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Competition was steep for the 6th Annual Kiosk Awards

The 6th Annual Kiosk Awards were announced Oct. 18 at the Self-Service & Kiosk Show in San Francisco. Find out which self-service devices took home the honors.

November 7, 2005

The 6th Annual Kiosk Awards competition drew more than 40 self-service applications vying for honors in eight categories. The winners were announced on Oct. 18 at the Self-Service & Kiosk Show in San Francisco.

Since its inception in 1999, the award competition has grown in both numbers and quality.

Lief Larson, research director of Valhalla Worldwide LLC and founder of the Kiosk Awards said, "Speaking as the longest-running Kiosk Awards judge, I can tell you that the benchmarks set by the Award Applicants have incrementally assisted in the constant improvement of the kiosk and self-service industry as a whole. The objectivity present in the judging process has helped to ensure that each applicant receives equal consideration, and that the results of the judging process confirm projects that are of the highest quality."

The eight categories were Best Retail Kiosk, Best Financial Kiosk, Best Travel or Hospitality Kiosk, Best Entertainment or Gaming Kiosk, Best New Kiosk Application, Best Digital Display Application, Best Demonstration of ROI and Best Kiosk in Categories Not Named Above.

On-site judges included

• Lief Larson, founder and former publisher of Kiosk magazine
• Francie Mendelsohn, president, Summit Research Associates
• Tamara Mendelsohn (no relation to Francie Mendelsohn), Forrester Research
• Peter C. Honebein, Ph.D., co-author, "Creating Do-It-Yourself Customers"
• Gary Pageau, group executive, Photo Marketing Association

Honebein said of the experience, "For continuity, I approached each system with a task, a customer persona and a direction to the entrant not to help me. The more successful I was with the task, the higher I scored the system. I think this is the fairest, most systematic methodology for judging the entries. The quality of entries was very high. My scores for all the systems were at the high end of the rating scale."

The results of the Readers Choice Award, sponsored by Kiosk Magazine, also were announced at the show. The overall winner was Source Technologies' Express Bill Payment Kiosk at Verizon Wireless.

And the winners areÂ…

Best Retail Kiosk

The winner in the Best Retail Kiosk category was WebRaiser Technologies Inc.'s DekkoMatic-AmeriGas Propane Exchange at AmeriGas vending locations. The DekkoMatic-AmeriGas Propane Exchange is the first pneumatic-driven propane vending system available. Designed for outdoor retail use, the touchscreen kiosk system offers 24/7 access to propane with no employee assistance.

Purchases or exchanges take approximately 3 minutes, and the system accepts cash, credit, debit and gift cards. The application was designed to comply with national, state and local regulations and the pneumatic cage system eliminates the use of electronics near the gas. The software offers centralized remote management features, detailed transaction reports and it integrates with existing POS systems for all payment functions.

Photo.Teller by Whitech USA Inc.was the runner-up. The Photo.Teller device accepts digital images from all memory cards, CDs, DVDs, and phone cameras via infrared or Bluetooth. The images also can be scanned in and printed, archived, burned to CD, DVD or e-mailed. The Photo.Teller digital kiosk has been designed to up-sell customers by presenting them with a range of additional services, such as borders or an index print, every time they use the kiosk. Photo.Teller's remote management feature lets retailers control kiosks across multiple locations.

Placing third in the Best Retail Kiosk category was Active Decisions Inc.'s Product Advisor Kiosk at OfficeMax Inc. Product Advisor Kiosks were designed to give consumers the tools they need to make informed purchase decisions based on manufacturing-supplied information, personalized recommendations, side-by-side comparisons and Consumer Reports reviews. Located on the OfficeMax sales floor, the kiosk's interactive guides present questions that assess a customer's underlying needs, and recommendations are generated and presented in an objective, balanced manner.

Best Financial Kiosk

First place honors in the Best Financial Kiosk category go to Source Technologies. Its Express Bill Payment Kiosk at Verizon Wireless has effectively transitioned an inefficient, manual process to a fully automated one without a loss of functionality. The self-service financial kiosk allows customers to pay their bills without waiting for assistance from a customer service representative. At the kiosk, customers are identified by entering their phone number or account number or by scanning the barcode on their statement. The kiosk guides users through the transaction and accepts payments in the form of credit or debit card, cash or check. By automating the system, Verizon was able to decrease wait times for service and redeploy staff to other customer service areas. Suzi Schweiger, marketing manager for Source Technologies, said, "The awards competition was well-coordinated and comprehensive. The categories offered allowed for a wide range of participants, and gave us the opportunity to pursue more than a single category for the award."

