*About the authors: James Bickers is the editor of SelfServiceWorld.com and KioskMarketplace.com. His recent articles about cutting-edge self-service technology include Is fast casual self-service at the tipping point? and Software interfaces look to the future. Bryan Harris is a reporter for SelfServiceWorld.com and KioskMarketplace. He also serves as editor of SelfService.org, the Self-Service & Kiosk Association's Web site. His recent articles include RFID takes a hit, after researcher cracks the code  and Indian e-gov kiosks improve citizen access.

The stars at night may indeed be big and bright, but this September, the heart of Texas will shine with a massive roomful of new technologies and applications, all aimed at helping businesses make more money while making customers happier.

"This will be our biggest show yet," said Terry Thompson, director of operations for The Self-Service & Kiosk Show. "We've nearly doubled the number of exhibitors over the last show, so attendees will find a tremendous variety of companies and applications on display in our exhibit hall."

The show, scheduled for Sept. 28-29 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, will feature a full line-up of seminars and workshops, led by industry experts focused on a variety of disciplines. The keynote speaker will be T. Scott Gross, author of "When Customers Talk" and "Positively Outrageous Service."

"Scott is such an entertaining speaker - and the topic of customer service is just so important," Thompson said. "His presentation is based on surveying 100,000 consumers about their shopping experiences and he's got some really interesting - and really surprising - results to talk about."

Seminar topics on three tracks

Applications in Action, featuring sessions with Christopher Boyce of Virgin Life Care, Chad Munce of Photo Marketing Association, Dillman Moree of 7-Eleven and Norma Wolcott of IBM

Gaining Competitive Advantage, featuring Terry Kasen of Agilysys, Tamara Mendelsohn of Forrester Research Associates and Mike Best of Proctor & Gamble

Technologies & Trends, featuring Brian Kilcourse of Retail Systems Alert Group, Kevin Fitzgerald of BCC Research and David Roscoe of ADFLOW Networks.

The show floor

Three special features make their debut at this year's show, including the Store of the Future exhibit presented by IBM. The company will be showing virtually every technology and application they have related to a store environment - from their largest self-checkout unit to applications that are deployed on shopping carts, on shelves, and on stand-alone units. "It's going to be an amazing, comprehensive array of applications all in one spot," Thompson said.

Other new features include the dedicated C-Store Zone, filled with technologies aimed at the convenience store owner/operator, and the Photo Kiosk Gallery, presented by the Photo Marketing Association. Attendees will be able to do their own side-by-side comparisons of photo kiosks from a variety of vendors.

"Texas is a huge state for convenience stores, and many self-service applications are doing extremely well there. We felt like the San Antonio show, then, was a natural venue to show the world what self-service tech can do for c-stores," Thompson said.

Photo kiosks have been one of the strongest ROI performers for self-service deployers, and as more competitors enter the field, Thompson believed having a place where deployers could see several side-by-side would help them decide how to guide their deployments.

In addition, advancedMethod, a Seattle firm specializing in the production and delivery of online audio-visual content, and Euro Touch Kiosks will provide three wayfinding screens throughout the show area, showcasing the company's abilities to create and deliver rich media that educates users while improving their experience.

Anchor partners

ADFLOW Networks, a digital signage and kiosk deployment firm will display several of its real-world successes with dynamic signage. The company also will demonstrate the Dynamic Messaging System, its sixth-generation hosted digital media management system, as well as a variety of touchscreen and kiosk solutions, featuring RFID and other emerging technologies.

Kiosk Information Systems has produced thousands of kiosks since its inception in 1993. The company will bring self-service applications like human resources, order entry, ticketing, bill payment, photo kiosks, music download, public Internet access and others.

With clients such as Mazda, Yahoo!, Burger King, SBC and many others, Nanonation delivers more than 20 million minutes of customer interaction annually. The company will demonstrate its Nanopoint and CommandPoint software platforms, which were created from the ground up for customer-facing, self-service environments, from kiosks to digital signage.

Palm Desert National Bank's booth will feature the innovations of Tio Network's bill pay and Vero's check-cashing solutions supported by the backroom management expertise of PDNB for efficient multi-point payments settlement, balancing, reconciliation, terminal management and funding, including PDNB's innovative "reverse vault cash" feature.

