Context:

BCA was approached by a leading hygiene and health company to retrofit their brand of napkin dispenser with a LCD screen to play 30-45 sec. video advertisements specific to the restaurants they were in. The additional electronics was to be designed so that the present dispensers mechanical design would not have to be significantly modified.  The added screen was not to have a negative impact on the dispenser’s napkin capacity or dispensing performance. The battery-operated dispenser was to playback a “play list” that it downloaded from the cloud each day.  It would display the graphics/videos and audio as it detected a customer’s presence through motion. This was done for a proof of concept for their marketing team and was presented at a trade show.

Solution:

BCA supported the varied areas of software and electronics on this project from end-to-end. Initial research had to be done for the appropriate LCD screen to be sure we could find something that met the visibility and resolution specifications but was also able to fit in the dispenser without causing any hinderances to the dispenser’s normal functions. We were able to find a screen that matched the dimensions perfectly, allowing for a seamless, fluid look along with providing the necessary picture quality. — The electronics for this were powered by a rechargeable battery that would last up to a week of service. BCA provided all of the electronics for this retrofit.

The software for this project had a number of components and touched on multiple areas within software development. We had to write the firmware for the LCD to know when to respond to motion and play the playlist as well as pull the ads from the cloud that were chosen by the store that day. This is then communicated to the dispensers via Wi-Fi from the store. We had to work with our client’s marketing group so that the play lists on their own website could be uploaded to the dispenser.