Basic Features of Touch Screen Kiosks

Interactive touch screen kiosks are computer terminals that feature special software and hardware, designed for public exhibit. They provide immediate/instant access to information, which earns them an important place in communication, entertainment, commerce, and education applications. Early interactive kiosks typically resembled telephone booths, strategically placed in areas where there is high foot traffic and where people likely need access to immediate information. Tough screen kiosks are common sights in hotel lobbies and airports and now, increasingly in retail establishments and public offices.

Widespread technological integrations have also made interactive kiosks even more practical and functional. Many have evolved into self-service kiosks, such as those that are programmed to allow users to perform online transactions such as collecting cash in place of merchandise, etc. Some kiosks even feature customized components like bill acceptors, coin hoppers, thermal printers, card readers, and more to cater to the specific needs of the owner/target audiences.

Touch screen kiosks are known for their aesthetic and functional design. In fact, these are major keys that drive widespread user adoption, practicality, and overall up-time. Interactive kiosks differ widely in design and features and many different factors go into their design and overall engineering:

• Aesthetic design – Apart from the technical aspects of an interactive touch screen kiosk, its aesthetic design is also an important factor to consider to encourage user adoption and perhaps more importantly, brand recognition.

• Material – Manufacturing volume is a major driving factor in the choice of material used for the design and creation of interactive kiosks. Other factors include indoor or outdoor use and the different types of features integrated into the design. Sheet metal and thermoformed plastic are only some of the major materials that go into the creation of touch screen kiosks, not to mention its highly technical circuit boards and other heavy duty components.

• Kiosk software – An interactive kiosk software cannot perform its designated function without the proper software program/operating system/kiosk software configuration. Software programs also secure the interactive functions of its hardware.

• Thermal design – Touch screen kiosks require thermal and well adjusted designs to maximize up time and avoid crashes and failures during operation.

• Typical components – Some of the most basic features that go into the design and construction of touch screen kiosks include a touch screen PC, a keyboard/pointing device, bill acceptor, surge protector, mag stripe and/or bar code scanner, UPS, and other important components that ensure proper function.

About The Author:

This article is written by David Kyalo, a successful technical writer. He is interested in and fascinated by technical topics. He writes unique articles on touch screen technology and specialized in finding practical touch screen software solutions.