By Greg Swistak,
contributing writer
Selecting the right components for your self-service deployment is easier than ever. Component manufacturers have been listening to designers and systems integrators and have made great strides incorporating features that make kiosks easier to integrate and service. These strides have resulted in less expensive systems that are simpler to operate and more user-friendly, improving customer satisfaction.Touch options
Kiosks and self-service systems have a wide variety of touch options available. Most manufacturers use one of four types of touchscreen for self-service: resistive, surface acoustic wave, surface capacitive or infrared. Each technology has strengths and weaknesses, but all of them are fast and responsive.
When shopping for touchscreens, keep in mind that reputable suppliers will offer software and drivers to make installation quick and easy. Some manufacturers offer integrated touchmonitors specifically for kiosks, such as Elo TouchSystems' drop-in units that are equipped with a seal, molded plastic bezel and a choice of touch technology.
The technologies available for your consideration include:
Resistive touchscreens are the earliest developed and most widely seen touchscreen; they are used in consumer electronics such as PDAs, cell phones and appliances. Although their low price makes them attractive, they usually are not recommended for self-service deployments. Their thin plastic screen overlay can be damaged easily by vandals cutting the screen or even by the cleaning crew using the wrong solutions. In addition to being easily damaged, the layers of plastic and glass mean that these screens have the worst optics.
The screens do have their benefits: They can be activated by any object, so gloved hands, finger nails and even credit cards work well. And they are impervious to liquid spills, wash downs and humidity.
They also are the simplest to understand: Press down on the screen and you complete a circuit by pressing together conductive elements. Electronics calculate the position of your touch and render a mouse-type response.
Surface acoustic wave touchscreens are a great option for self-service applications. The all-glass construction provides excellent optics and durability; they are difficult to scratch and have a long lifecycle.
Crystal-based electromechanical devices called "piezos," mounted in the corners of the touchscreen, send a sound wave across the surface of the glass and listen to the wave coming back. When touched, some of the wave is absorbed and doesn't return to the piezo. The position of a touch is determined electronically and a mouse response is given. In order to work properly, surface wave screens must be touched by objects that absorb some of the wave energy. Soft objects like a finger or even gloved hands work best; hard objects don't work well.
Surface capacitive screens could be described as resistive screens without the top layer of plastic. A transparent conductive coating is added to the surface of a piece of glass and a small electrical charge is applied. When the screen is touched by a conductive object, the electric charge is bled off each side of the screen at different rates, based on the position of the touch. Again, electronics deduce the position of the touch and supply a mouse response.
Touch performance is unaffected by dirt, dust, condensation or non-conductive liquids. Scratches, however, will affect performance. Optics for this type of screen are good, but the coatings applied to the glass reduce its transmissivity and clarity.
Infrared touchscreens use infrared LEDs and detectors, mounted in pairs on opposite sides of the screen, to detect when a touch has occurred by sensing an interruption in the light beam. These screens are unique in that actual touch is not necessary; and they have the best optics since no overlay of the display is required for the touch element to operate. (Most infrared touch manufacturers, however, recommend adding glass to the front of the LED to protect the monitor from the damage that will occur from multiple touches.)
Infrared touchscreens are excellent for harsh environments and outdoor applications because dirt is an issue only if the LEDs or detectors are occluded.
CPU options
It's tough to beat the price and performance of desk-top computers from major suppliers like Dell and HP, which is why they're often used to drive kiosks. Integrators generally select a single form factor and rely on the manufacturer to supply a system configured to meet their performance specifications.
As long as space is available, the only other consideration is supplying a clean, cool air supply to make sure processors don't overheat within the kiosk enclosure. Desk-top CPUs provide the flexibility of adding low-cost, full-size cards in expansion slots, additional powered USB connections and a variety of input/outputs. They also are simple to connect to peripheral devices like printers. The major drawback is size, which can limit the options for the aesthetics of the design.
When size matters, other options like all-in-one systems or single board computers (SBCs) are good alternatives to minimize the space needed for the processor. All-in-one systems usually comprise standard components: a mini-ITX form-factor motherboard, for example, packaged with other necessary components so they are combined with a touchmonitor in a single enclosure. The systems allow some degree of flexibility as long as the configuration is available in the motherboard form factor.
SBCs are designed so that the CPU and the other electronics necessary to drive the computer are all positioned on a single circuit board. Commonly used for point-of-sale applications and information displays, these systems can be very thin yet maintain all of the performance of their larger counterparts. The disadvantage of SBCs is that they are somewhat inflexible; adding memory for example is no simple task since the component usually is soldered directly to the circuit board.
Printers
It wasn't long ago that to add a printer kiosk manufacturers needed to purchase a print head and cutter bar, design interface electrons, make a spool to hold the paper roll and then package everything together to create a serviceable system. Thankfully, no more. Printer manufacturers have developed a huge range of printers specifically geared to the self-service market. While both thermal and impact printers are available, thermal dominates the market.
Thermal printers have few moving parts and are extremely dependable. The print heads are good for hundreds of thousands of prints, and the only part that needs to be replaced in the interim is the paper roll. The printers are available in many different widths, up to 8.5 inches, and may print an accent color.
The best printers for self-service applications have a presenter. This feature stops the paper so that it isn't visible to the customer until printing is complete. After the paper is cut, the presenter ejects the paper. This prevents customers from grabbing the paper while it is printing and potentially damaging the printer.
The downside to thermal printers is that the paper usually is thin and has a coating that may be objectionable to some. The image also has some permanence problems. (Think about pulling receipts out of your wallet after they've aged; in some cases they have gone blank.)
Impact printers work best in programs where it is desirable to add custom text to a thick, pre-printed form — such as in sports venues. Stadiums and arenas print seating information on ticket forms that are pre-printed with the venue's name and game schedules or advertising. Impact printers also are desirable in applications where thicker stock is needed.
ATM machines have been a stronghold for impact printers; however, changes to laws are allowing thermal printers to displace them on newer programs.
Payment options
For the past decade, if your kiosk needed to perform a transaction, credit card readers were the obvious choice. Now many developers also are adding cash transactions as a way to capture more business, especially for smaller transactions. Modern bill acceptors are robust and inexpensive.
One of the barriers to accepting cash has been the necessity of servicing the machines to remove full cash cassettes. Corporate Safe Specialists and others like PDNB that specialize in financial self-service have developed programs that allow the kiosk owner to recognize the revenue even before the cash is removed from the system. These programs, sometimes called "reverse-vault," allow deployers to consider cash acceptance as a viable and easily managed alternative.
Greg Swistak is the director of custom solutions for Elo TouchSystems Inc. and the general manager of Elo's Rochester, N.Y., operation.