St. Clair Interactive Communications will bring many of the success stories from 25 years in the kiosk business, with more than 500 successful deployments under its belt. The company has a unique set of skills and more than 35 pre-built, rapidly deployable application software templates, and remote management and content tools.

Source Technologies will feature three of its standard "concourse" hardware platforms, each offering plug-and-play devices to support a variety of applications. Applications on display will include teller (bank automation), billpay, check cashing (for check cashing plus sale and dispensation of money orders and stored-value products) and CreditApp (for applications and account management).

U.S. Exhibits develops integrated custom kiosk solutions for a variety of applications and industries. Where many companies start with one box that is tailored to fit all purposes, U.S. Exhibits starts with a question - what is the complete solution that the deployer needs - and goes ground-up from there. U.S. Exhibits' approach incorporates all of the functions that are necessary today, including kiosk design, software and interface development, and advertising placement and integration for the deployer's own marketing or for third-parties and co-op advertisers. Featured with U.S. Exhibits are partners Hit Media Group and Vertical Systems Inc.

U.S. Exhibits also is sponsoring the official Internet kiosks that are stationed around the show. Attendees can access the Internet and check e-mail, as well as print airline boarding passes up to 24 hours before their return flight. This solution is being deployed under the brand name FastBoard to all corporate-owned Hyatt hotels, and allows guests to check-in with airlines and print boarding passes while still at the hotel.

Supporting partners

CeroView provides complete end-to-end business solutions for the retail, entertainment, technology, government, education, healthcare and transportation industries. The company specializes in user-interface design, kiosk location placement, hardware and software selection and integration, and implementation services, and will have a number of successful applications on hand.

DynaTouch Corp., in business since 1988 with more than 500 successful kiosk projects, will bring a number of real-world deployments, including Military OneStop (pay and personnel solution with ID Card authentication and extensive Department of Defense content), VA Patient Services (client/server solution for express check-in, appointment scheduling, pharmacy services, access to medical records), as well as wayfinding, survey and directory applications.

Maysteel LLC is a Wisconsin-based company specializing in the custom fabrication of metal enclosures, assemblies, and components, on both a contract basis and via proprietary products used in the distribution of electric power. Maysteel was founded in 1936 and today has three manufacturing locations and more than 513,000 square feet of production space.

StacoSwitch, manufacturer of input devices for aerospace, military and industrial environments, will display its newly added "tactile feedback" touchscreens. Attendees will be able to test-drive the M80 tactile feedback touchscreen in a variety of applications, from kiosk and all-in-one computer to a touchscreen that communicates with a remote computer.

UltiMedia is a French firm that designs, manufactures and markets a global offering of interactive terminals and information screens, and offers a wide range of complementary services from secured Internet browsers to accessories dedicated to interactive technologies and other terminal application software.

Elsewhere on the show floor

Apunix, which specializes in building extensible self-service solutions on the Java platform, will demonstrate its customer self-service appliance, suitable for use in retail, foodservice, travel, entertainment, hospitality and other service applications. The company has been recognized three times by Frost & Sullivan, and has received multiple awards from Self-Service World magazine.

APW: I-engage will show enFOCUS, a complete digital photo printing solution, and enVITE and enLITEN, stand-up kiosks that can be configured to deliver many popular applications.

Arrow Electronics/Decision One manufactures and distributes a variety of kiosk and ATM components including barcode and card readers, cash acceptors and dispensers, enclosures, touch pads, security and biometric hardware, photo kiosks and software.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide provides truck, rail, ocean and air transportation throughout the world. C.H. Robinson can manage deployments through shipping, implementation and start-up, and specializes in analyzing existing processes and formulating customized solutions.

Comark manufactures packaging and processing solutions. They sell a wide variety of kiosks for both indoor and outdoor applications. Systems can be configured for tabletop, suspension and floor-mounting styles. A wide variety of options is available.

Corporate Safe Specialists will show its turnkey transactional kiosk, including ordering, cash payments and receiving change. It will also show a modular, armored-car-ready kiosk in which all funds are tracked and secured until pick-up is done by armored car.

D2 Sales designs and manufactures interactive brand environments for digital media, from kiosk enclosures to multimedia lounges and cafés. D2 provides a dimensional brand experience to showcase client content.

