CommandPoint Sample Screen Demo

1. Please provide a brief overview of the project/technology that may be used for the awards presentation or promotional purposes - information provided here must be non-confidential.

Nanopoint is a powerful and flexible platform for providing public space technology solutions. Nanopoint can drive everything from interactive kiosks to digital signs to unique combinations in-between.

Nanopoint is the only cross-platform solution that runs on both Windows and Mac OS X. This unique flexibility allows Nanonation to work with clients to select the platform that is right for the needs of their deployment and not to force their deployment to fit a predefined kiosk tool.

Because of its flexibility, Nanopoint is leading the way in the emerging area of large format and environmentally integrated technologies. First to market with HD capability, Nanonation has deployed high definition interactive systems for over five years utilizing the Nanopoint platform.

Nanopoint's patent protected technologies allow for high definition, rich media, compelling, interactive interfaces and digital signs. With consumer expectations increasingly calling for rich media interactions, Nanopoint stands above its wrapped browser and toolkit based competition.

Unlike other software packages, Nanopoint is not simply a toolkit for building simple and limited HTML or Flash interfaces. Instead Nanopoint is a flexible and scalable platform for delivering high impact public space technologies. Nanopoint can not only incorporate standards such as Flash and HTML but also tie into web services, inventory control or CRM systems and present a media rich user interface with elements from QuickTime to JPEGs, HTML to RSS feeds.

2. Explain the objectives of the deployment or the self-service and interactive digital media solution and technology - what problem were you trying to solve and how?  Please be specific.

Designed from the ground up specifically for interactive public space use, Nanopoint is a platform designed to create compelling consumer facing solutions. By creating a flexible platform it allows our clients to utilize one core technology for multiple systems. Interactive kiosk, digital signs, merchandizing systems, and even in-store audio can all be managed and supported from one central point. This eliminates the need for separate solutions for each consumer facing technology component and makes integration simpler.

Nanopoint is also designed to integrate to local devices and nearly any backend systems. Every type of technology from socket level connections to modern web services and barcode scanners to RFID readers can be utilized. This allows Nanopoint to act as a point of integration for multiple systems and combine them as a seamless interface to the user.

3. Provide an in-depth project description including timeframe of the project.  You may include information for the judges's consideration that cannot be made public - answers to this question will be viewed by judges and staff only and will not be included in the presentation or promotion of the awards program. 

Nanopoint is the client side component to a Nanonation solution. The software is a custom C++ application with versions for both Windows and Mac OS X. Nanopoint locks down the desktop preventing unauthorized access to the PC. The first version of Nanopoint was developed seven years ago and has continually been improved to add new features and functional enhancements.

A Nanopoint “Skin” or layout is defined in a series of XML files. Additionally these XML files define the look, feel and functionality of the interface. It is this structure that gives Nanopoint is flexibility and allows for rapid building of custom applications.

One of Nanopoint's greatest strength is in its ability to support layering and transparency of media. For example, a background can be one layer with a partially transparent movie above it and interface controls layered on top of both. Effects typically considered to be “post production” can be created in real time, dynamically. This, combined with our media agnostic approach, allows for extremely visually compelling dynamic interfaces.

Integration is often the key to a successful kiosk deployment. Nanopoint's ability to tie into backend systems through a variety of technologies make it the perfect fit for bill payment, out-of-store merchandizing, customer loyalty, transactional and a variety of other systems.

Nanopoint can also integrate to local devices such as printers, barcode scanners or card swipes. Through automated alerting a Nanopoint kiosk can alert IT personnel or store staff when a unit is offline or paper is running low.

4. Please describe the results you achieved with this project, relative to the objectives set forth.  Be sure to state how results were measured and provide as much tangible evidence of your results as possible for the judges's consideration.

The flexibility of the Nanopoint platform allows our clients to leverage many existing assets and systems without the need to scrap and rebuild. This dramatically decreases costs and efforts making deployments return profits and benefits quickly. The CommandPoint backend having all of the robust tools of enterprise level system management software yet tailored specifically for kiosk deployments makes maintaining even very large networks of kiosks far simpler. This reduces the number of staff, time and effort needed to keep deployments up- to-date and healthy.

Because the same Nanopoint application and CommandPoint management tools can be used to control every customer facing device in an organization from loyalty kiosks, to product finders, to digital signs, our clients don't need to have separate providers and separate systems to manage for each of these points of customer contact. This simplifies the management of these systems and again decreases effort and complexity. This is why several of our clients turn to us to provide multiple types of applications rather than trying to manage disperse systems.

Additionally, as much of a part of what our clients get with Nanopoint and CommandPoint is our proven project methodology and expert development staff. Over 95% of Nanonation clients choose to have our developers, programmers, and in-house creative design team involved with and in most cases creating their projects. This combined with the Nanonation dedicated support team gives our clients the ability to deploy their projects quickly and efficiently to maximize not only ROI but ROE (Return on Effort).

Partial List of Clients Currently Utilizing the Nanopoint Platform
• Build-a-Bear Workshops
• Harley-Davidson
• Royal Caribbean
• SanDisk
• Mazda USA & Mexico
• Penske Truck Rental
• Rand McNally
• Nebraska Book Company
• AT&T
• Mercedes
• CSG Systems

5. Number of Units Deployed.

The Nanopoint software platform is deployed and controls over 10,000 customer experience endpoints delivering a variety of applications from bill payment to guided selling to digital signage.

6. Who provided the technology for this deployment? (Hardware, software, enclosures, etc.)

Nanonation developed the software platform to be flexible and extendible. This has enabled Nanonation to create a variety of applications without having to write core code each time. The end customer experiences are as varied as the customers Nanonation serves, from guided selling applications for Mazda to digital signage networks for Harley-Davidson to bill payment systems for CSG Systems.