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Touch screen kiosk, PCs and monitors are used in a variety of industry sectors and now they are being used to perform marriage ceremonies.
The machine, called AutoWed, allows happy couples to get hitched for just £1.
Created by ConceptShed, a British firm who works in design, engineering, product development and prototyping, the eight-foot tall machine is a novelty wedding kiosk that offers a quick wedding, a personalised certificate and a couple of rings.
It plays the role of the vicar or wedding clergy and marries budding bride-to-be’s and grooms for the simple price of a McDonald’s happy meal.
AutoWed ‘speaks’ to the couples allowing them to choose whether they wish to marry their partner or not, via touch screen buttons. The engaged pair merely press the option for ‘I do’ or the button that says ‘escape’.
It also provides orientation options between ‘straight’, ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’ and even ‘best friends forever’. The printed receipt says the marriage was performed in the presence of ‘Minister Marvin.’
But there is no need to sweat any nasty divorce proceedings should the couple decide to later go separate ways and end the married bliss because the kiosks are purely for entertainment purposes and do not legally bind people in marriage. So if you get cold feet on the day of your Auto wedding day, you can opt to escape or just get an Auto Divorce.
Just check out the video below of the touch screen technology at work…
Touch screen technology is used in many different industries from local government hospitals and libraries, to airports, hotels and restaurants. But it seems that another sector is embracing kiosks and the many advantages that it can bring to a business; and it is the adult entertainment industry.
A porn-dispensing kiosk is being deployed in many areas in America which allows users to browse adult film titles and download them onto a USB storage device.
Dubbed PleasureXone, the kiosk lets consumers purchase USB drives, external drives and ‘adult products’ with complete privacy 24 hours a day.
So far over 2,000 units have already been installed in liquor stores, truck stops, lingerie and adult stores and they permit the download to be played on gaming devices, personal computers and televisions.
Many things come to mind when deliberating such a product; mainly censorship. The pink and purple units are said to be deployed only in places where young people and minors do not visit frequently. But there is always the worry in case such risqué and racy content is stumbled upon by kids. Reportedly, a driving licence is needed for the authorisation process and the kiosks have no pornographic previews.
Obviously should the kiosks be deployed in family-orientated locations such as restaurants and supermarkets it would cause a stir and be very inappropriate.
What advantages are there to installing the touch screen technology? Obviously the creator believes it is a good business model and is profitable or otherwise the type of kiosk would not have been generated. The ‘porn for sale’ kiosks are said to be more discreet then reading hundreds of DVDs in a store. Standing in front of a display of sexy photos for 20 seconds whilst the movie downloads is far less provocative and embarrassing than looking at large, colourful images over a counter, the company argues.
Moreover, all traces of what you have been looking at, renting or buying is completely private.
Many industries are embracing self-service kiosks and mobile technology to enhance customer’s experiences. Only time will tell whether the model of purchasing porn will be a success, let’s wait and see…
Install a more conventional Touch screen kiosk in your business with Protouch; Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of touch screen technology.
We all know how stressful and tiresome it can be when sitting and waiting in the lounge at an airport, desperately wanting to board the plane and start your holiday.
With the kids running round yapping because they are excited about flying and your other half moaning at how tired they are from the early morning wake-up call, it can be a taxing ordeal.
It doesn’t help the fact that there isn’t really much to do other than shop for duty free which let’s be honest, children aren’t too keen on.
A company has come up with a solution to this problem however, with the goal to try and tackle boredom; airport movie kiosks.
Digiboo, a firm who deal with flash storage technology, are planning to combat entertainment by deploying a massive 7,000 movie rental kiosks to airports across the country.
Similar kiosks, such as Redbox and Blockbuster Express, already exist however none so far are available in the airport industry.
The consumer can download thousands of films onto a USB to watch on their portable PC, laptop or mobile device, either in the waiting lounge or on the flight.
The Kiosk installation, which is to take place over the next three years, will ensure that each movie download with only take 30 seconds.
Talk about lifesaver to keep the youngsters quiet!
If you want to deploy a Touch screen kiosk in your business, visit Protouch today; Europe’s number one manufacturer and distributor of Touch screen technology.
Blockbuster, once the world’s largest chain of home video stores, plans to close upwards of 500 locations across the United States. A necessity due to lowered profits and pressure from net-based video rental services, the once-successful company plans to lower their operating size and focus on high quality store placements and retail outlets. 
Alongside their decision, American DVD rental kiosk company NCR plans to capitalize on the wide open rental spaces. Their ‘Blockbuster Express’ DVD kiosk chain – a highly profitable business which licenses Blockbuster’s name directly – plans to operate in areas left without a Blockbuster rental outlet.
The DVD kiosk chain claims that business would resume as normal if Blockbuster were to go bankrupt. Citing their licensed brand name, the kiosk chain noted that their business is operated independently from Blockbuster, sharing only their marketing materials in order to receive greater levels of customer interest.
Los Angeles rental chain Movie Gallery
filed for Chapter-11 bankruptcy earlier this year. With a range of independent and franchised rental outlets struggling to remain profitable, the expansion of kiosk-based rental services could be good for studios, and
of course, for consumers.
Hollywood’s major revenue generator – the DVD retail market – is under attack from a range of DVD rental kiosks, primarily the Redbox line of rental kiosks across North America. With film revenues dwindling and long-term rental rates, particularly from retail outlets, falling quite dramatically, Hollywood have begun an all-out offensive against the kiosk-based businesses. 
Online rental company Netflix recently signed a 28-day delay contract with Hollywood’s largest studios, ensuring that films have a fair run on DVD before being brought online as a streaming product. With Redbox and other kiosk-based rental services facing the same delay, it appears that Hollywood’s cartel-style release strategies could result in lost earnings for kiosk companies.
