Using the right location and setup for your kiosk is key to making sure both remote and physically present users have a great experience.

Categories of spaces can include:

• Large open floor spaces
  • Ideal: Large TVs (e.g. 40+”) with beamforming mic array
• Meeting rooms and other medium sized areas
  • Ideal: Large TV with conference speakerphone (multiple microphones in a circle)
• Smaller areas such as private offices, cubicles, desks/desk pods, phone booths
  • Ideal: Smaller screen or Chromebook
• Informal areas like lounges or kitchens
  • Ideal: Depends on the space, but larger tv’s combined with a beamforming mic array or speakerphone usually work well
• Functional spaces like hardware labs
  • Ideal: Multiple USB cameras highlighting areas of detail

When you’re picking a location and physical setup for a kiosk within a space, think about:

• The ways you expect this kiosk to be used. Some possible use-cases are:
  • Providing a full view of a space to remote teammates
  • General discussions within a team between groups of people
  • Informal chatting in a hang-out space think of a lounge or kitchen)
  • Getting the attention of an individual and having a 1-on-1 chat
  • Observing and discussing a hardware build
• The size of the area.
  • This is important to kiosk placement and hardware set up.
• How much of the space you need to capture on video.
  • Maybe you need to focus in on a certain place, or show the entire space, or both.
• Where people are located in the space.
  • Users need to be in range of the microphone/speakers so that they can hear remote users and remote users can hear them.

Some rules of thumb to keep in mind while you’re picking a location and set-up:

• Put the kiosk in a place where it’s accessible and visible to everyone in the area.
  • Don’t put the kiosk behind people - it’s uncomfortable to be watched from behind. The experience should be as balanced as possible for in-person and remote users.
  • If you have a group of 8 desks in 2 columns of 4, put the kiosk at the end of the columns so that everyone can see any remote users who pop in and the remote users can see them.
  • If you’re in a private office or phone booth, a laptop screen located next to your desk/table can mimic someone coming up to talk with you.
• Put the video camera at an appropriate height.
  • Remote users want to talk with people at the same level that they would if they were in the office - they don’t want to feel like they’re sitting on the ground.
  • This usually means clipping the camera to the top of the tv or putting it on a shelf on top of the tv.
• Use an appropriately sized TV.
  • A 27-inch monitor might work well for a cubicle or pod containing a few desks, but won’t for a larger space. In open floor areas or meeting rooms consider going for 55 inches or larger. In that setting you want to be able to see your remote teammates on a screen that makes their presence similar to real life, which means having them show up on a larger screen.
• Use a camera and speakerphone setup that can capture the full area it needs to.
  • For a small space setup an all-in-one laptop can be great.
  • For a larger space use a wide-angle all-in-one solution with good microphone range and loud speakers such as the Logitech MeetUp for very large spaces, or some combination of hardware that fulfills the same requirements.
• Use multi-camera if you need it.
  • You may have a smaller space where multiple kiosks wouldn’t make sense, but you need close up views in multiple directions. No worries! You can connect multiple webcams to one kiosk.
  • It’s nice for remote users to have a full view of a space, but sometimes it’s also useful to have a close-up view to as if they’re standing where the kiosk is. A great way to accomplish this is by using a multi camera setup with one wide angle camera and another normal-angle standard webcam.