Visitor kiosk that asks for the flat
A tablet at the society gate where visitors check themselves in. They scan a guest pass, or pick the tower and type the flat number. The family approves on the phone while the guard deals with the next car.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- At 8 pm four delivery riders and a cab stand at the gate while one guard rings intercoms and writes in the register.
- A visitor names the wrong flat, and the guard calls the wrong family.
- A passer-by reads the families' names off a list at the gate.
- Guests with a pass still wait for the guard to find them on a sheet.
How it works
- The facility manager opens the gate under Visitors > Configuration > Gates and Visitors > Gates and clicks Create Kiosk Link. The tablet opens the link in its browser, or the Society Kiosk app is paired with it.
- A guest with a pass holds the QR to the camera or types the six-digit code. The kiosk checks them in and shows the way to the flat.
- A visitor without a pass presses No pass? Register here and picks who they are: Guest, Delivery, Cab or Service / Repair.
- They choose the tower and type the flat number on the keypad. The kiosk says Flat found, or the family's name if your society allows it.
- They give name and mobile, take a photo where asked, tick the society's visitor rules and press Send to resident.
- The flat answers on the phone. The kiosk shows the gate pass, Please leave it with the guard, Please wait at the gate, or You are not let in.
Everything it does
The flat step
- Tower / block buttons, then the flat number on a keypad, shown as the tower code and number, for example A-1204
- Leading zeros do not matter: 1204 and 01204 find the same flat
- Flat found, Keep typing, or No flat found with that number
- Kiosk Shows Who Lives in the Flat: off to start with, so only Flat found shows. On, it shows the flat's kiosk name, such as Lee family
Who can register at the kiosk
- The four society visitor types are offered: Guest (Flat), Delivery, Cab and Service / Repair, each with a hint such as Food, parcel, groceries
- Purposes per type: Family visit, Friends, Party / event; Food, Parcel, Grocery; Pickup, Drop; Repairs, Installation, Housekeeping
- Photo required for Service / Repair to start with; optional for guests, deliveries and cabs
- A visitor type that needs an ID proof is never offered: those visitors see the guard
- Name and mobile are needed; people with you and vehicle number where asked
Waiting and the answer
- The flat's approving residents get the request on the phone with the visitor's name and photo
- Gate pass number when let in; Please leave it with the guard when the flat said leave it at the gate
- Please wait at the gate when a resident is coming down, or A guard will walk you to the flat for an escort
- Ask guard to call on intercom tells the gate's guards at once; Cancel request if the visitor gives up
- A blacklisted visitor or anything the kiosk cannot check sees only Please see the guard
Directions
- After entry the kiosk shows the way to the tower and where to park, as the office wrote them
- With a site map uploaded, the tower's pin is shown on the map
The kiosk itself
- Home screen: Scan your QR pass, Or enter your passcode, No pass? Register here, Leaving? and Need help?
- Back to the start after 90 seconds without a touch
- After 10 codes that match nothing within 5 minutes, it sends people to the guard for 5 minutes
- New Kiosk Link replaces the link and the old one stops working; Turn Off Kiosk switches it off
- The red emergency banner shows on the kiosk until the all clear, where your plan has the emergency broadcast
Who uses it
VisitorChecks in with a pass, or picks the flat and registers, waits for the answer and checks out with Leaving?.
ResidentGets the request with the visitor's photo and answers it on the phone.
GuardSees kiosk visitors under Waiting, calls the flat when asked, and helps anyone sent to the guard.
Facility managerCreates or replaces the kiosk link, chooses what the kiosk shows and sets the visitor rules.
