Touch-free Capability Added To Those Airport Restroom Survey Displays
September 8, 2023 by Dave Haynes
If you travel much you have probably been through an airport and seen a little screen at the exit to restrooms/toilets/water closets/add a new name here that ask users to rate the cleanliness of the facilities.
Just as it seems odd that people are asked to pull on door handles after they’ve been encouraged to soap and wash their hands, a touchscreen on a user feedback display in a washroom seems less than appropriate or inviting.
As reported by German language content partner invidis, the interactive firm Ameria has come up with a solution that makes the displays touch-free.
At the airports in Singapore and Doha (Qatar), they rely on the digital signage solution from the Singapore start-up Happymeter , which is marketed under the name Happyhover.
A robust, service-free sensor bar above the screen and software are sufficient. Proof that even after the pandemic, gesture control is an interesting alternative to touch. Not only for customer feedback terminals but also for many other interactions between man and machine.
I often wonder about some of the use-cases presented for these solutions that react to fingers near but not quite touching displays (I think a lot of people will just touch the screens because they touch things all day long), but this is a scenario in which I think people are more aware than normal about clean surfaces.
I have to call out that the visual hierarchy of the messaging is not well managed. If I don’t need to touch the screen, having the first message which is an assurance that the screen is sanitized regularly is kind of weird. And why a sticker on the frame? It’s a digital screen – the messaging would be better worked into the creative that is showing up on the screen itself and then you don’t have to deal with whatever wear is going to happen to that sticker over time. These are the weird deployment and ops details that are really head scratchers.
“Happy or not” iteration it appears