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Post similar to: Outdoor Kiosks: Answers to the 10 Most Common Questions

Outdoor Kiosks: Answers to the 10 Most Common Questions

by | Jun 10, 2025

Outdoor Kiosks: Answers to the 10 Most Common Questions

Enviro outdoor kiosk seaport bostonAs organizations look to bring services outside the traditional lobby, outdoor kiosks are becoming a go-to solution for self-service, communication, and customer interaction. These kiosks aren’t just weather-hardened—they’re smart, secure, and built to perform in even the harshest conditions. At Advanced Kiosks, we’ve developed a lineup of outdoor kiosks engineered to solve the most common challenges faced by municipalities, schools, transit centers, and businesses.

Here are the 10 most frequently asked questions about outdoor kiosks—and how our products deliver the answers.

 

1. Are outdoor kiosks weatherproof and built for all climates?

Yes—true outdoor kiosks are engineered to withstand harsh environments. Our Enviro Kiosk is a prime example: it’s designed with a NEMA 4-rated steel enclosure, sealed ventilation, and climate control systems to operate reliably in heat, snow, rain, and humidity. Whether deployed in desert heat or freezing winters, it performs without compromise.

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Real-Life Customer Example: Our outdoor Kiosk honors Montana’s veterans despite the frigid temperatures and the kiosk has been used by almost 400 people who have accessed over 5,000 pages.

 

2. Can outdoor kiosks connect to Wi-Fi or cellular networks?

Absolutely. All Advanced Kiosks outdoor units are compatible with wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and 4G/5G cellular connections, giving you the flexibility to deploy them in remote or hard-to-reach locations. Power requirements are minimal—a standard 110V or 220V outlet will do.

 

3. Are outdoor kiosks readable in direct sunlight?

Yes. Visibility is a non-issue with our high-brightness, sunlight-readable displays (typically 1,000+ nits) paired with anti-glare coating and impact-resistant glass. These screens remain bright and clear whether you’re deploying in a shaded walkway or a sun-drenched sidewalk.

Outdoor Kiosk Blog Post-Image 3 Boston Seaport Park

4. How are outdoor kiosks protected from vandalism?

Security is built in. Our kiosks feature tamper-resistant locks, steel construction, and reinforced touchscreen protection. Options like surveillance camera mounts and motion-activated alerts offer added peace of mind. The Thru-Wall Kiosk adds an extra layer of protection by placing all critical components inside your building while users interact outside.

 

5. What services can an outdoor kiosk provide?

From wayfinding and ticketing to check-in, document scanning, information lookup, and even payment processing, outdoor kiosks are capable of a wide range of tasks. Our Outdoor Transit Kiosk supports transit schedules and ticketing at busy hubs, while the Outdoor Monolith Kiosk offers large-screen interaction in parks, campuses, and downtown centers.

Outdoor Kiosk Blog Post-Image 4 Outdoor Monolith kiosk in use

6. Do outdoor kiosks include heating and cooling systems?

Yes. Internal fan systems, heaters, and thermostats are standard features in our outdoor kiosk line, keeping sensitive components within safe temperature ranges. This ensures functionality even in climates with significant seasonal swings.

 

7. Are outdoor kiosks hard to maintain?

No — our kiosks are designed for low maintenance and long lifespans. They include easy-access panels, filtered airflow systems, and remote monitoring capabilities. Administrators can perform updates, monitor device health, and troubleshoot issues without a site visit.

 

8. Can outdoor kiosks be branded or customized?

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Definitely. For the hardware, we offer full branding and customization, including vinyl wraps, custom paint, logo decal placement, and modular accessories like printers, cameras, card readers, and more.

For the software, your kiosk’s user interface can be customized to reflect your brand, match its surroundings, and serve your exact function.

 

9. Are outdoor kiosks ADA compliant?

Yes. All Advanced Kiosks products, including our outdoor models, can be configured to meet ADA height, reach, and accessibility standards. This includes screen reader software, tactile feedback, and audio-guided interactions to ensure equal access for all users.

 

10. What does an outdoor kiosk cost?

Outdoor kiosks vary in price depending on features, customization, and peripherals. Most range from $5,000 to $20,000, with models like the Enviro Kiosk and Outdoor Monolith Kiosk delivering long-term value with minimal maintenance costs and maximum uptime.

 

Real-World Results: Pima Association of Governments

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Case-study-button-pima-azOutdoor kiosks aren’t theoretical—they’re already in the field. In our Pima Association of Governments case study, outdoor kiosks were deployed to provide transportation access, public meeting details, and essential local information. The result? Improved accessibility and dramatically reduced staff burden.