However, Redbox is keen to fight back. With growing revenues and a potentially revolutionary business model, the ever-growing kiosk DVD rental company plans to offer a video streaming service to complement their kiosk-based rental outlets. Available as a paid monthly service, Redbox believe that the online service could potentially beat out rival Netflix and DVD rental outlets such as Blockbuster.
Whether the strategy will succeed or not is unknown. However, with Redbox’s recent success disrupting Hollywood’s retail strategy, it appears that almost anything is possible in the exciting kiosk industry.
Interactive kiosks are quickly shifting from a one-off novelty into a staple asset for businesses. Following the massive success of Redbox – a self service kiosk system placed in shopping malls for DVD rentals – a range of large retail chains, city governments, and travel businesses are beginning to experiment with their own self service kiosks designed for payment, information and education, and automating simple tasks.
Of course, much like business staffing, kiosks are most cost-effective and valuable when optimized for use. For some businesses, this may mean a multi-purpose kiosk designed to minimize overall expenses and streamline in-store operation, while for others it could mean a very defined and single-purpose kiosk, installed with the goal of minimizing specific staffing requirements. 
This flexibility is a key aspect of the ever-growing value of touch screen kiosks. From retail to travel, leisure to local government, kiosks can offer value in almost any industry. These three case studies illustrate how kiosks are changing strategy across three different industries: entertainment, retail, and travel.
How Kiosks are Boosting Cinema Profits:
The film industry has been thrown around over the last decade, but a number of recent technical advances are ensuring its profitability. The first is the installation of ticket kiosks in cinemas and theatre lobbies. With the addition of self service ticket points and payment kiosks, cinemas are lowering operating costs and rapidly increasing their profit margins, allowing moviegoers to enjoy relatively lower ticket prices and decreased wait times at cinemas.
Cineworld, one of the UK’s largest cinema chains, have experienced this boost in moviegoer spending first hand. Since installing automated ticket booths, their per-customer spend has greatly increased, alongside higher levels of customer satisfaction and a much more streamlined movie experience. Since installing touch screen kiosks, staff have been able to focus on major customer concerns more immediately, and overall operating costs have been lowered significantly.
The Effects of Self Service Kiosks in Retail:
Self service kiosks are quickly becoming a common sight in retail settings. UK childcare and baby products giant Kiddicare have implemented retail kiosks into their outlets, with some very positive results. Installed with the purpose of freeing staff to focus on customers, the kiosks have achieved their goals effectively, increasing per-customer spend and maximizing Kiddicare’s ability to focus on customer assistance directly.
A range of factors influence the value of these kiosks installations. On-screen software allows merchants to streamline their sales and information process. Similar to the direct sales process, kiosk software is designed to guide customers through a clear on-screen journey. Multi-purpose kiosks, one of the most effective tools for increasing ROI, benefit most from relatively minimal on-screen information and grounded navigational buttons.
We’ve all heard about the success of movie rental kiosks, such as Redbox, but the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show has thrown up an intriguing industry incumbent. 
DVDs you rent can often end up damaged or unplayable and returning them is as much of a hassle as sending an old fashioned rental back to the shop.
So, Symwave and Xona Media have invented a better way.
They’ve created the MK3 DVD+Digital kiosk, and they’ll be showing it off next year at CES 2010. This kiosk uses USB 3.0 technology to deliver full movie downloads to customers in less than 10 seconds, and will carry an almost unlimited selection of films.
If you don’t have a USB 3.0 capable drive, your old 2.0 stuff will still work with the MK3. Using it is still going to be faster and more convenient than any other movie renting experience. Plus, when you’re done with the film, it just gets deleted from your hard drive. You never have to worry about returns.
Global Axcess Corp, an independent ATM provider with more than 4,500 machines, are branching out into the self-service market with a line of DVD-rental kiosks in 2010. 
CEO George McQuain, who has largely been responsible for bringing the once-struggling Global Axcess back to profitability, says they have a unique opportunity to compete against the major DVD-rental brands.
“We believe there is a largely unmet addressable market for DVD kiosks that will not only allow us to penetrate the market but also allow us to displace incumbents,” McQuain said in December. “Our goal is to leverage our ability to deploy, manage, maintain and process transactions from a wider range of self-service kiosks beyond the traditional ATM. We believe our aggressive move into the DVD kiosk market has significant upside revenue growth opportunities for us.”
During 2009, kiosk revenue grew 94%, with the Redbox-dominated channel approaching $1 billion in revenue. Kiosk rentals were more than enough to offset a 3.2% decline in rentals from brick-and-mortar outlets such as Blockbuster and online sectors.
With stiff competition from 2009 sensation Redbox, Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said yesterday that the future of the Dallas-based DVD rental company hinges on its ability to position the brand across multiple distribution platforms – or it might not be a happy ending for Blockbuster. 
“The next 12 to 18 months are going to be very challenging,” Keyes said. “We are building a multichannel platform approach and at the same time we have brand new competitors (namely Redbox and Netflix) certainly taking some of the demand out of the market.”
“The great opportunity for Blockbuster is to adapt to the different use occasions, because that’s what these kiosks represent,” he said.
The CEO said Blockbuster has the option to close additional stores, a strategy he said the media blew out of perspective last year when it focused on the closure of 1,000 stores through this year while failing to mention the addition of 10,000 Blockbuster kiosks.
“The net increase for Blockbuster’s presence in 2010 was actually 9,000 additional points of presence, via kiosks,” Keyes said.
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