News

Apunix assists shoppers

March 31, 2004

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - New technology from Apunix, a kiosk software developer, can help shoppers find what they need or remember what they came to buy in retail outlets such as grocery stores.

Apunix's technology transfers a graphically rich kiosk image to both hand-held and embedded devices. Users simply touch the screen to navigate the program.

Apunix first demonstrated its new technology at the recent KioskCom 2001 trade show in Orlando, Fla. The demonstration displayed kiosk content on a Compaq iPAQ hand-held computer. Using the grocery store application, shoppers with touch screen devices like the iPAQ can input their frequent shopper numbers to access shopping lists from the store's database server.

In this application, consumers can look up products by category and get price and other information, as well as locate the products on a store map.

Apunix executives envision placing devices on a grocery cart, or having customers pick them up at a rack by the front door. Store employees could also use the hand-held kiosks to gain access to both product and customer information from anywhere on the store floor, according to Sylvia Berens, Apunix vice president.

The iPAQ can accommodate bar code scanners, for use with a gift registry, and exchange information with more traditional in-store kiosks using infrared wireless connections, called IrDA, Berens said.

For the demonstration Apunix loaded the Linux operating system into the iPAQ's flash memory. The company's 100 percent Pure Java kiosk engine ran full screen on the iPAQ without any modification.