INGENICO iSMP4 + UTE
ABOUT
ISMP4 is a flexible POS (point of sale) system made to work with the retail employee, helping them with cashier services as well as managing the store and inventory. With the handheld unit at the heart of the system it is able to interface with several tablet devices on the market for a convenient, wireless, and friendly customer/employee experience.
I was tasked with aiding in the design of the ISMP4 unit and the UTE (Universal Tablet Enclosure) attachment through the sketch development and prototyping phases.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Industrial Design, Sketching, Research, Prototyping, Photography
CREDITS
Creative Direction - Chris Buttenob
Senior Industrial Designer - Justin Salamon
THE PROBLEM
Department stores have changed greatly over the past decade. Along with them have come great advancements in point of sale systems (POS) and in the way that consumers pay for their products. How might we bring the payment experience to the customer, make checkout as easy as possible, and let employees manage inventory with flexibility?
Meet the customer where they are. Retail customers in places like Home Depot or Best Buy usually know what they want to buy. They get in, they buy, and they leave.
Have something flexible for employees to use how they wish. A payment unit that can operate on its own, in a stand, or attached to a tablet makes it simple and intuitive.
Have the power of a register in the palm of your hand. Enable most if not all types of payments.
Ingenico sought to create a Point of Sale solution that would go with a retailer anywhere in the store instead of have the customer go through the checkout line.
USER INTERACTIONS
With the iPad mini being the smallest tablet on the market at that time, it’s size was used to help determine the best position for the iSMP4 in relation to the tablet body. Having it centered turned the iSMP4 into its own handle when the tablet is in use.
FORM AND FUNCTION
Chamfers were added to the designated handle areas to give the tablet enclosure a robust form that would also allow the user to grip from most angles and orientations.
A JACK OF ALL TRADES
Finalizing some functional prototypes proved to be rather simple. Each tablet meant to be housed within the enclosure had a corresponding bezel with ribs and mounting bosses tailored to its size. When installing the tablets the user would attach an included cable to connect it to the iSMP4 unit on the opposite side of the enclosure.
Video courtesy of Ingenico
