Shayne WinterSystems Integration

HomeProjectsVirtual-tour kiosks

Project 01 / connected field system

Built, deployed & maintained

Three cellular virtual-tour kiosks.

A repeatable outdoor system that let prospective buyers watch a full-screen property tour and submit an information request directly from a real-estate sign installation.

Domain: Connected productRole: System design, component sourcing, electrical assembly, software development, integration, deployment, and field supportDeployment: Three units · around 2019

Operational problem

Bring the property experience to the curb without depending on a visitor’s device.

The client needed a standalone public interface at the property sign. It had to play a property tour, collect visitor details and requests, communicate over cellular service, and remain usable in a field installation with battery-backed power.

Users and constraints

A public-facing Windows system inside a supplier-manufactured enclosure.

  • Prospective buyers needed a simple touch-first experience with no Windows desktop exposed.
  • A realtor needed request details delivered without remaining at the property.
  • Wired data was not the practical path, so content and request delivery used cellular connectivity.
  • The display and capacitive touch layer sat behind a protective acrylic front panel.
  • Rechargeable 12-volt power supported field use, with optional 120-volt input for charging or connected operation.
  • Internal components needed a repeatable, serviceable arrangement across three matching units.

How I framed the problem

Define the visitor path, then choose the hardware around it.

The core workflow was deliberately short: approach the interface, view a full-screen tour, enter contact and request information, submit it over the cellular path, and notify the realtor by email. That path drove every important requirement—display size, touch behavior, shell control, communications, power, and service access.

I specified and sourced supplier-manufactured enclosures and components, selected how the embedded computer, display, touch layer, cellular hardware, and power system would work together, and performed the complete internal assembly and integration.

How the system worked

Power, interaction, compute, communications, and notification in one system.

Cellular virtual-tour kiosk conceptual architectureA capacitive touch layer and LVDS display connect to an embedded Windows computer running a custom Visual Basic shell. Cellular connectivity carries tour content and visitor requests, with email notification to the realtor. Rechargeable twelve-volt power and optional one-hundred-twenty-volt input power the system. Capacitive touch layerprotective acrylic front LVDS displayfull-screen property tour Embedded compute boardWindows · Explorer replacedby custom Visual Basic shell Cellular pathcontent + request submission Email notificationvisitor request to realtor Rechargeable 12V powerbattery-backed field operation Optional 120V inputcharging / connected operation
  1. 01Touch and displayProtective acrylic, capacitive touch, and an LVDS display presented the full-screen property tour.
  2. 02Embedded Windows applicationA custom Visual Basic shell replaced Explorer and controlled the visitor experience.
  3. 03Cellular request pathContent and visitor requests moved over cellular service, followed by an email notification.
  4. 04Field powerRechargeable 12-volt power supported field operation with optional 120-volt input.
Sanitized conceptual reconstruction. It documents verified functional relationships, not a recovered wiring schematic. The client-identifying field photograph remains private.

Replacing Windows Explorer with the custom Visual Basic application reduced the interface to the intended tour-and-request workflow. Cellular service avoided dependence on site networking, and email notification kept request delivery simple without adding another application dependency.

What I owned

Specified, sourced, assembled, wired, programmed, integrated, deployed, and supported.

System design and sourcingDefined the architecture and selected supplier-manufactured enclosures, embedded compute, display, touch, cellular, and power components.
Electrical and hardware assemblyPerformed the complete internal assembly, wiring, component mounting, and repeatable arrangement for all three units.
Software developmentCreated the Visual Basic operating shell, full-screen tour interface, visitor capture, request submission, and email-notification workflow.
Deployment and supportIntegrated and installed the completed units, then provided ongoing field support through at least one year of service.

How I tested it

Validate the full path, not only the screen.

Field readiness required the touch interface, LVDS display, Windows shell replacement, tour playback, visitor capture, cellular submission, email delivery, charging path, and battery-backed operation to work as one system. Ongoing support after installation also revealed what mattered for serviceability and confirmed the value of keeping all three units on one repeatable architecture.

Result

Three repeatable units deployed around 2019 and supported in field service.

I specified, assembled, integrated, and deployed three cellular virtual-tour kiosks, then supported them through at least one year of field service. The result was a completed hardware-and-software product operating in its intended environment.

What I learned

Design the service path as carefully as the visitor path.

The repeatable internal layout and controlled Windows shell reduced avoidable variation. A future iteration would add service diagnostics, component-health reporting, power-state logging, content-version checks, and automated end-to-end request tests while preserving the simple public interaction.

Suppliers manufactured the physical enclosure and component parts. My ownership covered system design, sourcing, assembly, software, integration, deployment, and field support. Historical usage and business-outcome metrics are not available.
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