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Building outdoor kiosks to last

Outdoor kiosks can serve customers 24/7 but they can also be vulnerable 24/7. It's important to keep these tips in mind for an outdoor kiosk that's built to last.

June 6, 2016 by Kiosk Marketplace

Maintaining retail kiosks can be challenging. Disgruntled customers and employees might steal from or vandalize the kiosk. People might damage the kiosk by slamming shopping carts into it.

But besides all of the potential dangers threatening indoor kiosks, outdoor kiosks have to content with natural hazards, as well. While outdoor kiosks are always available for users, they can be ruined by rain, heat, cold and other hazards. So when building an outdoor kiosk, one needs to keep these tips in mind to make it last.

The first task is to perform a site survey. If you don't know where the kiosk will be deployed, you won't know about potential hazards. Will your kiosk be sitting in direct sunlight? How much space will it occupy?

"Site surveys set up kiosks for success," Craig Kalie, president of Ohio-based Customized Uptime Solutions, said in the Outdoor Kiosks 101 guide. "Studies show 60 percent of kiosk unreliability is attributed to poor site infrastructure, something that could easily be identified and fixed with a proper review. Through site surveys, we have seen OEM service calls decrease by 30 percent. In some cases, they're down 60 percent."

There are a few ways to weatherproof a kiosk. First of all is to ensure good ventilation. Without it, dust will collect inside, possibly leading to overheating. Proper ventilation will also help keep the kiosk warm or cool, relative to the temperature of the site.

"You have to make sure that you provide adequate heating and/or cooling pertaining to the peripherals and components based on the climate of the location of the kiosk," MeridianCEO Chris Gilder said in a previous story. "You need to always consider airflow relative to the components in an outdoor unit. If there is paper in a kiosk, for instance, you want to ensure that paper is protected from humidity so that it doesn't get hung up or bogged down."

Another way to protect a kiosk from the elements is to use high quality insulation and seals. And according to the Outdoor Kiosk 101 guide, it's important to choose the right placement.

All kiosk openings, doors, panels and connections should be sealed with gaskets, latches and fittings that prevent moisture from entering. This can be particularly important during the winter, when snow and ice can melt during the day and then freeze and expand overnight, damaging kiosk hardware.

"If you leave your windows open in the summer and don't use insulation, you will run your air conditioner all the time,” said Frank Olea, CEO of Olea Kiosks Inc. "Insulation is good in the summer and winter. You need a lot of it."

In bright sunlight, users may find it difficult to see the kiosk's screen. An anti-glare screen allows users to see the screen clearly regardless of the intensity of sunlight. Canopies and coverings also provide cover from sunlight, as well as protection from rain or snow.

It's also crucial to choose a rugged  material for the exterior of your kiosk. "Plastic kiosks are generally a bad idea," said James Gregorie, director of digital marketing and business development at Swift-Protect LLC. "The sun can bleach colors out of the plastic as well as dry it out which leads to cracking and breaking."  

Kiosk experts also discourage the use of wood exteriors due to chipping and inability to handle extreme temperatures.

Steel and anodized aluminum are two materials that work well on outdoor kiosks. Aluminum can actually be made stronger through the weathering process. Steel is good at handling heat, humidity and wear.

A final consideration is the potential for misuse or theft of the kiosk. Because outdoor kiosks are always available to the public, they are significantly more vulnerable to theft, sabotage and general abuse. Gregorie recommends that kiosk owners consider installing some type of surveillance to protect the kiosk. In addition, the Kiosk Manufacturers Trade Association recommends shock-mounting all electronic components to handle abuse.

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