When asked what she thought the device offered that enabled it to take home both the Best Financial Kiosk and Readers Choice Award, Schweiger said, "In addition to the kiosk's design and small footprint, I think the differentiator for us was the fact that the concourse Billpay kiosk enabled our customer to move payment processing off of the customer service counter to a self-service application without sacrificing or changing any functionality. End-users could still use any method of payment - cash, credit, debit OR check - and have the funds applied to their account in real time. We know of no other similar retail environment offering that self-service capability to their customers."

Ensenta's Self-Service Branch at credit unions took second place. Self-Service Branch is the only certified shared branching financial kiosk allowing millions of credit union members to conduct a full array of banking transactions in real time. It is the first shared branching platform to successfully send image cash letters directly to a processor, bypassing the acquiring institution's back-office and eliminating the needs/cost of daily check-sweeps.

TIO Bill Pay and Financial Services Kiosk by Info Touch and Palm Desert National Bank rounded out the financial kiosk category. TIO terminals deliver automated financial services to the non-banked consumer marketplace. Located in high-traffic convenience stores, the kiosks act as an aggregation point for a variety of products and services, including bill payment, money order and money transfer, digital merchandising, PIN dispensing for pre-paid products and services, interactive mapping and directions, auto insurance, e-mail, check cashing, electronic coupons and general Web-browsing.

Best Travel or Hospitality Kiosk

The Hilton Self-Service Checkin Kiosk by Hilton Hotels Corp. took the top prize in the Best Travel or Hospitality Kiosk category. Guests who don't want to wait in line to check in or who prefer high-tech, low-contact service can use the Hilton Self-Service Checkin kiosk to gain seamless passage from the hotel lobby to their room. When guests check in using the kiosk, they can choose room type, smoking preferences, bed size and additional services, such as breakfast, valet parking and attraction tickets. Guests insert a credit card for identification purposes and instructions on a touchscreen walk them through the process, which takes approximately two minutes. The reservation is then displayed, the room type selected, and the kiosk dispenses the room keys and directions to the room. Guests also can check out using the kiosk. Hilton's Rick Weaver, who noted that the Hilton's Self-Service Checkin Kiosk was manufactured by IBM, said "The competition affirmed what we believed about our choices in the kiosk industry and affirmed the choices we made in which functionalities to include in our check-in kiosk. The competition was good and the judges knew what they were looking for."

NCR's EasyPoint Xpress Check-In at Hyatt came in second. The EasyPoint Xpress Check-In kiosk serves end users by making the hotel check-in experience quick and easy. The kiosk confirms reservations and allows check-in for walk-in guests, encodes, validates and dispenses the room key and prints the guest's folio in approximately one minute.

Third-place honors go to the Virtual Visitor Center at North Carolina Division of Tourism and Department of Transportation by Technology Portals Inc. Deployed in 12 N.C. Welcome Centers, the TravelTouch kiosk solution provides travelers with up-to-date travel information 24/7 and the ability to act upon this information, such as making reservations, purchasing hunting and fishing licenses, buying tickets to events and getting directions and weather information.

Best Entertainment or Gaming Kiosk

Nanonation's Interactive Entertainment System at KC Hopps Inc./The 810 Zone sports bar and restaurant garnered the first place spot in the Best Entertainment or Gaming Kiosk category. The 810 Zone's tableside interactive digital entertainment system allows customers to interact with touchscreens that offer a variety of entertainment and information options. Guests can choose live video feeds from more than 94 channels, play video games or surf a variety of sports-themed Web sites. Each tableside unit includes a small form factor PC and a 17-inch Planar touchscreen display with speakers mounted within the wall. The system also includes a Web-based admin tool that allows the staff to upload new graphics, update specials on a daily basis, track system utilization and incorporate in-house and sponsor promotions while the device is not in use.

The runner-up spot goes to The Big Red Kiosk at Riviera Hotel and Casino by Apunix Computer Services. The Riviera "Big Red" kiosk is both an informational and a transactional kiosk. Customers can find information about current and future events occurring in the casino, review restaurant options, view video clips and schedules of shows, find directions and maps, and take mini-tutorials on how to play table games in the casino. The kiosk connects directly to the player tracking database of the casino, which allows customers to review their loyalty point balance in real time and see what items are available for them to redeem their points.

D2 Sales' Kid's Virtual Fun Center took third in the category. Specifically designed for children ages 6 to 12, the Kid's Virtual Fun Center features Burger King branded, custom video games that are fun, non-violent, and educational, and they empower kids to make their own play decisions. All games are played via a touchscreen with onscreen buttons both at the top and bottom of the screen for kids of different heights.

Best New Kiosk Application

Walking away with yet another first place award, but this time in the Best New Kiosk Application category, was the DekkoMatic-AmeriGas Propane Exchange by WebRaiser Technologies Inc.

