Smart City Kiosks: a SMART Solution for Urban Planning and Development

By Panashi

If you are a government institution, a municipality or an agency involved in the planning and development of smart cities, you should definitely learn the benefits of smart city kiosks.

The purpose and benefits of these machines are already evident in the name – yes, SMART CITY.

This blog delves deep into these impeccable smart kiosk terminals covering their features, functionality, and benefits in pretty detail.

I’m sure, after reading this blog, you will have something valuable to share with your colleagues and superiors.

What are Smart City Kiosks?

In short, smart kiosks are automated public assistance platforms that are deployed in high footfall regions of cities like busy junctions, at transportation hubs, near places of tourism importance etc. These kiosk terminals are loaded with a plethora of features to assist and guide users to access city-specific information, or perform payment-related tasks.

As Part of the larger smart city project, the kiosk terminals focus on leveraging technology to enhance urban living by enhancing communication, convenience, and information access.

The kiosk terminal leverages technology to enhance the experience of travel and tourism through the integration of top-notch services and facilities that cater to the needs of tourists. The smart transportation ticketing and digital information facilities are integrated into the kiosk machine. The kiosk system also gives importance to the safety of tourists through AI-assisted smart video surveillance.

Smart city kiosks offer several people-friendly services like wayfinding, public transport timings, bill payments, emergency helps and support, Wi-Fi hotspot, etc. – all through a single interface or platform.

How Smart City Kiosks work?

The smart city kiosks are supposed to be deployed strategically at every location where people gather in large numbers. The city planners very well know where those locations are. Kiosk machines, when strategically deployed improve their accessibility to the users.

In fact, the users need not call an Uber to the kiosk machine!

The user simply needs to access the kiosk terminal, follow the instructions displayed on the touchscreen, select the desired service by a gentle tap on the screen, and perform the payment, if required.

Even an adolescent with basic smartphone experience can easily navigate a Smart kiosk, as they are meticulously designed from both hardware and software perspectives.

For those users who are new to the city, be it tourists, migrant workers, or other occasional visitors, they find it difficult to locate touchpoints that deliver legitimate and updated information. The smart kiosk terminal becomes a reliable and trusted “go-to machine” for the residents and tourists alike.

Moreover, the users need not wait in the long lines in front of physical information counters to access an information or make any specific transaction.

The smart city kiosk terminal not just perform information dissemination, they gather valuable data too. We shall go through the details, for sure!

Key Features of Smart City Kiosks

The Smart kiosks are feature-packed, designed to improve city living, information access, and offer fast and efficient services. The important features are furnished below.

Touchscreen display : Smart city kiosks are usually deployed in outdoor environments, and therefore they are equipped with large, high resolution touchscreens that facilitate improved user navigation and accessibility.
Wayfinding facility : The smart kiosk terminals present detailed, interactive maps of the city and its surroundings, the local attractions and places of interest. With GPS integration and connecting with the local transport systems, the city kiosk can offer real-time information regarding bus, metro or other local transport schedules.
Wi-fi Hotspot facility : The smart kiosk offers Wi-fi hotspot facility so that the users can securely connect their devices and access high-speed internet. If required, you may offer this as a paid service for a reasonable fee during peak hours.
Charging point : Smart kiosk terminals are integrated with charging stations, equipped with multiple USB ports so that users can charge their devices seamlessly.
Smart city kiosks for advertising : As these kiosk terminals receive so much of customer attention and visibility, authorities can leverage their advertising potential. Apart from the kiosk’s primary screen, the kiosk machine can be loaded with a secondary screen for the sole purpose of advertising. The city kiosks present an excellent revenue generation opportunity for local bodies through advertising.
SOS system : The authorities can integrate an Emergency call button facility for users to get connected during an emergency. Once the button is pressed, the user instantly gets connected to the nearest police outpost or the designated official. This feature can be accommodated under the city rapid response plan.
Ticketing facility : the kiosk machine can issue and even print tickets for transportation hubs, special events, etc. so that users can avoid standing in long lines to purchase tickets via the official counters.
High resolution CCTV camera : The kiosk machine is loaded with a high-resolution AI camera for 24/7 surveillance.
Smart police kiosk : the Smart city kiosk can also serve as a smart police kiosk that lets citizens file complaints without a visiting police station. The user can instantly connect with police control room and initiate video conferencing with the official in-charge via the kiosk terminal. The user may report crimes, report an incident or an emergency, or report any suspicious activity in a matter of seconds to the officials.
Multiple payment modes : The smart city kiosks are equipped with multiple payment modes like cash payment, card payment, cardless or mobile app payments. The users can make their desired payments conveniently via any of the payment modes. They can make use of the facility to purchase transportation tickets and pay bills like utility bills. Remember, a wide demography of the users accesses the city kiosk, and hence the flexibility in payments is always necessary.
Multi-language facility : The users can select from a range of languages and select their desired language to initiate kiosk interactions. The multilanguage facility of the kiosk machine can immensely benefit a multi-cultured and multi-linguistic society like UAE. And of course, it brings in a personalised kiosk experience for the users.
News and weather update : The city kiosk can disseminate local news via the kiosk screen, and display other real-time information regarding traffic congestions, local weather, temperature, humidity etc. Real-time information helps visitors and residents take well-informed decisions.

