In the two decades that Advanced Kiosks has been building self-service systems for everybody from courthouses to business offices to TSA check-in at airports, many things have changed. One of them is the advent of artificial intelligence.
These software systems, known as A.I., made by different companies and with different strengths, have become part of the workday at the Concord business.
“Everybody has a paid A.I. account. Many of us have 2 or 3 accounts,” said Tyler Lipp, visual designer at Advanced Kiosks, during a recent tour of the Hall Street facility.
Just as importantly, the software has become part of many of the firm’s products. The company says it greatly increases the ability of stand-alone systems to interact with customers trying to do things like pay a bill, fill out a form or find information.
“If A.I. can take a job that would require a half hour … and do it quickly, why wouldn’t you want it?” said CEO Howard Horn.
The changing reputation of A.I. still makes some people nervous, Horn said, which is why Advanced Kiosks follows National Center for State Courts guidelines of keeping a “human in the loop” on actions and does not store customer data. Plus, he said, there’s a kill switch.
“Customers can always turn the A.I. off,” Horn said. “Not many are doing that these days. … Opinions are changing.”
Advanced Kiosks started in Horn’s garage and operated for years in an old mill building in Franklin. In 2018, it moved to the Concord Business Center, an eclectic mix of businesses – they’re next door to the Steadfast Spirits distillery – in five buildings on Hall Street near the Bow line. customers range from courthouses to museums to medical offices to Concord’s main wastewater treatment plant, with about 60% being government agencies.
The business has expanded over the years as software has improved. Some of the dozen different types of self-serve, touch-screen kiosks that the company sells have vaults to store money, some have screens almost six feet high, some come with their own desks or even entire closures with privacy “smart glass” that turns opaque when you shut the door, some have printers, and some are just straightforward “welcome” screens.
A.I. has allowed the interaction with customers to be more complex, Horn said, pointing to a system for government buildings in Oregon that “is basically a conversation … to figure out what is needed,” said Horn.
Another complication of A.I., however, is the rules that surround it. A similar system in Virginia, he said, does much less because state regulations forbid A.I. from helping fill out an online form.
The company has grown steadily and now has 17 staff, a mix of remote, hybrid and in-office workers, and sales in the $2 million to $3 million range. About 60% of their business is government, Horn said.
That includes a recent contract, the result of three years of work, to provide a quick way for people to go through TSA Pre-Check just by having their face scanned. It’s typical of projects in that it involves many New Hampshire firms – sheet metal from Manchester, foam packing from the North Country – and a key improvement came not from high-tech sensors or software but from the overall shape.
“We were able to get it so we could ship it by UPS ground. That’s a game-changer – shipping things by air is a pain,” said Horn.
Future projects include a “smart police station” with interactive kiosks that let people do things as complicated as file a Freedom of Information Act request, give a complicated complaint or pay a fine, so “the police don’t have to take time to deal with menial tasks,” Horn said.
Horn said Advanced Kiosks has profited from its location. “The ramp to 93 is right there; trucks can find us easily.”
“There are a lot of positives being here,” he added. “We’re very happy to be in Concord.”