Swift Transportation's Informer Kiosk by Netkey Inc. and Kiosk Information Systems Inc. came in second place. The kiosks provide Swift Transportation drivers, mechanics and other employees with online access to payroll, benefit, permit, training and safety information, truck repair manuals and parts availability as well as e-mail, company news, weather and directions. In addition, all 20,000 drivers have individual e-mail accounts that are accessible through the kiosks.

Active Decisions Inc.'s Product Advisor Kiosks follows up its third place win in the Best Retail Kiosk category with another third-place award in the Best New Kiosk Application.

Best Digital Display Application

First place in the Best Digital Display Application category went to Douglas Theatres Interactive Digital Displays by Nanonation Inc. Customers of Edgewood Theatres in Nebraska can use a small kiosk located in the center of the lobby to choose the movie trailers they want to see on two large 50-by-89 inch screens in the theatre's lobby. If a theatre customer is not requesting trailers through the kiosk, the screens rotate from playing trailers of upcoming films to showing advertisements for the theatre, concessions and sponsors. A smaller, round screen next to one of the large screens is constantly playing motion-enhanced advertisements for sponsor or the theatre itself. The system can be monitored and managed remotely, which makes adding new content and advertisements as easy as moving a file on a network and can be done anywhere through the Internet.

Runner-up was SeePoint Technology's HomeOwnership Center on DisplayPoint. Designed to be deployed in FIs and realty offices and operating on a Flash platform, the HomeOwnership Center on DisplayPoint finds and filters content from the Multiple Listing Service to provide kiosk users with real time, up-to-date information about homes that fit their unique parameters. In addition, the user can print specifically tailored information about financing options, including what the house will cost per month. The interactive digital signage kiosk features a 40-inch LCD and touchscreen, backlit signage and a concealed full-size printer and paper catch.

Best Demonstration of ROI

Photo.Teller by Whitech USA Inc. walked away with its second award by taking first place in the Best Demonstration of ROI category. Whitech's Korosh Delnawaz said, "Winning the award has brought us a lot of attention and has helped up promote our product worldwide. It's definitely been good publicity."

Mazda's Retail Kiosk by Nanonation Inc. rode off with the runner-up spot. The Mazda retail kiosks provide customers with instant, detailed and customizable information about various Mazda products. Using a multimedia PC with a keyboard and mouse, customers are able to gather vehicle information, compare a Mazda model to competitors, custom configure their own Mazda, view promotional videos, surf the Mazda consumer Web site, view local dealership incentives, inventory and marketing information and print to a color printer.

Third place in the Best Demonstration of ROI went to SHOW/PRO Promotional Kiosk at Roomful Express Furniture by Showroom Technology Inc. SHOW/PRO kiosks eliminate the intimidating and invasive method consumers previously used to apply for credit and/or receive promotions or coupons in furniture showrooms. The kiosk allows the consumer to enter sensitive credit data and private information using an ELO touchscreen, which eliminates the error-prone method of filling out paper forms, speeds the process and frees floor personnel to serve customers in more profitable ways.

Best Kiosk in Categories Not Named Above (General)

Swift Transportation drove off with yet another award, this time taking first place in the Best Kiosk in Categories Not Named Above (General) category with its Swift Informer Kiosk by Netkey Inc. and Kiosk Information Systems Inc.

"We are proud to see our customer Swift Transportation honored with this award for their use of self-service for employee communications," said V. Miller Newton, chief executive officer of Netkey. "Swift is recognized as an industry leader for its innovative use of technology, and the Swift Informer kiosk project is a great example of that innovative spirit. This project is an excellent demonstration of how kiosks help business deliver valuable human resources information to unconnected workers, with the benefits of reducing costs and increasing employee productivity and satisfaction."

EasyPoint Xpress Payment at T-Mobile by NCR won the second-place spot. Using an intuitive touchscreen interface, NCR XPress Payment allows customers to quickly pay their bills without staff assistance. The kiosk is easy to use, accepts cash, check, credit cards and debit card and ties directly into T-Mobile's point-of-sale. The units offer multiple languages, so customers can complete transactions in the language of their choice.

Rounding out the category with a third-place award was the DukeCard Express Station at Duke University by Sequoia Retail Systems, Inc. The DukeCard Express Station provides a number of campus services through a single easy-to-use and cost-efficient application. The DukeCard Express Station allows students, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus visitors to manage their campus card accounts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The application can also be used to purchase goods and services on campus and provide access to campus maps, dining services menus and hours of operation.

Whitech's Delnawaz summed up the sentiments of many of the award participants, both new entrants and those returning, "It's good to be assessed against others in the industry - not just photo kiosks. We'll definitely participate and do more in the future."

[Editor's note: Info Touch Technologies became Tio Networks in April 2006.]