Field report: exhibition kiosk deployment

Design, development and onsite installation of eight networked interactive kiosks for a two-week public gallery exhibition in Earls Court. The platform combined locally cached visitor content with a central onsite publishing and reporting service.

Assignment record

10 January — Initial brief

The exhibition organiser required a series of touch-screen information points distributed through a converted gallery facility. Visitors would use them to explore artist biographies, exhibit notes, still images, short films and a schedule of talks. Kiosks also needed to record anonymous content selections so the organiser could compare engagement across locations.

The exhibition was temporary, public opening dates were fixed and the venue network would be removed after two weeks. The system therefore had to operate without an internet dependency, recover cleanly after power interruption and continue presenting its most recent content if the central server or a network segment became unavailable.

17 January — Software and hardware specification

Each kiosk was specified around a 19-inch 4:3 capacitive touch display, an Intel Atom D525 fanless computer, 2 GB memory and a 32 GB solid-state disk. Windows Embedded Standard 7 provided device and touch-screen support, automatic sign-in and write filtering. The presentation launched through a restricted Internet Explorer 8 shell with jQuery 1.5 for interface behaviour and Adobe Flash Player 10.2 for the supplied H.264 video wrappers.

The 1024 × 768 interface was deliberately fixed to the installed display and did not assume multi-touch gestures. Every action used a large single-touch target, persistent return control and an inactivity reset. System keys, browser chrome, context menus and external navigation were removed from the public profile.

31 January — Interface design

Design proofs covered the attract loop, language selection, exhibition map, artist list, object detail, media viewer and programme schedule. The visual system used a dark neutral background so the kiosk would recede within the gallery, with large white type and one exhibition colour for active controls.

A full-size paper and screen prototype established reach, target dimensions and text volume. The organiser reduced descriptive copy after testing showed that standing visitors preferred short sections and images. Navigation returned automatically to the attract loop after ninety seconds without input, clearing the previous visitor’s path and selected language.

Proofs were approved against the eight proposed physical locations. Each screen carried a location identifier so opening content and nearby-object recommendations could vary without a separate software build.

14 February — Backend and publishing implementation

The onsite administration application allowed authorised exhibition staff to edit artist records, object notes, schedule entries and media assignments. PHP generated a complete versioned XML manifest describing content records, relationships, file paths, language variants and location-specific ordering. Media files were named by checksum and accompanied by byte length so a kiosk could verify each transfer.

Publishing created a new immutable content version rather than modifying the active set. Kiosks requested the manifest at startup and every five minutes, downloaded missing files to a staging directory, validated checksums and then changed the active SQLite index in one operation. An incomplete transfer left the previous version available.

Interaction events contained kiosk identifier, content identifier, action and local timestamp. They did not record names or free text. Each kiosk wrote events locally and posted a batch to the server when the network was available, retaining unacknowledged records across a restart.

28 February — Frontend integration

The approved layouts were implemented as local HTML, CSS and JavaScript templates populated from the SQLite cache. Transitions were kept short because the Atom hardware showed visible frame loss when multiple large images moved together. Video returned to the object page at completion and released its playback surface before another visitor session began.

Touch events were normalised to the click behaviour supported by the embedded browser. Controls retained keyboard equivalents for commissioning, although no public keyboard was fitted. Error states used plain local content rather than browser dialogs: unavailable media returned to the record, and loss of the server displayed no warning while cached content remained valid.

A maintenance sequence opened diagnostics showing kiosk identity, content version, disk capacity, server reachability and event backlog. It was intentionally absent from public labels and required a timed pattern across four corners of the screen.

14 March — Network and server design

The venue plan provided one switched Ethernet outlet and one ordinary power circuit at each kiosk location. A managed 24-port 100 Mbps switch and compact tower server were to be installed in the exhibition office. Kiosks used fixed addresses on a private /24 network with no route to the venue’s administrative systems.

Apache served manifests and media over local HTTP. MySQL held the editable catalogue and received event batches. The server used mirrored 500 GB disks and a small line-interactive UPS. Nightly exports of the database, XML manifest and interaction log were written to a removable disk retained by the organiser.

Cat5e patch and floor cables were cut to the supplied venue measurements, labelled by kiosk and tested before transport. Two spare cable assemblies and a box of used networking equipment from earlier temporary installations were included for ordinary onsite variation.