See Outdoor Kiosks in Action

Want to explore design ideas? Visit our Outdoor Kiosk Gallery for real-world photos of installations in transit systems, campuses, municipal buildings, and more.

Outdoor kiosks are a powerful way to extend your services beyond the lobby and into the public space. They’re smart, secure, and always on. Whether you need a stand-alone solution like the Outdoor Monolith Kiosk, a wall-mounted option like the Thru-Wall Kiosk, or a purpose-built Transit Kiosk, we have the expertise and hardware to support your goals. Explore our full lineup of outdoor kiosk solutions and bring secure, accessible self-service to your community.

Outdoor Kiosk Honors Montana’s Veterans Despite Frigid Temps

by | Aug 8, 2018

Outdoor Kiosk Honors Montana’s Veterans Despite Frigid Temps

In these dog days of summer, we’re longing for cooler temperatures. Bozeman, Montana, is seeing more than its fair share of 90+-degree days. But residents know whipping winds and subzero temps are just around the corner. You have to be hearty to weather these extremes, and that goes double for the outdoor kiosk technology that people depend on year round. That’s why Advanced Kiosks offers a line of truly all-weather outdoor kiosks.

Bozeman’s Vietnam War Memorial

Back in 2006, a nonprofit called the Friends of Sunset Hills Cemetery Veterans Memorial started raising money to purchase a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit’s president and Vietnam veteran Don Derby is still in awe of the way the community came together to make their dream a reality. In just one year, they raised about $69,000. They purchased The Wall, which had been recently retired from touring the country for those who could not come to D.C. to pay their respects, installed it in Bozeman’s Sunset Hills Cemetery, and dedicated it just in time for Memorial Day 2008.

A Kiosk to Complete the Tribute

But Don’s vision wasn’t quite complete. He wanted an interactive computer kiosk that would quickly help people locate their lost loved ones on The Wall. It had to be easy to use and vandalism-proof. (They’d had trouble with vandals in 2015.) Most importantly, it had to withstand heat, rain, sleet, snow and –30° temps. Yes, you read that right: MINUS 30 degrees! Don found Advanced Kiosks online and teamed up with our Senior Account Manager Chris Geddis to get the job done. Chris recommended the Transit Kiosk because it’s virtually indestructible, comes with a full metal keyboard, is easy to service in the field, and like all our outdoor kiosks, it’s completely weatherproof. Chris helped Don get the most out of our Zamok software suite, which comes free with every kiosk we sell. They used Zamok’s Homepage and Layout Solutions to create an inviting user interface locked down to two websites. It turned out to be easy to help visitors navigate the 58,318 names on the Vietnam Memorial because it is an exact replica (on a smaller scale) of the national monument. The outdoor kiosk interface points to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s Wall of Faces to help loved ones find their fallen heroes. The City of Bozeman’s cemetery staff worked to develop a second website that can direct people to the graves of the over 16,000 people (including about 2,400 veterans) buried at Sunset Hills. Kiosk installation proved to be a snap. Don drilled the anchor bolts himself, and he estimates the electric and internet companies ran service to the kiosk in about an hour total.

What Makes Our Outdoor Kiosks Superior?

Bozeman Transit Kiosk Some companies claim to offer kiosks that can handle the elements, but few are truly outdoor kiosks. Here are the three hallmarks of every Advanced Kiosks-approved all-weather computer kiosk:

  1. Fully sealed, rust-free enclosure: It doesn’t matter what weather is on the outside because nothing is getting inside these machines.
  2. Sunlight readable screen with auto-dimmer: Ever pulled out your laptop to catch up on work emails at the beach? Then you know it’s virtually impossible to read in sunlight; there’s too much glare, and the screen isn’t bright enough to overcome the sun’s powerful rays. That’s why the sunlight readable monitor is a must. The auto-dimmer senses when the sun has gone down and adjusts brightness accordingly so it doesn’t hurt nighttime users’ eyes.
  3. Wide Temperature Range Components: Each and every component inside our outdoor kiosks can handle temperature extremes. Of course each unit also houses its own heating and cooling system and is insulated for extra protection.

Chris tells a great story about the first time he saw the Sunset Hills Cemetery kiosk in the stone enclosure Don built for it: “I said, ‘Don, the kiosk doesn’t need that protection; it’s built to be outside.’ Don didn’t miss a beat. He said, ‘I know it doesn’t, but the people using it do!”

