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 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
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