The Blade: Australian innovation meets touch tech.
Story: Christopher Holder
The Blade from Aussie innovators, Design to Production, is undoubtedly one of the world’s sleekest double-sided touch kiosks.
The Zytronic touch technology adds only 12mm to the slimline profile of the double-sided Blade, bringing the whole package in under a staggeringly thin 40mm.
The Blade was featured on the Zytronic stand at the ISE show in Amsterdam earlier in 2019, where it was met with some initial scepticism by attendees (“surely, this product is way too slim to be touch enabled”) and then amazement at the Blade’s form factor and performance.
“There are other double-sided kiosk and signage products in the market but not many are touch enabled,” explains Design to Production director Peter Gordon. “Those that are, use inferior touch technology, and are noticeably chunkier as a result. The Blade is ‘a first’ in that regard.”
The Blade is built to exacting standards, in Sydney by the Design to Production manufacturing team. “We use state of the art equipment and only the best manufacturing techniques,” explains Peter Gordon. “There’s incredible attention to the detail.” Which is one reason why the Blade has caught the eye of the automobile industry in Australia. The Blade is beautifully resolved and ships with low profile castors that allow the unit to be easily relocated in a vehicle showroom — all you need is mains power.
Being a touch solution, the Blade invites patrons to tap an on-screen icon to request more information. A selection of brochures are available and the patron can have the desired material emailed to them. Naturally the sales team are also alerted for follow up — alerting VW regarding the vehicle the patron is interested in as well as their name, along with age and gender data derived from the onboard Quividi real-time attention analytics solution.
It’s early days, and there are myriad potential applications for The Blade. Design to Production are in discussions about using The Blade to entertain children with interactive showroom games (“how many bales of hay can you fit into the back of an Amarok!”), acknowledging that keeping the family entertained allows patrons to dwell longer and have the time required to make a significant decision such as the purchase of a new car.
Using Zytronic touch technology was part of the Blade’s design spec from the earliest design phase: “For the Blade to be interactive, was key,” confirms Peter Gordon. “That’s why we love Zytronic because they make the best products. The feedback we received regarding The Blade from Integrated Systems Europe was very positive. People just couldn’t believe The Blade was touch enabled — they couldn’t figure out how we had such a narrow bezel. That’s a testament to the technology that Zytronic produces — it’s market leading.”
For Peter Gordon the magic is all in the narrow bezel and the success of future product development is in concealing the touch technology as to be almost invisible: “We’ve been manufacturing kiosks for quite some time; we know what impresses people; and it’s the size of the bezel that is always the key. The smaller that border; the more impressive the kiosk. Zytronic leads the market in this respect. I mean, Zytronic must be doing something right because everyone knows they’re the best!”
THE BLADE AT A GLANCE
The Blade features a 55-inch double-sided HD display for an output that belies its small footprint and thin profile (40mm). The Blade also includes a low-profile base plate making it ideal for showrooms and tradeshows where it is not practical to have the unit permanently installed.
Applications
- Digital media enclosure for lobbies, cafes, university campuses, hotels and clubs.
- Advertising display for retail environments, showrooms and tradeshows.
- Digital directory for building and lift foyers.
- Wayfinding for shopping centres and entertainment venues.
- Interactive kiosk for retail applications.
- Digital display for in-store promotions.
Key Features
- Black or white powder coated, corrosion resistant chassis.
- Optional finishes include custom colours and stainless steel.
- 55-inch double-sided slimline HD display (1920×1080).
- Anti-glare, low iron, toughened glass panels (front and rear).
- TruPulse Harmonic 10W audio speaker.
- DPEMS remote electronic monitoring system.
Design To Production: d-p.com.au
Zytronic: zytronic.co.uk