Posted by gerry | Posted in Sprocket News | Posted on 04-10-2011
After spending quite a deal of design time in China including guest lectures at Colleges and Universities, I still am regularly disappointed when I discover blatant ‘interpretation’ of successful international products.
This image is of a television in my hotel room in Shanghai and probably even more surprising than the unashamed alignment of the brand name [certainly not the tag line…] is the fact that a renowned hotel, famed for its Art Deco design would promote this product to its guests.
In my opinion China can and should and must change its international badge from ‘made in China’ to ‘designed and made in China’ if it wishes to value add to its exports. Then and only then will it really become an accredited member of the international manufacturing community and a powerful one at that! I hope that my company here can in some small way contribute to this transformation.
One another note, having invested time and energy into the design of our products, one is always bemused if they are copied by rival companies [and I am not just talking about China] but what is even more annoying is when the copying is done badly…and all the hard part was done for them!
We are not talking about the limited offerings of Motorola or Symbol scanning devices euphemistically termed micro kiosks but fully featured, content rich interactive systems that provide a wide range of customer functions including transactions and are powered by iPad type devices.
Why “iPad type” well, whilst we at Sprocket are certainly avid followers of the Apple train the reality is that most of our clients in the corporate world are PC driven. Swapping platforms to a somewhat restricted OS for an enterprise based micro kiosk solution may prove a bridge too far for many. Add to that the flexibility of peripheral connectivity [at least in a Win 7 world] and the iPad 2 in all its beauty and simplicity may be overrun by the dark side, well at least in some volume critical deployments. We love the new size, weight and cameras of the iPad 2 and for some applications we will take full advantage of these features and the LaunchPad Mk 2 about to be released [see next post] will be no exception!
Our R&D team are working behind securely closed doors to develop the latest in Micro Kiosks so what this blog for latest goss.
Launchpad Mk2
Apple never rests and neither do we! We are about to receive shipment of our updated LaunchPad bristling with new and improved features, many of which came from our many customers and some of course from our hard working design team! A sneak preview will show you that we have added greater flexibility to the fixing of the LaunchPad to desktops and walls; added anti rotation lugs to give even greater protection against damage and developed an optional anti-cutting protection sleeve for the highest level of security. All in all we are very excited with the Mk 2 and even more so when we start shipping them in a few weeks from now.
There are numerous reasons for looking at the iPad as an alternative Micro kiosk?device to traditional pc powered kiosks and one of the primary reasons must be the benefit to the environment.
Greenpeace and others have mounted an environmental argument against the iPad and its various clones but this has less to do with the device itself and more to do with the increased reliance on, and use of, the energy hungry computing cloud centres to communicate with these mobile devices.
What is indisputable however is the green credentials of the iPad manufacture itself when one looks at it’s low embodied energy, material efficiency, minimal use of hazardous substances and recycling strategy. It is simply a leaner device when it comes down to manufacturing credentials compared to incumbent public interactive technologies.
That leaves us with the question of the efficient use of energy during the life of the product and in particular the comparison with current technologies using larger format LCDs, touchscreens and computers in kiosk enclosures. In basic energy terms the iPad in normal operation consumes around 4 watts per hour whilst the traditional kiosk rates at around 150 watts per hour. Over a year of operating 10 hours a day 7 days per week that can equate to an energy saving of 520,000 watts or 520kwh per kiosk which adds up significantly over a deployment of 100 kiosks.
It is hard to mount an argument against the micro kiosk on environmental grounds and add to that the numerous other deployment benefits, it is no wonder the excitement is building.
Sprocket has recently supplied Its iPad launchPad kiosks to a novel new business in Sydney selling oxygen to shoppers.
The O2 Bar at Darling Harbour’s Harbourside precinct offers 90 per cent-pure flavored oxygen for $1 a minute for up to 15 minutes. Popular overseas the 02 bar is the first of its kind in Australia. Arranged in an array for customers the Lauchpad Micro Kiosks allow patrons to browse while imbibing. LaunchPad has been used by many businesses in many industries, but this is the first time we’ve helped a company to sell air! See the fairfax article here.
IPads and PC tablets are gaining popularity as platforms for data entry at tradeshows and exhibitions. Applications that store or allow you to submit information to a CRM at a stand during an exhibition is a very effective way leverage new business. Our Padlock secure browser software allows anyone to connect to an existing website CRM interface, providing a direct path to data acquisition.
However, one of the things they don’t tell you is sometimes wifi and 3G connections are unreliable at trade shows. For this reason it is sometime necessary to have an application running that will cache the data on the iPad/Tablet itself. Recently here at Sprocket we developed custom iPad App for a client exhibitor to run within our LaunchPad kiosk. The software gathered contact information and included survey questions for a competition. The exhibitor had great success with the custom App and LaunchPad combination. Our custom App kept all the data on the machine, and when network became available it sent the information to a dedicated database on a remote server. Using this approach redundancy is built in; if there is no network available the information is always backed up.
Others are discovering the merit of using a iPad at trade shows. See this article here on the Skyline website describing their experiences.
Posted by mark | Posted in Sprocket News | Posted on 02-08-2011
Its Gerrys birthday!!