A Super Machine for the Wintriest Weather

The Sunset Hills Veterans Memorial kiosk is coming up on its one-year anniversary, and Don is very pleased with its performance thus far: “It’s a super machine!” He reports that the outdoor kiosk has been used by almost 400 people who have accessed over 5,000 pages. Don told us a couple stories to help us grasp the severity of your average Montana winter. He said the winds are so strong, they have to replace the U.S. and Montana flags just about every month. Their Vietnam Memorial Wall stands about 6-feet tall at its highest point, and one particularly bad winter, the snow covered the top and drifted 40 feet out in front of it. “You couldn’t use a snow blower; it would just run up and ride on top. It took me, three other old guys, and my wife three days to shovel it out,” he recalls. Last winter was one of Bozeman’s worst with temperatures 30 to 40 degrees below zero, and the Transit Kiosk kept right on ticking. “If it works through the winter here, it’ll work anywhere,” Don testifies. The video below is from KBZK local news coverage last winter and includes a brief interview with Don.

Need an Outdoor Kiosk to Pay Tribute to Your Heroes?

Our self-service outdoor kiosks are simply the toughest in the business. That’s why we stand behind them with our standard Three Year Warranty. They put up with heavy use, abuse, and drastic temperature swings. There are many uses for outdoor computer kiosks, but if this story from Bozeman touched your heart, you may want to look into our TRIBUTE Kiosk Software. The TRIBUTE software package was designed to help you honor the special people who have given so much to make your community what it is today.   Written by Amy Robison, contributing author

VIDEO: Outdoor Computer Kiosks for Parks and Recreation!

by | Aug 17, 2017

VIDEO: Outdoor Computer Kiosks for Parks and Recreation!

Day trips to the zoo, state parks and other recreational areas can be a lot of fun and a great way to spend the day. However, sometimes outdoor recreational areas suffer from a lack of informational signage, as the outside elements such as wind, rain and snow take their toll and make it difficult to maintain. Water damaged signs can be difficult to read and can potentially leave users misdirected or misinformed. Confusion and lack of information when enjoying the outdoors can quickly take the fun out of things or even present dangerous situations. Now, state parks and outdoor entertainment areas have a better way, outdoor computer kiosks.

The dedicated employees and staff that supervise these parks really want visitors to get the most out of their time, enjoy themselves and above all be safe. Time spent pointing people in the right direction could be better spent doing things to groom, maintain and improve the environment. 

Advanced Kiosks has engineered outdoor computer kiosks that can withstand the elements and weather conditions. Outdoor models such as the Enviro, the Transit or the Monolith Kiosk are designed to operate reliably for years while being exposed to fluctuating temperature, humidity, and precipitation. These outdoor computer kiosks can provide helpful functions such as building or terrain maps, facility or emergency information, credit card donations, emergency phone service, or information about upcoming events that you want to promote, just to name a few. There are also many features and options available to enhance the functionality and accommodate visitors with disabilities such as auditory services.  On top of all that, an outdoor kiosk can come in 10 vibrant colors that are sure to strike the attention of visitors.

Please check out the video below:

Advanced Kiosks Marketing Team | (603)865-1000

Interactive Outdoor Kiosk Purposes

by | Jul 7, 2016

Interactive Outdoor Kiosk Purposes

Interactive outdoor kiosks are seen all over the place when we take a moment to think about it – from the ATMs we see driving down the road to the machines we use as we pay for a parking spot to the digital information we read when visiting a national monument.  This self-service technology is everywhere we look and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  By utilizing an outdoor kiosk your company is able to add value for your customers by expanding offerings, making customers feel independent, and keeping up with the constant growth of the tech world.  The dependable technology that outdoor kiosks are built with make them able to be used for an astounding amount of services by offering assistance and creating solutions for your business, campus, or city.

Wayfinding with an Outdoor Kiosk

Outdoor kiosks are often placed throughout campuses (both university and corporate), national parks, outdoor shopping plazas and malls, amusement parks, cemeteries, city centers and just about anywhere else where directions and maps are helpful.  They are used to direct the public to their intended destination in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way.  Advanced Kiosk’s outdoor kiosks are sunlight readable, rust-free and incredibly durable for the weather they can, and often do, endure.  Outdoor kiosks are able to show visitors where they currently are, where they are heading, and how they can get there.

College and university campuses no longer have to hand their freshman a printed map (which tends to get lost, misplaced and thrown away) when they install outdoor kiosks. These hardy wayfinding machines are able to provide directions to guide both students, and campus visitors, the right way. Tourist, historical areas, and city centers no longer need confusing, static outdoor maps that are difficult to read and navigate. Corporate campuses no longer need giant signs and arrows, pointing this way and that way, because the user can simply enter their destination to be shown the right way.  Visitors will appreciate easy-to-use self-service technology that guides them without carrying a paper map around or having a stranger direct them where to go.  Other places can provide the same assistance without needing to hire additional staff, or pay to constantly print paper maps.  The outdoor kiosks used for wayfinding attract and encourage visitors to interact with them while adding value for potential customers, visitors, and students.

