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Tag: digital kiosks

  • LG Unveils Accessible Self-Ordering Kiosks, Reinforcing Its Commitment To ‘Better Life for All’

    LG Unveils Accessible Self-Ordering Kiosks, Reinforcing Its Commitment To ‘Better Life for All’

    LG Electronics USA has unveiled its Gen 2 Self-Ordering Kiosks, designed to enhance accessibility for users with disabilities. Developed with the help of accessibility consultant Tech for All, these kiosks go beyond ADA compliance, offering features like high-brightness, low-reflectivity displays, adjustable height options, and support for assistive technologies like screen readers, voice commands, and tactile keypads. With a focus on inclusion, the kiosks cater to various needs, including mobility, vision, and hearing impairments.

    The kiosks are available in multiple sizes and configurations, making them suitable for different environments, including retail, healthcare, and transit. LG’s collaboration with Tech for All ensured that accessibility was embedded from the design stage, creating a truly user-friendly solution. These kiosks are not just about meeting standards but about making technology accessible and empowering for all users, marking a significant step in LG’s commitment to creating a better life for everyone.

    Digital display leader LG Electronics USA announced its groundbreaking Gen 2 Self-Ordering Kiosks, purpose-built for users with vision, mobility and hearing disabilities. These kiosks, developed with feedback from accessibility consultant Tech for All (TFA), mark another step forward in LG’s ongoing commitment to create a better life for all.

    The announcement comes as the country commemorates the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a historic milestone in advancing the rights of people with disabilities. LG’s Gen 2 kiosks reflect the spirit of the ADA by going beyond compliance to deliver technology that is genuinely inclusive and empowering.

    “Technology should empower everyone,” said Peter Kim, B2B Strategic Alliance Team Leader at LG Electronics USA. “By collaborating with Tech for All and working alongside people with disabilities throughout testing and development, accessibility isn’t treated as an add-on – it’s embedded in the DNA of these kiosks.”

    Unlike many kiosks retrofitted to meet accessibility standards, LG’s Gen 2 kiosks (KC3P-M series) were designed intentionally with inclusion at their core. TFA started working with LG in April 2024, collaborating from initial design sketches through prototyping, avoiding costly late-stage hardware changes.

    “Getting the accessibility in early is key. It’s very hard to go back and fix things,” said Michael O’Hare, Director of Systems Accessibility at TFA. “It’s hard enough on a digital platform, but it’s very difficult on hardware…if you get something wrong, you’ve got to re-engineer it. That early engagement was key for this project.”

    The Gen 2 Self-Ordering Kiosks are available in 22- and 27-inch screens, with high-brightness, low-reflectivity displays designed for visibility in diverse lighting conditions. They support both portrait and landscape modes, and are offered in three hardware versions: countertop, fixed-height pedestal and motorized height-adjustable pedestal. The adjustable option especially benefits wheelchair users and people of varying heights, allowing comfortable, independent use.

    Built to accommodate a wide range of accessibility needs, LG’s kiosks support a variety of assistive hardware and peripherals. These include advanced assistive technologies such as Vispero’s JAWS® for Kiosk screen reader for audio navigation, Storm Interface’s tactile AudioNav™ keypads (6- and 9-key layouts) and SoundHound AI’s voice interface for hands-free commands. The kiosks also support Epson receipt printers and modular barcode/QR scanners, while a webcam accessory is in development to expand functionality.

    Building on this foundation, the kiosk suite offers platform flexibility across diverse sectors and applications, including compatibility with Kokomo 24/7® for health and safety management in education and clinical settings. Their modular, accessible design fits retail, transit, healthcare and hospitality environments.

    This is TFA’s first involvement in kiosk hardware from the concept stage. O’Hare explained that while other available products may meet basic accessibility, LG’s Gen 2 solutions go beyond compliance to address real-world user needs. Continuous feedback and refinements during what was a highly collaborative development process resulted in a user-friendly final product.

    “The collaboration, the back-and-forth review process, and being able to influence the design was really beneficial to both sides,” said O’Hare. Speaking to LG’s intent, he noted it was clear from the start that they were committed not only to meeting requirements, but to making a difference in the lives of the people who would be using the kiosk. “That was evident from the start,” he said. “It’s another step forward for accessible products.”

  • Palmer Digital Group Moves into Larger Office Space to Accommodate Business Growth

    Palmer Digital Group Moves into Larger Office Space to Accommodate Business Growth

    Palmer Digital Group specializes in custom digital kiosks, display enclosures, and menu boards, with installation capabilities, handling high voltage and low voltage, and necessary concrete work.

    Palmer Digital Group (PDG) has moved into a new 2500 square-foot office space to accommodate rapid business growth over its first five years. The move allows PDG to add new equipment like a laser machine and robot welder and supports expanding their workforce.

    The expansion is driven by PDG’s consistent year-on-year growth of 40-50% since 2019 and the increasing demand for their digital kiosks and menu boards in both the retail and restaurant industries. The new space and equipment will help accelerate manufacturing processes and accommodate the growing business and workforce needs.

    Palmer Digital Group, a full-service supplier and installer of indoor and outdoor digital kiosks, drive-thru digital menu boards and canopy systems, has moved into a new 2500 square-foot office space to accommodate the company’s rapid business growth over its first five years. The new space was redesigned from the ground up as an extension of the existing facility, with PDG’s previous office space vacated and returned to Palmer Digital Group’s parent company, Industrial Enclosure Corporation (IEC), for other business functions related to its electronics enclosure manufacturing operation.

    Palmer Digital Group (PDG) worked with outside architects and contractors to design and prepare the new workspace, which includes four offices, five cubical spaces, one large meeting room and a cafeteria. The space was previously a storage space for an outside company, and PDG brought in various teams to raise walls, add flooring and run electrical among other needs to support business operations. PDG has retained the existing workshop and warehouse space where its digital menu boards, kiosks and other indoor/outdoor structures are designed and built, adding a new laser machine and robot welder to accelerate the manufacturing process.

    The new space will remain the headquarters to all business functions including sales, finance and manufacturing, with plenty of room to accommodate new employees as jobs are created. That includes new engineering and high-level customer service positions that PDG are actively seeking to fill.

    IEC and PDG founder John Palmer purchased the building that today houses both companies in 1976 ten years after the building’s first tenant, Aurora Pump, vacated the premises in 1966 following a 47-year tenancy. Palmer launched PDG in late 2018 with assistance from PDG Vice President Chuck Lewis, who approached Palmer to discuss what he saw as an emerging business need in the retail and restaurant industry. Based on the company’s success to date, it appears Lewis was onto something.

    “Palmer Digital Group has seen year-on-year growth of 40-to-50 percent since 2019, and there are no signs of slowing down,” said Lewis. “That kind of growth creates the need to bring more skilled labor into the company to support our business and technical operations. Our QSR business has been very strong in our first several years and we continue to win major digital menu board projects that include our turnkey structures and installation services. What’s perhaps more exciting is that the retail side of our business is beginning to take off, which means we see growing interest in our indoor and outdoor touchscreen kiosk solutions.”

    The new laser machine and robot welder will also be instrumental to that growth, according to Lewis. “The new laser machine will operate on a 24/7 basis, and will be functioning at night to accommodate tasks that can be automated,” he said. “The robot welder will be used to weld pedestals and vertical seams found on our digital menu board structures, and will complete jobs twice as fast.”

    Palmer Digital Group’s business and manufacturing operations are located at 619 N Loucks Street in Aurora, Illinois.