The recently renovated San Francisco International Airport
is the United States’ largest international airport terminal
and is expected to service 12 million passengers each year.
CHALLENGE
To assist travelers, including disabled passengers, by
providing information about the Airport’s services including gate locations, the consolidated rental car center, the Bay Area Rapid Transit station, airport rail system and restaurants and retail stores located in the terminal as well as about the city of San Francisco. The Airport had specific design specifications that had to be met: the information terminals had to compliment the Airport’s
recent renovations; be available 24 hours a day; and had
to be robust enough to withstand millions of uses.
SOLUTION
The Airport is installing ten specially adapted SeePoint
CounterPoint counter top kiosk systems throughout the International
Terminal. The kiosks provide information on Airport facilities
and services and also link to San Francisco’s web site. Each of the Airport’s
CounterPoint kiosks feature several user-friendly features
such as a touch screen for easy and intuitive navigation
as well as a vandal resistant keyboard enabling users to
choose how to interface with the kiosks. Additionally, on
each of the systems, SeePoint integrated a voice prompted
audio handset for users with visual disabilities.
The Airport liked the sleek profile and small footprint of
the CounterPoint systems, determining that the kiosks would
blend well with the new International Terminal’s streamlined
decor. The Airport also benefited from the customizability
of systems by having SeePoint powder coated their kiosks
in slate gray to match the new color scheme that was implemented
along with the renovations.
The kiosk systems also had the durability and security necessary
for the Airport’s information terminals. Industrial quality components coupled with low mean time failure rates gave the Airport confidence that the SeePoint terminals would always be available to travelers. To add an extra level of protection to the computer, the Airport also selected SeePoint’s patented metal enclosure – a material designed to withstand constant, long-term use. Like all SeePoint kiosk systems, the Airport’s
information terminals do not have any accessible plugs, drives
or switches, greatly minimizing the potential for vandalism
or misuse.
RESULTS
The SeePoint kiosks achieve all of the Airports objectives:
They meet their customer service goals by providing an easy-to-use
alternative to supplement staffed information booths and
also provide readily available information between midnight
and 8:00 a.m. when the information booths are closed – all
in a package that is aesthetic, functional, secure and durable.