Another milestone for the founder and CEO of Sprocket Technologies. He came in this morning to discover his office covered in streamers and balloons. Looking a little worse for wear after a night celebrating, none -the -less he managed a broad smile on arrival to the colourful chaos. Pictured here admiring his new T shirt and single malt scotch, the boss can look forward to a sensible healthy cake from Cheryl, and perhaps a toast at lunchtime. Many happy returns!
The LaunchPad ipad enclosure was used by several car exhibitors at the recent Melbourne motor show. In fact it was the most popular information kiosk at the event! Toyota, suzuki, Mazda, Nissan and Better Place had a variety of our launchPads configurations on show. Some LaunchPads were running websites or customs apps, and in the case of Better Place an application built by us for them especially for the event. Check out the video to see LaunchPad in action.
Some men are born to be on camera and Edwin is a unique individual. Some have greatness thrust upon them, but in this case its a wall that is thrust upon Edwin.
Ever wondered whether technology would work at a cemetery, well the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority recently commissioned Sprocket Kiosks to develop an interactive system at the Cheltenham Cemetery that makes light work of finding loved ones, memorial services and other relevant information.The kiosk , featuring a secure 17″ screen with secure keyboard and a 32″ informational screen above it also includes an A4 printer to enable visitors to print maps and memorial notices and timetables.
Sprocket’s challenge was to design and manufacture a robust yet elegent structure that would function in the extreme climate of Adelaide and provide a visible focus for visitors to the cemetery. The system has inbuilt temperature control and a proximity sensor that reduces energy consumption when no visitors are present.
The elegant software developed by ACA is a simple to use web based program mirroring the ACA website and it is hoped that the success of the Cheletenham kiosk will enable further devices to be installed in other ACA managed cemeteries.
This week Microsoft offered a sneak peek at the new Windows 8 OS. As the largest software platform developer for kiosks this new Windows OS looks set to really shake up the marketplace.
We all love the Apple OS, but Windows with its reach and 3rd party device support is a very important platform for traditional information Kiosks. Now, with this “touch first” Windows being build it appears that Windows is destined to be a major player in the emerging Micro Kiosk market as well.
The single most common impediment to Microsoft’s strategy of putting Windows on a tablet is a the perception that the Windows behemoth is just too big for the new generation of tablets. But it seems that a lot of work is going on behind the scenes to strip back the the OS to the kernel and rebuild. So perhaps the “touch first” Windows 8 interface will not just be another layer on top of the old. That, coupled with the inevitable increase in the processing power of the next generation of tablets, means that this might be a real game changer for the Micro Kiosk market.
German industrial designer closely associated with the consumer products company Braun and the Functionalist school of industrial design.
1. Is innovative
Rams states that possibilities for innovation in design are unlikely to be exhausted since technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. He also highlights that innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology and can never be an end in and of itself.
2. Makes a product useful
A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasises the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.
3. Is aesthetic
Only well-executed objects can be beautiful. The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products used every day have an effect on people and their well-being.
4. Makes a product understandable
It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.
5. Is unobtrusive
Products and their design should be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression. Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools and are neither decorative objects nor works of art.
6. Is honest
Honest design should not attempt to make a product seem more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It should not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
7. Is long-lasting
It should avoid being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even when the trend may be in favor for disposable products.
8. Is thorough down to the last detail
Dieter Rams states that nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance in the design of a product since care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
9. Is environmentally friendly
Good design should make an important contribution to the preservation of the environment by conserving resources and minimizing physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
10. Is as little design as possible
Dieter Rams makes the distinction between the common “Less is more” and his strongly advised “Less, but better” highlighting the fact that this approach focuses on the essential aspects thus, the products are not burdened with non-essentials. The desirable result would then be purer and simpler.
Thanks to to the super human efforts of all the team at sprocket the clever and totally cool LaunchPad iPad Micro Kiosk enclosure is in full production. I’m sure not many people realize what an enormous financial and creative undertaking it is to bring a totally new product to the marketplace. From the initial idea, to the prototyping, the pre-production refinement and fabrication. All the breakthroughs and heartbreaks now are bearing fruit.
Keep watching this space as LaunchPad blasts off and conquers; space, the final frontier!
Having been actively involved in the supply of large format interactive kiosk technology for the Lake Mungo Visitor Centre, the Sprocket team were pleased to hear that further architectural projects are being considered for the site under the guidance of Pritzker Prize winning architect Glenn Murcutt and design partner Wendy Lewin. We believe Murcutt’s motto ‘touch the earth lightly’ will ensure this historically and evolutionary significant site is given the respect it deserves… exciting stuff.
Murcutt and Lewin set to design iconic Mungo centre – LINK
Sprocket CEO Gerry Musset interviewed at MacWorld in San Francisco late January 2011. In this interview he explains the key features of the new Sprocket LaunchPad and PadLock secure browser.
Sprocket Gen Manager Cheryl Fraser being interviewed at MacWorld January 2011. Here she talks at length about the new Sprocket LaunchPad and the PadLock. She explains the different versions of LaunchPad, their construction and finish options.
You have to excuse the video syncing, it’s a little delayed.
