booth, as the company was giving away coffee from a self-service dispensing machine. GWD creates remote monitoring systems for kiosks, and is installed on 650 Coffee Nation machines across the U.K. Jed Fraser, CMO of GWD, said the systems detect and alert operators if the machine's supplies are low, as well as provide real-time statistics about the number of cups dispensed.

STOREFRONT.COM's DIMA-award-winning photo kiosks were on display, running the company's Omnishop photo software. In addition to developing digital photos, the kiosks allow retailers to offer other services through the interface, such as deli and prescriptions ordering, wine pairing and flower ordering.

VERIFONE released it Vx700 PIN pad and card reader combo at KioskCom, which is designed to thwart efforts to skim PINs or card stripes.

EUROSIGN's integrated digital screens got attention from attendees who saw their own face on the screen. Eurosign, developed by Ireland's Radiant Europe, used a Quividi audience measurement solution that calculated how many impressions the screen received by detecting the number of times peoples' eyes met the screen. Each day the counts were well over 1,500.