Last year it was reported that the degree of urbanisation in the UK was just over 84%, a three percentage point increase over the previous decade. The United States also followed a similar trend with 83.3%, indicating a slow but upward trend. There has been a shift away from rural living as people come together in densely populated cities. As a knock-on effect of this, the use of urban technology has seen major advancement in cities around the world to ensure quality of life for their residents and visitors. One of these advancements is smart city kiosks.
In this blog post, we’ll be discussing the potential of these public information kiosks and how they are improving urban living.
What are smart city kiosks?
Smart city interactive kiosks are the perfect solution to allow you to engage and connect with your audience 24/7.
These immersive, digital kiosks are typically installed in public spaces such as town centres, transportation hubs and other tourist attractions. They serve as a centralised hub of information for citizens and visitors, often proving to be more cost-effective than a tourist information centre.
Key features of smart city kiosks
This urban technology is a great way to connect with your residents and visitors in real time and comes with a variety of features that vastly improve your city’s innovation.
Help users find the quickest route to their destination
Users can get help to find their way around your city or destination using smart kiosks.
This urban technology is designed to find the quickest route to their preferred destination such as local attractions, restaurants, shops and hotels, reducing confusion and enhancing the overall urban experience.
Digital wayfinding can provide users with:
- Shortcuts to nearby attractions and points of interest.
- Simple location categories for easy searching.
- A QR code to load a map on their device for taking the route on the go.
- Route preferences such as accessible routes for disabled visitors.
Full city directory for residents and visitors to plan outings
Public information kiosks can empower users to find exactly what they’re looking for in your city.
Citizens and tourists can browse the city directory of local attractions, restaurants, hotels, shops and more.
Combined with wayfinding, a city directory allows visitors to find a location and make their way there seamlessly whilst also promoting local businesses.
Make your city a memorable place to live and visit
For smart city kiosks which have the functionality to add on a camera and microphone module, residents and tourists can take a fun photo as a souvenir of their visit or day out.
Whatever the occasion, they’ll be able to capture a selfie with your city as the backdrop. Encouraging users to share their pictures on social media will attract more people to your kiosks.
Promote local businesses and generate advertising revenue
Public information kiosks can give your local businesses a boost by guiding visitors to them from digital adverts on your kiosks.
It will help local businesses to generate extra footfall and income, and improve the local economy. In addition, you could also sell advertising space on your smart city technology to generate revenue.
Inform residents and tourists of emergency alerts
In times of crisis, kiosks can serve as critical emergency communication points, allowing users access to critical information in real time.
The success of smart cities across the world
The term ‘smart city’ often refers to the use of digital technologies and data to improve places by providing citizens with social, economic, and environmental benefits. The technologies involved vary between projects, but can include smart city kiosks.
Several cities have already implemented smart kiosk programs with notable success. These include; City of Greenfield, MA, USA and Gloucester, UK.
For the City of Greenfield, their interactive information point offers easily accessible information around the clock, enhancing the visitor experience.
While Gloucester has created an informative, engaging and interactive experience for residents and tourists across the city, sharing local attractions and promoting businesses.
What does the future hold for urban living?
With the expected increase in urbanisation, smart city technology will continue to evolve to meet the demands of a growing population.
Residents and visitors will continue to expect more from their cities by providing even more immersive experiences such as augmented reality for enhanced wayfinding, and the incorporation of more artificial intelligence tools to enhance personalised experiences, similar to how it is transforming the restaurant industry.
Smart city kiosks represent a significant step towards creating more connected, efficient, and citizen-centric urban environments now and in the future.
Ready to improve your city innovation?
LamasaTech provides engaging and immersive smart city kiosks to connect with your citizens and tourists.
We’d love to hear about your project, so get in touch and we’ll help you find the ideal solution for your requirements.
LamasaTech is a leader in digital display technology with over 14 years of experience. We support customers across a range of industries including retail, military and defence, government and public sector, technology, hospitality and education.
