The POLYTOUCH® 32 represents a decade of success in the digital self-service technology market. Since 2016, the modular 32-inch kiosk system has been a perennial favorite inComputer portfolio thanks to its flexibility, sleek design, and long-term investment security.

Reason enough for a conversation with Jan Altes, the product manager who launched this slim, long-running favorite with a small footprint. Jan beganComputer shortened training as an IT specialist for system integration at Pyramid Computer in 2012.

At the beginning of his second year of training POLYTOUCH® he was already working full-time in product management for the POLYTOUCH® kiosk division POLYTOUCH® He later took on responsibility for the portfolio.

After a brief stint at another industrial company, heComputer Pyramid Computer in 2024 as Senior Product Manager for POLYTOUCH®

The interview was conducted by Christian Hartmeier. As a content creator, he is responsible for the Pyramid AKHET® (industrial PCs and servers), faytech® (touch PCs and touch monitors), and POLYTOUCH® (self-service terminals and PLS).

Christian:
The PASSPORT 32 was only the second POLYTOUCH® from Pyramid Computer. How did the system come about?

Jan:
In 2014, we developed a self-order terminal for a fast-food chain. Since it was a customer-specific product development, we couldn't add it to our own portfolio. So we decided to launch our own kiosk based on the same technology and incorporate the experience we had gained from the OEM project. As with the model for the restaurant chain, the touchscreen was to have a screen diagonal of 32 inches.

Christian:
Terminals with such a large display size were still quite unique at the time. Was that the reason for choosing 32 inches?

Jan:
Yes, the restaurant chain was one of the very first to want 32-inch screens for their kiosk systems, and Pyramid known for its expertise in building kiosks with this screen size. Two years earlier, we had launched the POLYTOUCH® 32. The CLASSIC 32 was the world's first terminal with a 32-inch PCAP screen and had a considerable impact on the market. With the PASSPORT 32, we had the perfect answer to the growing demand for large-format terminals. This was then reflected in the sales figures after the launch.

Christian:
Who came up with the idea for the PASSPORT 32?

Jan:
The impetus came from the company's founder and then-CEO Frieder Hansen, who envisioned a freestanding terminal with an extremely modular design. We knew that we needed a product that we could sell in a wide range of industries and niche areas worldwide. The result proved the idea right. The PASSPORT 32 enables self-service in hospitals, pharmacies, discount stores, fast food restaurants, swimming pools, lottery outlets, and tourist offices. And this list is by no means exhaustive!

Christian:
What is behind the flexibility that enables such diverse use cases as self-checkout, self-ordering, ticketing, appointment booking, and lottery ticket sales, and which continues to make the terminal so successful today?

Jan:
The flexibility is thanks to the control console, internally known as Belly. It provides space for the PC box and peripheral modules. It is designed to allow cost-effective integration of the hardware required for a specific use case: payments, printers, 2D scanners, 3D cameras, biometric document readers, OCR pull-through readers, NFC/RFID read and write devices... The possibilities are endless. We can even fit a camera into the display frame.

The comprehensive modularity naturally makes it easier for us to customize the system for our customers. We now have several hundred variants of the PASSPORT 32 in our ERP system. Since the terminal was launched, around 10 different printers have been installed: classic POS, including fiscal printers for operators in countries with the relevant tax requirements, label printers, ticket printers, and ID card printers. The same applies to scanners. We have our standard scanners, but if the customer wants something special, we can accommodate almost any request.

PASSPORT is also flexible when it comes to corporate identity: whether it's a printed cover or specific inlays on the left and right with the operator's colors and logo.

Christian:
What other topics related to PASSPORT 32 are important to you?

Jan:
One of our most important goals at the time was ease of installation and service! The setup should be possible without tools and in less than 20 minutes.

We invested a lot of ingenuity and hard work to implement the specifications: The PASSPORT 32 stand is a kit that can be assembled in 5 minutes. The control console is attached to it. The in-house PC box is pre-installed in it. The technician only has to slide it up and secure it with a knurled screw. The concept is consistent: the screen is also snapped into the stand and secured with two knurled screws.

This simple concept also includes the two-hand principle, i.e., we have weighted the individual components so that setting up the terminal or moving it in your space does in your space require four hands, i.e., two technicians, but only one. This significantly reduces on-site installation and service costs and makes the PASSPORT 32 even more attractive for operators.

Christian:
The operators of PASSPORT 32 praise its sleek design, which saves valuable retail space. How did you achieve this?

Jan:
This is a great example of how technology and design are intertwined. Without innovative technology, we would not have been able to create the exceptional design of the PASSPORT. According to the specifications, the terminal was to have an ultra-flat and virtually wireless appearance. That's why it was out of the question to mount the PC box on the back of the touchscreen and connect it with the usual HDMI cable. Instead, we decided to house the box in the control console and connect it intelligently to the display via a plug-in board including all necessary power and data connections.

Christian:
I assume the magic word here is LVDS connector?

Jan:
Exactly! The LVDS connector is located on the top of the PC unit, which is mounted at the very top of the control console. The touchscreen is plugged into this connector. Today, it's no big deal to connect a PC unit to a touchscreen via such a connector. Back then, it was different. We had already developed our own LVDS connector for the OEM system, which supplied the display with power from the PC unit and transmitted the image and touch signals between the two. That was the basic research we had done for the fast food project. For the PASSPORT 32, we improved the technology so that we could handle even more communication via the interface. This small connector enabled us to give the PASSPORT its distinctive slim and wireless design.

Christian:
How much does today's PASSPORT still have in common with the 2016 version?

Jan:
The installation and service principle has remained the same, as has the modularity. This allows the latest peripherals to be installed. Conversely, this means that we can replace the scanners and printers in operators' older terminals with the latest models. The PASSPORT 32 can therefore also be retrofitted and offers a return on investment that pays off over many years.

We have modernized the technology of the PC box and the control console. Thanks to further developments in its design, the current PASSPORT 32 is now even more modular, as incredible as that may sound. And the use of the latest manufacturing technologies enables us to produce small batch quantities at a more economical price than before.

Christian:
Thank you very much, Jan, for the exciting insights. Would you like to add anything else about the PASSPORT 32?

Jan:
We learned a lot during the development and manufacture of the terminal. It was a significant step towards the technology and design philosophy that still characterizes our POLYTOUCH kiosk systems today: innovative ideas, in-house development work, modular system concept, scalable platforms, freely configurable peripherals, stand variants with single or double touchscreens, wall-mount variants, robust metal housings, sleek and minimalist design, short installation and service times, powerful in-house PC technology, and branding in the operator's CI.

Christian:
That was a powerful closing statement. Thank you for taking the time. I wish PASSPORT and you many more successful years!

Jan:
Thank you!