Kiosks

A kiosk is a computer built into a stand, often in a public place. It has a touch screen and limited functionality: it usually delivers images, animation and sounds, not a full desktop where users can install or open anything they like.

Types of kiosk

• Self-service checkouts let customers pay for their own items without a cashier.
• Information kiosks show maps, photos and text, such as a zoo screen giving enclosure locations and feeding times.
• Internet kiosks let the public open websites, such as a leisure centre screen for opening a swimming club's website.
• Advertisement displays loop animations and short video, such as trailers in a cinema foyer.
• Service kiosks let people complete a task themselves, such as requesting a replacement bin at a town hall.
• Ordering kiosks let customers choose items, such as a bakery screen for ordering a birthday cake.

Why kiosks suit public places

A kiosk can be locked to a single service, so the public cannot close it, load other services or delete the app. A zoo can leave its map running all day, and it should still work properly the next morning.

A kiosk can be updated digitally and automatically. New images and text can be sent to every unit at once, so staff do not visit each machine and the venue saves the cost of printing and reprinting paper guides.

Drawbacks

Being locked down is also a limitation. A visitor cannot use a zoo-map kiosk to check train times, and adding an extra service may not be possible. The hardware can fail too: an older kiosk with a slow processor and a low-resolution screen may not run a new high-definition animation, and a unit without a card reader cannot take payments.