About Kiosk Manufacturer Association

The Kiosk Association comprises companies involved in self-service, digital signage, digital menus, outdoor technology, kiosks, point-of-sale, smart city, healthcare, telehealth, voice order, thin client, EV charging and retail automation. Craig Keefner is the managing editor for all. Along with our Gold sponsors we also have two primary solutions partners:

Intel Computing

Media Player Software

Kiosks & Embedded

GOLD Sponsors 

    Company Type

    Industry Association

    Language

    English

    Product/Solutions

    Digital Signage Managed Services Video Display/Projection

    Markets Served

    Banking/Finance Corporate Education

    Region

    Europe Latin America Middle East/ Africa North America Southeast Asia

    Intro Content

    Best Self Service Awards for 2024

    The kiosk industry and self-service generally is rarely legitimately recognized for excellence. Exceptional designs and deployments deserve recognition. Too often awards are effectively bought and purchased.

    Influencer Of

    Popular Content

    Recent Discussions

    Recent Comments

    I just posted new project depoyment in Stamford for solar powered wayfinding

    Solar-powered wayfinding kiosks. Free to city and offset by ad revenue. Five of them to start and looks like e-paper displays (monochrome).  Impressive.
    https://kioskindustry.org/solar-kiosks-for-wayfinding-information-stamford/

    Soofa, which was founded by women in the MIT Media Lab in 2014, is providing the kiosks for free, with the caveat that the company will recoup revenue from selling advertising through the devices.

    Notables need to recognized and held up as examples of innovative thinking. Side comment - the Chinese have a real problem with innovation since it is so easy for companies to copy each other. Discourages innovation.  In any case I am launching new APAC and Europe self-service directories. Thanks Lisa!

    I see much application in the cafeterias for employee recognition and events,

    At some point cameras on the parking areas reported by AI as open spots or full and notifying patients as they enter.

    Many hospitals in suburban areas are under construction and expanding/building. Guiding visitors around temporary obstructions would be helpful.

    For accessibility something as simple as a simplified, large TV remote for the TV instead of some ultra complex small-button control not requiring visual examination and decoding.

    Thanks for the encouragement Gibran. Trying to describe a simple situation while carefully bring up some of the underlying complexities sometimes ends up with me going down a rabbit hole.

    If anyone wants the full Cherry Creek deal (or other outdoor smart city) I can send to you and you can forward on.

    A variation are transit-related. Lawrence KS has active RFP and is currently seeking an interested, qualified proposer to provide a total of three (3) freestanding passenger information kiosks, to be installed at Central Station 2303 Bob Billings Pkwy Lawrence, KS with complete content management software (CMS) systems.

    Probably 3X the bids for transit systems like that then smart city for that matter.

    No wonder Peerless-AV selected image with bus driving by....

    That's a good suggestion Lisa and people love a good checklist.  I have one for ADA that covers the "low-hanging fruit" that you don't consider at your own peril. And it is different in verticals and different in countries.

    In the self-service world, there is the hardware, the software, the devices, connections, data and along with all that is installation, warranty, service and maintenance (software & hardware). And any and all regulations be them federal and/or state that are in play.

    My wife was getting her passport photo at FedEx yesterday and of course I spent my time in benevolent hacker mode at the internet stations. Fairly easy to "intrude."

    For digital signage media players running a consumer-grade Windows OS is a consideration all to itself given patch cycles/etc. People do that to save money.

    Maybe add a separate section to evaluate all the "money-saving" initiatives of budget, and take an honest look at the resultant liabilities (and subsequent costs).

    I spoke with Wendys at NRF and I guess they went "immediate term economical" on signage and kiosks only to find out a year later that downtime and lack of monitoring is taking a big chunk of money every month (and units not serving customers).  

    Ironic how "went cheap" is usually a synonym for "longterm more costly".

    CMS hosting along with any network credentials/connections are a separate category (and lengthy) for me. 

    Assuming it is just a display (no interactive) then in the US there are the usual. If nothing else FCC approval and ideally UL sticker are start point.

    One problem area is with media players/engines. They have storage as a rule and you need to make sure they are secure. Maybe you have a camera capturing data. If it is stored then you can be liable especially in certain states.

    There are national standards + state standards that should be reviewed.

    State (or Federal) projects always come with a lengthy "compliance" list. Sometimes 30 or 40 items they want a check next to (before they send you a check). 

    International standards are CCC, FCC, CE, UL, and ROHS

    In US -- ADA standards apply to digital signage under conditions

    FCC emission approval - much like CE in Europe

    UL regs enter in - think LinkNYC "outdoor" or Wind related (up to 180 mph)

    Made in America can apply if selling to certain

    Hurricane codes come into play from FEMA

    WCAG comes into play as does HIPAA or Medical rated (60601)

    NEMA for outdoor

    Dark Sky comes into play

    Biometrics comes into play (see Illinois court docket)

    Canada is different

    Asia is different

    Europe is different

    The standards page on kioskindustry.org lists just the more common ones. I should add the other 30 or 40 that come up for agencies.

    https://kioskindustry.org/standards/

    Assignees