04 April — Factory build and acceptance

All eight kiosks completed a seventy-two-hour soak test. Power was interrupted repeatedly to confirm automatic startup, write-filter recovery and presentation launch. One touch controller was replaced after intermittent calibration drift. Content updates, media checksum failure, server loss and delayed event submission behaved as specified.

The organiser completed acceptance using the final exhibition data and production hardware. The server, switch and kiosks were then packed by location. Floor stands travelled separately from display and computer assemblies so they could be carried through the venue service routes.

27 April, 07:10 — Venue arrival

The installation team met the exhibition manager, production manager, resident lighting engineer and individual gallery contractors before public opening. The facility remained under final fit-out, with artwork protection, stage rehearsal and lighting focus taking place alongside kiosk installation.

Power and data outlets for the first seven positions were available within the agreed tolerance. The team assembled each stand, secured its base, connected the touch display and computer, dressed the cables through the stand and verified the assigned switch port. Each kiosk reached the onsite server and installed the final content version.

27 April, 13:42 — Seven positions complete

Kiosks one through seven were installed at the entrance, principal gallery junctions, programme area and exits. Physical stability, touch calibration, audio level, media playback, server synchronisation and inactivity reset passed at every position. Network tests showed no packet loss and event batches appeared under the correct location identifiers.

The organiser walked the installed route and approved the height, orientation and screen brightness. Minor adjustments were made to two stands so reflected work lighting did not obscure the displays. No change to the software or server was required.

27 April, 14:18 — Eighth position unsuitable

The planned eighth location was on a suspended walkway crossing the main event space. Close inspection found no secure point to restrain the kiosk base without drilling into the deck, which the venue did not permit. The deck panels also deflected more under load than had been apparent during the earlier empty-site visit.

The combined stand, screen and visitor side load could not be accepted on the available surface. The installation team declined to place the kiosk there. The exhibition manager instructed that kiosk eight be relocated to an open area on the opposite side of the main gallery, where a solid floor and local power were available.

27 April, 14:47 — Ad hoc network route

The replacement position had not formed part of the cabling plan. The longest spare Cat5e assembly could reach from the network cabinet to the edge of an overhead lighting gantry but could not continue safely down to the new kiosk location. Joining additional short patch leads across the public floor was rejected.

The transport kit contained several used 802.11g access points and passive power injectors retained from previous exhibitions. Two matching units were reset and configured as a WPA2-PSK wireless bridge on a fixed 2.4 GHz channel. The available cable was routed upward to the gantry bridge unit, with low-voltage power supplied over the same cable. Its partner was connected to kiosk eight from the opposite side of the gallery.

The lighting gantry provided elevation and clear line of sight above the exhibition structures. The bridge associated immediately and sustained approximately 18 Mbps during file transfer, comfortably above the kiosk requirement. The cable was tied along the accessible side of the gantry and the access point was fixed beside an existing lighting junction enclosure.

28 April, 09:25 — Final commissioning

All eight kiosks were started from an isolated power state and synchronised together. Kiosk eight downloaded a replacement video across the bridge, submitted its event backlog and continued working while the wired side of the bridge was interrupted and restored. Packet loss remained below the test threshold.

The exhibition organiser signed the installation record. The outstanding deviation identified kiosk eight as using a temporary wireless link rather than the planned wired outlet. It did not record a performance or public-safety exception, and the bridge was accepted for the two-week operating period.

29 April, 09:58 — Public opening

The final presentation and server checks continued as the doors opened and visitors began moving through the gallery. Staff observed the first sessions at each location, corrected fingerprints on two screens and confirmed that event records were arriving at the server.

Kiosk eight maintained its bridge connection and was used normally. By midday all units had completed multiple visitor sessions, the event queue was empty and no application or hardware fault had been recorded.

12:14 — Main stage lighting active

A principal event began on the stage beneath the suspended walkway and lighting gantry. The resident production team activated the full stage lighting state, including tungsten-halogen fixtures that had not been operated at show intensity during kiosk commissioning. Ambient temperature above the stage rose rapidly.

Shortly after the lighting state was enabled, kiosk eight stopped receiving the manifest heartbeat and its event batches remained local. The presentation continued from cache, so visitors could still use the content. Diagnostics showed that the kiosk-side wireless unit was active but the gantry bridge could not be reached.

12:21 — Wireless-link investigation

The installation team confirmed that the switch port and passive injector were operating. A replacement kiosk-side bridge unit produced the same result, locating the failure at the gantry access point, its power path or the cable leading to it.

