Hi Everyone,
As many of you are discussing what reopening will look like, I want to give you an update on our progress with contactless entry using NSCAN
Timeline:
A few weeks back I posted on the forums that we were looking to have a beta version of contactless scanning using our NSCAN product and existing devices owned by our members ready to test in early July. We have moved that timeline forward and now expect to have something that we can test with members in June. I'll detail more in this post about what we're thinking for th user interface, compatible devices, and what the pedestals look like.
Objective:
Our objective is to provide a fast, low cost, easily implemented solution for contactless scanning.
Device Compatibility:
Any Zebra TC Device with Datawedge 7.5.56 or higher supports Presentation Mode, the scanner operating mode required for contactless scanning.
User Interface on the Scanning Device
We are updating the NSCAN device software display so that it is more suitable for scanning using Presentation Mode. This includes doing things like:
Pedestals:
To make contactless scanning workable, you will need to have something on which to mount your scanning device. A specific pedestal is not required for contactless scanning to operate. We are currently looking at two pedestal providers that came at the recommendation of Zebra, the company that provides the majority of scanning devices used by Network members.
At this time, we plan to source these for members that wish to purchase them so that you only need to work with the network, rather than multiple suppliers.
The two pedestals we're considering are:
These pedestals will sit on a countertop, and are not floor-standing.
Remember that you will need to run power to the locations where you place the devices and pedestals.
You may also choose to build or source your own pedestals. Duct taping your device to the back of a chair would work, if the aesthetic was in line with what your organization could manage. We're putting forward the pedestals here as a guideline for durable, recommended options if you need them.
Conclusion:
We will be doing a small, short beta with a few members in June who can give us feedback on the early interface using Presentation Mode. Once we've gotten feedback and incorporated that we hope to have something that is generally releasable shortly thereafter. We'll keep the community informed as the timeline develops.
Thank you all for your continued input and suggestions, we look forward to delivering this and other improvements that accommodate a holistic contactless experience for your staff and patrons. We'll be posting more information soon.
Chris Szalaj
Product Owner, Business Facing Products
Tessitura Network
David Frederick and Graeme Ellis and others,
Can you paint a little better picture for me of what you might expect an app that monitored the scanning process to do? I can imagine a bit about it, and would like to know more about how you see it working?Thanks for the suggestion and input,
Hi Chris,
We still need to have more internal conversations about this, but at the moment, we are envisioning something that allows staff to see the live activity happening at each contactless ticket scanning station via a tablet or other mobile device in some sort of dashboard format. If a scanning error occurs, such as a patron trying to scan a ticket that is rejected, that would make an audible sound and the appropriate widget of the dashboard would flash red (or something like that) so that the staff member knows which station the error occurred. It would also show the reason the ticket was rejected - similar to what a staff member might see if they were using a scanner directly. The staff member would also have the ability to view all scan errors quickly for the event just in case something needs to be resolved that somehow wasn't caught at the time the scan occurred.
There would need to be some configuration abilities; for example, we might want the option to have one staff member monitor all contactless stations or we may choose to divide them up between two or more staff members depending on the distance between stations (i.e. we would want the ability to configure it so staff members only see the stations they are responsible for monitoring). We might also want to have one lead or supervisor staff member who can view all of them at the same time. Note that it is possible it will just be a 1:1 staff member to contactless scan station, but we don't know for sure at this point and I would imagine that need will vary from organization to organization.
Another example of configuration would be a way to customize how different scan errors are treated. For example, we might want to notify the staff member differently if a scan error was due to misreading the barcode versus denial of entry (i.e. perhaps because it is the wrong event or a stale scan number because the ticket was reissued). That configuration would also help us adapt as we learn more - i.e. we may start off with one notification profile and after a few events, we learn of changes we want to make based on practical experience.
I hope this helps.
Thanks!
David
Hi Chris Szalaj,
I think David Frederick has given a good summary and it pretty much reflects our expectations. In a similar way to how supermarket self-checkouts work here in the UK, we'd want a member of staff to be able to monitor multiple fixed-point scanners at any one time with detailed error messages coming up for failed scans. That way, a single user would be able to respond to failed scans appropriately and respecting social distancing (they may ask the visitor to rescan their ticket, refuse entry or waive them through. As David says, the more detail about why the scan failed, the better.
One thing for us, as an attraction based organisation, is that we want to use contactless scanning to help maintain visitor flow and minimise the need for queuing so we'd want the process around failed scans to be as streamlined as possible. One solution to this might be that if a visitor gets a failed scan on a podium scanner that we ask them to go to a different terminal where their ticket is rescanned and a user at that terminal is able to determine what the error is while opening up the podium scanner to new visitors to be scanned.
While I'm talking about streamlining the scanning process, would it be possible to having a single barcode / QR code for each order rather than individual tickets? It would be much more efficient for a visitor to scan a single barcode for their party rather than having to find and scan each ticket individually.
As David says, internal conversations are still happening internally about the arrival and ticket scanning sequence so, as the solution develops, please keep us informed so that we can ensure that our visitor experience is as streamlined and safe as possible.
Thanks so much
Grae
+1 for evrything David’s said. We’ve discussed having a SiSense live data source for this, but the resolution — even at 5-10 second updates — is not viable. A web sockets based simple website that let’s one choose one, more, or all scanners and to which scan dispositions are pushed is exactly what we’re looking for. Seat location details are still important for the ticket taker as is confirmation of the show.
Ideally, we’d have the admin view as David describes and as noted above. But a simpler interface for the user. If that could feature simple wayfinding — combo of scanner ID + assigned Scanner location (we have a custom table that holds this info) + Section perhaps? yielding a sentence or even a simple right/left arrow — then we’re talking magic.
Our mobile ticketing platform, True Tickets, will also display scan disposition to the customer, so the customer knows if they’ve been successfully scanned or denied entry in real-time.
DGomez
I think David, Graeme, and Daniel all hit on some key points. Here at the Historical Society, we currently do not use NSCAN but the functionality they are talking about would be very important for us. We have a variety of historic homes, museums, attractions all under one umbrella with different configurations. Some might be able to have one scanning station and not need that larger setup. But the real-time admin interface that Graeme mentioned at our larger museums would be a fantastic feature. Ability to have one lead staff member monitor all scanning stations on the same screen. Also, having them be able to monitor real time sales for things like timed tours without having to pull up a report each time. I could see this flexibility being really valuable to the unique needs of each organization (especially during times like this).
Hey Chris Szalaj,
To pick up on a previous point again regarding having a single barcode for each order. It would be good to leverage the existing Group Entry by Order functionality but refining it so that a single scanner could respect specific facilities. We're looking at asking all visitors to 'buy' free entry tickets in advance and we'd want to upsell other activities they can do in the museum in the same order. It would be great if the scanners knew where they are and so we can mark only the relevant tickets as attended.
Thanks again
Hi Grant (And David and Grae and Daniel),
Writing to let you know that we hope to have the initial version of an N-Scan monitoring app delivered in the September or October Service Packs, subject to change depending on development and testing. Thanks again for the feedback.