We are currently living in the world of self service. Nowadays, majority of people prefer men-to-machine rather than men-to-men, and the key machine to this trend is KIOSK. The first look of KIOSK was odd and unfamiliar., However, it became part of our lives. Now, lets get into the story of KIOSK.
Origin of KIOSK
A kiosk is an unmanned information provision and payment system, which is commonly used in public and commercial facilities. The word "kiosk" comes from the Persian word "کوشک." It means "pavilions," or "small garden buildings" and mainly referred to spaces where people gathered to relax or exchange information. The word was passed down to the Turkish word "kös ̧k" through the Ottoman Empire, and later spread to Europe, where it settled in French kiosque, or "kiosk." In 18th century Europe, small structures installed in parks or squares were called kiosks, mostly meant for selling newspapers or magazines. Entering the modern era, kiosk gradually began to be used as terms to refer to unmanned information devices or automated service terminals. With the development of technology, kiosks went beyond simple stands to perform various functions, such as ordering, paying, and checking in at airports, fast food restaurants, hospitals, and subways. It developed through many stages until the modern digital kiosk became common.
Our lives and KIOSK
The kiosk has become a key technology in the modern society to improve efficiency and reduce costs. It has become more important due to the increase in demand for non-face-to-face services since the COVID-19 pandemic and has become operational 24 hours a day. It is also available for operation and offers multilingual support and customized recommendation functions to improve the user experience. It is used in various fields such as retail, fast food restaurants, airports, hospitals, and tourist attractions. In recent years, technologies such as AI, big data, face recognition, and voice recognition have been combined to enable smarter services, and it is developing by analyzing customer purchase patterns to make customized recommendations and supporting simple login and payment. Kiosk is an important technology beyond simple automation devices in many aspects such as efficiency, cost reduction, customer convenience, and data utilization, and is expected to develop further in the future by combining it with cutting-edge technologies such as AI and IoT.
Past and present of KIOSK
In the late 19th century, the idea of unmanned machines began with the appearance of the first kiosk in England in the 1880s. In the early days, stamps and postcards were mainly sold, and gradually, it evolved into an automatic offering of a variety of products. It was a mechanical structure in which coins were inserted to produce products, and this was the beginning of unmanned service. With the advent of the first ATMs in the United States in the 1970s, the kiosk concept was also introduced in the financial service. By inserting a card and entering password, you could withdraw cash and accelerated the automation of financial transactions. Since then, ATMs have developed into various functions such as account inquiry, remittance, and utility payment, and have spread rapidly worldwide. In the 1980s, interactive Kiosks emerged with the development of computer and touchscreen technology. The first computer-based kiosk was installed in the New York Public Library in 1984, allowing users to search for book information and check operating hours. Initially, it was used to provide information, and it changed from a button manipulation method to a touchscreen interactive system.
In the 1990s, kiosks connected to the Internet emerged and began to be used in more diverse fields. Automatic ticket issuance machines were introduced at airports and train stations, making it convenient for passengers to get boarding tickets, and movie ticket reservation kiosks were distributed in theaters, allowing them to purchase tickets without having to stand in line. Information kiosks were installed in shopping malls and tourist attractions, providing maps and issuing discount coupons. Since the 2000s, the use of kiosks in various industries has increased due to the development of touchscreen and mobile payment technologies. The introduction of order and payment kiosks in fast food restaurants has reduced waiting time and reduced labor costs, increasing business’s profit maximization. Self-check-in kiosks have become mandatory systems at airports, and ticketing and reception kiosks have also increased in subway stations and hospitals. Recently, it is developing in the direction of providing more sophisticated and customized services in combination with AI and big data technologies. Smart kiosks with face recognition and voice recognition technologies have emerged, and in the future, kiosks are expected to expand their role beyond simple unmanned machines to more intelligent and efficient service providers.
DRIMAES and Kiosk
DRIMAES constantly attempts to innovate in kiosk solutions, introducing a variety of customized technologies to meet different industrial and user needs. It supports multiple operating systems such as Linux, Android, and iOS, and provides a custom UI to set a new standard for interactive kiosks. Various designs such as indoor, outdoor, station showcase, etc. are equipped with a large 15.6-inch screen to provide an intuitive and convenient experience and increase usability through environmental and application-optimized designs. Over-the-Air (OTA) updates keep the software up to date to ensure long-term operational stability and technological competitiveness at the same time.