Diebold Inc. Premier Services manufactures and sells a variety of ATMs, check-cashing machines, voting machines, access control systems and other self-service solutions. Diebold's Premier Services division specializes in maintaining and managing self-service solutions.

Electronic Systems Protection provides power protection solutions for the kiosk and self-service industry. The company will show its power filter and power protection solutions, and discuss how it can help customers build their businesses.

Elo Touchsystems develops, manufactures and markets a complete line of touch products that simplify the interface between people and computers and kiosks in both public access and employee-activated applications.

Enhance Electronics designs and manufactures power supplies for kiosks, specifically for high-heat environments. The patent-pending Remote Access Power Hub provides remote power reset via network connection.

Euro Touch Kiosks provides indoor and outdoor kiosk enclosures in contemporary European designs. Its enclosures are made with aluminum and stainless steel.

Ewait offers a variety of kiosks in modern Norwegian constructions of wood and metal. Products include tabletop and freestanding models, as well as kiosks integrated into restaurant tables or other flat surfaces.

EZscreen Touchscreen Systems manufactures and markets a variety of all-in-one touch PCs, touchscreen kits to upgrade existing flat-screen displays, panel-mount touch displays and desktop touch displays, including the 37-inch Rx370, designed to emphasize attractive on-screen graphics.

Graphics Systems Inc. manufactures and sells a variety of signs and digital signs, including the AdView Dynamic Messenger. The AdView Dynamic Messenger is a digital sign that can load content from a variety of popular memory cards, loop content and support external audio output.

Hemisphere West International offers currency handling and validation solutions. It will showcase, in partnership with JCM, the Outpay Bill Validator/Cash Recycler along with other currency validation products specific to the self-service industry.

ID Tech will show its Spectrum Hybrid Insert Reader, designed to read and decode up to three tracks of magnetically encoded information. The company will also display the Omni reader, designed for barcodes and mag stripes, and other products.

Industrial Electronic Engineers has a line of standard mini-kiosks in a variety of display technologies. IEE will show their mini-kiosk with printer, touchscreen and mag-stripe reader. The unit is available in various high-bright displays in 6.4-, 10- and 12.1-inch display sizes.

Immersion Corp. offers tactile feedback systems that add seemingly real button-push sensations to traditional touchscreens. Immersion's products can also be used in knobs, cellular phones and video game controllers.

Infonox provides "financial solutions on demand," including the ActiveKiosk Suite of solutions for customer-facing self-service, deployable on any kiosk hardware. ActiveKiosk Suite is a plug-and-play self-service solution, offering end-to-end management.

Intas Co. Ltd. provides a wide variety of LCD flat panel displays, home LCD TVs and LCD PC monitors. Intas displays are available in a variety of sizes for diverse applications and deployments.

King Products & Solutions Inc. markets a diverse line of complete kiosk solutions in a variety of form factors and all metal enclosures. Their solutions include bill payment, Internet access, gift card dispensers, directories, promotions, HR and survey kiosks, among others.

Kiosk Factory designs and builds custom kiosks and modular, specification-grade kiosks for industrial and exterior use. Their clients have included General Electric, Sony, Toys R Us and Grumman's Chinese Theatre.

Kiosk Logix/WLG markets a variety of self-service solutions, including BizCenterLOGIX, a self-service business center for deployment in hotel environments and other locations where business services are needed, and NetStop Pro Secure Kiosk Software, for securing kiosk applications.

La Gard will exhibit their traditional and newly developed safes, including the Navigator. The Navigator is a keyless, remote-managed safe that can be opened with an authorized employee's cell phone and requires no full-time dispatcher.

Landel markets technology simplifying remote data capture, without computers, for commercial customers, from remote locations where computers and computer-based kiosks may be too expensive.

Max International Converters Inc. will show MAX-Stick, the first repositionable adhesive thermal paper. The custom repositionable adhesive strip on the back of MAX-Stick can easily adhere to nearly any surface, which could include sandwich wrappers, to-go bags or DVDs.

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America's product lines include stand-alone photofinishing kiosks, networkable digital photofinishing stations and high capacity and high-speed digital photo printers.