Interactive Outdoor Kiosk

The Outdoor Information Kiosk

In popular travel and tourism areas there is usually a location that displays important information about the area – dining options, local attractions, historical information, et cetera.  This information is often displayed on a board in the designated area or within a pamphlet that highlights only one business or feature.  With an outdoor kiosk, an interactive and informational exhibit can easily be created and executed.  The informational outdoor kiosk can be interacted with by the visitor(s) 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions.  What this means is that it is more efficient because the information can be accessed whenever, not just during certain hours, while also saving money on payroll, printing and other overhead costs. Quite frankly, often the kiosks are making money for the organization that adopted the interactive technology because they can sell advertising to local businesses (if they choose to) and highlight their business on the computer kiosk.

An example of an outdoor kiosk that we love is the Enviro Kiosk being utilized by Jackson State University to use storytelling to educate visitors about the Jackson Zoo’s Sumatran tiger exhibit. JSU has placed an Enviro Kiosk outside of the tiger exhibit which utilizes what they call the “tiger cam”. Visitors can watch the tigers, through the kiosk, when they are outside and around the pond area. JSU’s football team are the Tigers, so this partnership with the Jackson Zoo made perfect sense. This kiosk offers information about the tigers, the school, and seamlessly enhances the exhibit by allowing the visitors the flexibility to view it when they want, without needing someone to guide them through the exhibit at specific times.

Outdoor Interactive Event Calendar

Chambers of Commerce, large event venues (stadiums, arenas, theaters) and city councils can, and should, use interactive outdoor kiosks to promote events happening in their communities.  When you use a kiosk in order to promote local events, it becomes a powerful way to increase community involvement and to enable your events become widely known.  Placing an outdoor kiosk in a popular local park allows anyone, at any time, to access an event calendar to see what is happening in the community.  The benefit of an outdoor kiosk is that it needs zero supervision due to its rugged build and it is easy enough to navigate by anyone.

Advanced Kiosks has an event calendar software application called EventsCrier that is supported on any of our kiosk, including the outdoor Enviro Kiosk and the Transit Kiosk.  It is used to display events and boost event attendance.  Placing an outdoor kiosk in a popular area and using EventsCrier to display events will definitely create a greater sense of community as well as support local businesses and organizations.

Interactive Outdoor Kiosk

Outdoor Ticketing Solutions

Outdoor kiosks are used to accept cash (or card) and to print out a ticket or other documentation as needed. This is why outdoor kiosks assist drivers when paying for parking, sell movie theater tickets, help people to order and pay for food, and even distribute name tags at an outdoor event.  An outdoor kiosk creates simplicity when taking payments or supplying users/customers with important things that can be done easily with self service technology. The Transit Kiosk is often used as an outdoor ticketing kiosk because of its durability and versatility.

The Value of an Outdoor Kiosk

When you invest in self-service technology it adds both tangible and perceived value to your business, city, or organization.  An outdoor kiosk demonstrates that your business is keeping up with technology and creating outcomes that include saving money, time, as well as seeing all of your customers appreciating and using the self-services you offer.  Only a few of the popular possibilities were mentioned here, but as we at Advanced Kiosks have learned, outdoor kiosks can have endless uses.

If you would like more information on what an outdoor kiosk can do for your business or organization, please contact us today!

CONTACT ADVANCED KIOSKS NOW

Quarterly Newsletter: Third Quarter 2014

by | Nov 19, 2014

Quarterly Newsletter: Third Quarter 2014

What’s New at Advanced Kiosks?

We have released a lot of new products in the past few months and we’re excited to share with you some of our new kiosk solutions. Check out our newest kiosk model, software solution, and see how one of our customers is using their new outdoor kiosk!

Countertop Kiosk

The Newest Kiosk Model, the Countertop Kiosk

Compact and convenient, the Countertop Kiosk checks in guests while preserving valuable floor space. Our lowest priced kiosk model yet, the Countertop Kiosk has a fully adjustable multi-touch monitor with four USB ports, camera, microphone and stereo speakers included in the standard version.

Learn More

Enviro Kiosk

An Outdoor Favorite, the Enviro Kiosk!

Outdoor kiosks are becoming more and more popular for towns and recreation. In the photo above, you can see the Enviro Kiosk being used to display town information in Blackmountain, N.C. Blackmountain chose to paint their kiosk brown to blend it in with their natural environment. Check out our Enviro Kiosk.

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