McDonald's Just Made Its Self-Order Kiosks Even More Inclusive
Those who wanted to skip the line to order at the register at McDonald's were likely pleased when the self-order kiosks first arrived in 2018 (via Forbes). Yet, the kiosks were not well suited to all customers. According to QSR Web, McDonald's is finally incorporating new kiosks with some new technology. For those who are blind or those who have low vision, the original kiosks were not accessible. However, the massive chain has had time to study how people interact with the kiosks and is now ready to implement new, more inclusive ones.
To make this happen, McDonald's plans to incorporate assistive technology created by Vispero into the new kiosks. The new systems have already been tested in select locations within the United States that were owned by corporate. Now, the kiosks are also being used at franchise locations. So, it will likely be sooner rather than later before everyone encounters the new style of self-order kiosks.
This is how the new self-order kiosks are more inclusive
According to QSR Web, the self-serve kiosks had to be redesigned to become more inclusive to those who are blind or have low vision. The new kiosks are Vispero's JAWS model, which have a headphone jack located directly on the key pad. With headphones on, users can then listen to the options as they work through the menu presented on the screen.
While this seems like an easy enough fix, only time will tell how useful the new self-order kiosks are to those with impaired sight. Considering how few people seem to use headphones these days thanks to wireless earphones or headphones with adapted cables to fit lightning ports on telephones, the humble headphone jack might prove more complicated. However, as long as those who need to use it have the correct style of headphones with them, the improved kiosks will hopefully serve customers well.