Benefits of Smart City Kiosks

And the benefits are multidimensional. Let’s go through some of the important benefits.

1) Smart City Kiosks for urban development and planning

The kiosk machine is a treasure trove of valuable customer data. The kiosk machine helps city planning authorities and local bodies gather data-backed information regarding several aspects of the city.

User data : The kiosk machine can gather user data in connection with their service-related preferences, usage time, repeat transactions, payment modes, etc. The data helps to understand the most preferred or used services, determine the quality of services, check any room for improvement etc.
Event updates : The kiosk machine can display information on the latest events and programs organized in and around the city. Creative information display ensures citizen engagement and participation.
Emergency news and updates : The kiosk machine can display latest news and happenings of the city on real-time basis and keep citizens well-informed and updated. The kiosk can also display emergency updates like bad weather, rain forecast, windy conditions etc. Based on the emergency messages or alerts, the citizens can keep themselves safe or take the required precautions.
Citizen feedback facility : The authorities may collect valuable feedbacks from citizens, tourists and visitors via the kiosk machine. The users can input their suggestions, complaints and feedbacks via the kiosk machine and become part of city planning and maintenance.
Instant emergency access : The Emergency security button helps tourists and residents with instant access to police or city security services. Moreover, the kiosk machine is loaded with high resolution camera that conducts 24/7 surveillance. The camera facility keeps away fraudsters, tricksters and other illegal activities and ensures public safety.
Sustainability messaging : The smart city kiosk can display information regarding sustainability practices and communicate the same effectively with the public. The kiosk machine can display information related to electric charging stations in and around the city, waste disposal and recycling units, and other sustainable practices. The constant messaging and suggestions favor the sustainability initiatives of the city.
Digital tourism Information : The kiosk offers information related to the availability of tourism information booths and help centers where the tourists get assistance from authorized personnel.
Parking lot information : Get information regarding the nearby parking facilities, and recreation centers.
Smart city tourism : Smart city tourism is considered as the future of tourism. Here, the smart city kiosk serves as a virtual gateway to the city. With a gentle tap on the kiosk screen, irrespective of the nationality/language, the user gets to know the city inside and out. Smart city tourism makes use of the latest technologies like IoT for crowd management in events. Smart city tourism also makes use of Augmented Reality in places of tourist attractions like museums, to enhance visitor experience.

2) Advertisement and business promotion

Apart from information dissemination and payment processing, the smart city kiosk offers excellent advertising opportunities for the local bodies. Various opportunities connected with city kiosk advertising are listed below.

Display targeted, personalized ads through Geolocation technology integration.
Through sponsorships, local businesses can buy kiosk ad spaces and market their products and services to a larger audience.
An admin can manage ad campaigns remotely from a single location. The remote admin can tweak or make necessary changes or updates in the campaign based on peak-hour footfall, weather conditions, festival timings etc. on real-time basis.

In fact, the advertisers get complete control over the ad campaigns.

3) Smart city kiosks to promote tourism

The governments can make use of the kiosk machine as a one-stop tourism information and booking portal, and promote a plethora of services too.

The local bodies can effectively promote government hotels, resorts, restaurants, museums, and other places of interests via the kiosk machine.
The visitors can gather information related to these destinations, and even book or purchase tickets via the smart kiosk terminal.
Access information about hotels, availability of rooms and accommodation facilities etc.
Gather information regarding sightseeing tours, travel packages, and tour operators.

Moreover, the visitors can make use of the wayfinding functionality of the kiosk terminal to figure out important landmarks and tourist destinations. The kiosk machine offers interactive maps and directions with utmost clarity and precision. The users get the bird’s eye view of what’s happening in the city and where. Doesn’t it sound interesting and thought-provoking?

4) Contactless payments

The smart kiosks are deployed in public settings and therefore have continuous access to the general public. The contactless payment facility of these kiosk machines offers a great deal of convenience to the users. Additionally, the facility reduces physical contact with the kiosk terminal, thereby ensuring hygiene standards.

5) Real-time kiosk management

The A to Z operations of the smart kiosk or the network of kiosks can be managed real-time by an admin from a remote location. And hence, there is no room for worries. The remote admin can manage the day-to-day operations of the kiosk machine, make necessary changes in minutes, deploy software updates and patches as and when needed, analyse the performance of the machine, etc.

6) Reduced carbon footprint

The city kiosk serves as a one-stop information access and payment portal for both residents and visitors. Hence, people can limit the use of vehicles to a significant extent, thereby reducing carbon footprint. Yes, deploying smart city kiosks is a step towards sustainable living too.

Conclusion

The smart kiosks are a “must have” for any cosmopolitan city like Dubai.

These smart machines play an important role in the urban development and planning initiatives. Their multifaceted benefits like improved connectivity, service-related utility, and information dissemination are highly impactful and rewarding as far as any city is concerned.

The kiosk provides data-backed information to local government authorities and city officials through genuine user engagement. The data can be stored and used as a valuable reference for future developmental or research activities.

Moreover, the easy-to use interface of these smart machines becomes instrumental in reducing the digital divide. The machine serves as a pivotal “connecting link” between the local government bodies and the end-users.

For any assistance regarding the implementation of smart city kiosks, please get in touch with Panashi’s customer experience team.

Transforming Urban Planning with Smart kiosk Solutions