While the team was checking the route from floor level, a thin stream of smoke became visible above the stage near the wireless unit. The smoke appeared to follow the Cat5e cable where it passed behind one of the stage fixtures. The team concluded that the cable jacket had ended up inside the fixture’s heat or radiant envelope when the lighting position changed.

The resident lighting engineer was informed immediately. Because the show was in progress and the affected cable was above the audience, the engineer clipped a fall-arrest harness to the overhead safety line and proceeded along the gantry to remove it.

12:24 — Cable ignition

As the engineer approached, the softened PVC jacket and cable ties ignited beside the operating luminaire. Flame travelled along a short section of the cable and burning material began falling toward the stage. The engineer reacted by attempting to stamp out the burning cable against the gantry surface.

The movement placed an additional dynamic load near one end of the structure. A retaining bolt at the opposite end, subsequently found to have an incomplete thread engagement, released from its connection plate. The gantry rotated and then detached progressively under the combined lighting, cable and engineer load.

12:25 — Gantry collapse

The lighting rig fell directly onto the stage during the event. Several energised fixtures, distribution cables and sections of truss struck scenery and staging below. The engineer’s harness arrested their fall against the independent safety line, leaving them suspended approximately halfway up the building as the gantry moved away beneath them.

The engineer reached an adjacent structural member and worked back toward the fixed access position. Below, flame from the cable and hot damaged fixtures spread into stage dressing and scenic material. Audience members moved away from the impact area while production staff stopped the show and initiated the venue emergency procedure.

12:26 — Evacuation

The fire alarm was activated and power to the stage and gallery installation was isolated. Exhibition staff directed visitors and contractors through the marked exits. The kiosk installation team left the diagnostics position and reported to the external assembly point with the organiser.

The resident lighting engineer reached a safe access platform and was escorted from the upper structure. No attempt was made to retrieve kiosk or server equipment during evacuation. Smoke had moved beyond the stage area and the extent of fire above the suspended structures could not be confirmed from outside.

12:34 — Fire brigade attendance

Fire appliances arrived and the attending crews took control of the venue. Firefighters entered through the loading and public entrances, isolated remaining electrical supplies and extinguished the stage fire. Water was applied to the collapsed rig, scenic material and adjoining structure, with further inspection at gantry level for burning cable and concealed heat.

The building remained closed while smoke was cleared and the suspended walkway, remaining lighting structures and stage were examined. The exhibition organiser confirmed that the public opening had operated for approximately two hours before evacuation.

Following day, 10:20 — Controlled recovery

The fire brigade declared the relevant gallery areas safe for controlled access the following morning after structural and electrical restrictions had been established. The organiser, venue representative and installation team entered to recover the kiosks and onsite server. No equipment was energised in the building.

Each kiosk was photographed in position, disconnected and placed in antistatic transit protection. The server disks and removable export drive were removed separately before the water-affected server chassis was moved. Kiosk eight’s gantry-side bridge unit and most of its cable had been destroyed within the collapsed lighting assembly; the kiosk-side bridge was recovered.

Post-mortem — fire and water assessment

Post-mortem — data and equipment recovery

The kiosk solid-state disks were imaged without starting the public systems. Kiosks one, two, six, seven and eight retained complete content caches and interaction backlogs. Water-exposed units three and four showed corrosion at connector level but their storage remained readable after removal. Kiosk five’s SSD enclosure was deformed; its events were already present on the server from the final successful batch.

Both server disks contained matching filesystems up to the evacuation shutdown. One disk had water at its external connector and was not powered; the other produced a complete image through laboratory equipment. The MySQL database, published XML manifest and interaction records were recovered. The organiser’s removable export disk had been stored in a closed office drawer and was unaffected.

No kiosk was returned to immediate public use. Smoke and water contamination required full disassembly, cleaning and electrical safety testing, while the damaged stage, lighting and network infrastructure could not support a reopened exhibition.

Post-mortem — causal position

The original kiosk-eight location was unusable because secure mount points were absent and the suspended deck did not provide the anticipated stiffness. Relocation was instructed during installation to an area outside the measured data plan. The wireless bridge restored network service, but its available cable route shared a gantry whose final show-lighting heat envelope had not been assessed during the ad hoc change.

Cable ignition initiated the intervention on the gantry. Collapse additionally required the engineer’s reaction load and the defective end connection subsequently identified in the venue structure. The installation records contained separate acceptance of wireless performance and kiosk position, but no combined review by network, lighting and temporary-structure responsibilities.