Netkey will demonstrate Netkey 6.5, built for the development, deployment and operation of interactive kiosk and digital signage networks, enabling secure remote management and dissemination of multimedia content.

Nippon Primex manufactures kiosk receipt printers. Their printers are widely used for kiosks, ATMs, and other self-service systems worldwide, and are available in a variety of styles and form factors.

Parabit Systems, Inc. markets kiosks, enclosures and access controllers. Their kiosk lines include custom kiosks, in-wall kiosks, pedestal kiosks with telephones and keyboards, desktop kiosks, and desktop kiosks with phones. They also market WebRestrict kiosk security software.

Pay-Ease Inc. offers a financial transaction and processing network that collects recurring customer payments on behalf of billers, municipalities and municipalities by cash, check or card and can dispense cash or product at its full-service PayStation.

Planar Systems markets flat screen displays for use in home, business, healthcare, retail and hospitality locales. The DS line of point-of-sale/point-of-purchase integrated kiosks are designed for appliance-like installation and operation.

RealTime Shredding Inc. will demonstrate its one-of-a-kind self-service shredder. The industrial-strength shredder can quickly destroy a variety of media, including paper and CDs, available on a pay-per-use basis.

Resolute Tap Services provides comprehensive project management, installation, service and support solutions to the self-service technology and kiosk industries worldwide. Clients include Barnes & Noble, Lockheed Martin, Mediaport Entertainment, AAFES and Catalina Marketing.

Rhombus Services offers delivery, installation and field services for kiosks. Their services include pre-site surveys, project management, installation of all equipment, cabling and software, comprehensive project monitoring and reporting and ongoing data collection for quality assurance.

Proviso will proffer its complete kiosk software solutions, which the company markets as an out-of-the-box solution requiring no specialized training or technical knowledge to install and operate.

Slabb offers hardware, software, services and custom design for kiosks and touch solutions. They emphasize holistic program development, including enclosure design and manufacturing, custom software and integration, engineering and materials research.

Star Micronics offers a full line of thermal and dot matrix printers to meet the widest of applications. The TUP900 thermal kiosk printer is a flexible solution designed specifically to meet the diverse printing needs of kiosk platforms.

Tatung Company of America, Inc. will exhibit its open-frame LCD displays and Mini PC for gaming, industrial and commercial applications. Tatung is introducing 26", 32", 37" and 42" large screen size open-frame LCD displays.

Technical Transportation is a full-service shipping and logistics firm that moves, processes, locates, services, deploys and designs products and services specifically to meet individual customer needs. Tech Trans offers white glove service and synchronized national deployment capabilities.

Technik Manufacturing Inc. will exhibit retail solutions including CD/DVD vending solutions, barcode and mag stripe readers, credit card and vending mechanisms. Technik's components vend a wide range of products including CDs, tickets and phone cards.

Telequip, manufacturer of coin dispensing solutions, will offer its products, including the three-bin Coin Xpress with three hoppers on a single chassis. The unit is capable of both serial and USB interface. It will also show the six-bin Coin Xpress.

Telesat will show VisionPoint, designed to distribute on-demand interactive content. Through VisionPoint, deployers can securely populate kiosks with multimedia content, including uploading, management and scheduling content.

Telpar Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes its own line of direct thermal and impact kiosk and specialty receipt printers. In addition, Telpar distributes printer mechanisms, control electronics and POS/Auto ID stand-alone products.

Touchmate specializes in developing effective touchscreen projects as corporate and public-sector solutions, and manages a wide range of projects ranging from unsupervised public Internet-access kiosks, to interactive touchscreens and information kiosks.

TNS provides cost-effective data communications services for transaction-oriented applications, including managed payment data networks. TNS connects ATMs, kiosks and self-service devices via wireless, dial-up or broadband IP.

Ventus Networks provides a full suite of advanced telecommunication networking solutions, from a comprehensive portfolio of local-to-global business data, cellular data, Internet and voice services. Ventus targets all industry sectors, especially those relying on transporting highly secure financial data traffic through remotely deployed devices.

WebRaiser will exhibit its Method8 and VendiSoft self-service software platforms, as well as its VendiStore and VendiAd self-service applications and the company's digital marketing network.

White Electronic Designs will show its 8.4-inch Touch Tablet PC, a compact, lightweight device enhanced with touch capability.