Where you use it
- The kiosk: a web page on a tablet's browser, opened from the gate's Kiosk Link
- The SmartMy Society Kiosk app: the same kiosk on an iPad or Android tablet, no login. It is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Web: Visitors > Configuration > Gates and Visitors > Gates for the link. The Visitors tab of the Entity for the look, the rules and Kiosk Shows Who Lives in the Flat
- Not a printer: the kiosk does not print badges
- Not face recognition: the photo is kept on the visit for the flat and the guard
What you control
Settings
- Kiosk Shows Who Lives in the Flat: off to start with
- Self-service per visitor type: on for the four society types
- Photo required per visitor type: on for Service / Repair, off for the others
- Kiosk Theme (Light or Dark) and Kiosk Accent (SmartMy Blue, Plum, Forest or Graphite)
- Visitor Terms and Consent, Visitor Privacy Policy (URL) and Notice for Minors
- Directions per tower: the way in and where to park; the Site Map
Approvals
- Visitor at the gate: a kiosk visitor goes to the flat the same way as a walk-in the guard registers; the first answer counts
Notifications
- Flat: Visitor Waiting for Approval: to the flat's residents who may approve. By app push and the first of WhatsApp or SMS that reaches them, and in-app
- Visitor Asks for a Call: to the gate's guards, by app push, SMS and in-app
- Flat: Visitor In / Out: to the flat's residents when the visitor comes in or leaves, or how a waiting visitor was answered. By app push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- WhatsApp and SMS use paid message credits; in-app notices always arrive
Works with
SmartMy DeskA broken kiosk is reported from the guard's Gate problems page and becomes a helpdesk ticket for the gate.
Questions
Does the kiosk need special hardware?
No. Any tablet with a browser and a camera runs it, kept plugged in with the screen on. The browser needs the society's secure (https) address for the camera.Can a stranger read who lives in each flat?
Not to start with. The kiosk only says Flat found. Turn on Kiosk Shows Who Lives in the Flat if you want visitors to see a name such as Lee family.What happens if the visitor types a wrong flat?
The kiosk says No flat found with that number and does not move on. With the right flat, only that family is asked.Can delivery riders use the kiosk?
Yes. Delivery, Cab, Service / Repair and Guest are offered. If the flat says leave it at the gate, the kiosk tells the rider to leave it with the guard.Is the Society Kiosk app in the app stores?
Not yet. It is built and in testing. Until then, open the gate's kiosk link in the tablet's browser: it is the same kiosk.Related features
VISITORS AT THE GATEWalk-in visitors approved by the flatThe guard registers a visitor without a pass for a flat. Every resident of that flat who approves visitors is asked on their phone. The first answer wins, with five answers to choose from. If nobody answers, the guard or the office decides and the flat is told who did.GATE, GUARDS AND KIOSKGuard app and guard web pageOne screen shows the guard who is expected, waiting for a flat's answer, inside or pre-approved, and which children wait for a parent. It runs in any browser at /guard and as the SmartMy Society Guard app.GUESTS AND PRE-APPROVALDirections to each tower and flat, and where to parkThe office writes once how to reach each tower, where to park, and the way inside the tower to each flat. Guests read it in their invitation and on the pass page. The kiosk shows it with a pin on the site map, and the guard sees it on the visitor's card.GUESTS AND PRE-APPROVALGuest invitations with a QR and a six-digit codeA resident invites a guest from the portal or the Resident app. The guest gets a pass with a QR and a six-digit code, with the way to the flat. The gate lets them in without ringing the flat.VISITORS AT THE GATEIntercom answers and a timed walk to the flatMany residents still answer the gate on the intercom. The guard records what the flat said on the same visit, with their own name, so the record is complete. When the flat asks for security to bring the visitor up, the guard starts and ends the escort on the card. Both times are kept.GATE, GUARDS AND KIOSKBlacklist, automatic check-out and overstaysBlacklist a person with the reason, and every gate and the kiosk stop them unless the office overrides it in writing. Visits still open at closing time close by themselves, and long stays are flagged.
See it set up for your own society.
Tell us how many towers, flats and gates you have. We will show you and your committee the resident app, the guard app and the office screens, set up that way.