We enabled touchless gas pumps for a global network in under 3 weeks with our low-code middleware Interplay®. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to be more cognizant of what they are touching and the potential spread of germs. All kinds of places had to adapt. Restaurants had to rely on take-out. Grocery stores enforced utilizing masks. Though many people opted to avoid unnecessary risks, some things are still essential, and gasoline is one of them.
Typically, when stopping to get gasoline, there is a fair amount of risk in terms of touching things. A person has to touch a screen to activate it, enter in their credit card, key in their PIN, press a button to select their type of gasoline, then finally use the gas pump by holding the pump handle. Now, as people are more aware of the spread of germs and viruses, everyone knows that all of this touching is less than ideal.
A global convenience store/gas network began asking thoughtful questions: What are ways to minimize the number of hand touches during a fuel pumping experience? What if we could handle the money transaction via the customer’s mobile phone before a customer even gets out of their car?
Many solutions emerged. First, the gas station needs to know the car's identity from the license plate. The system can then connect to the mobile phone of that car’s owner to authorize the transaction, all while you’re still just sitting in your car. Using the mobile phone, the transaction can be verified, along with an opportunity to browse and choose some curbside snacks from the gas station. With this system, over half of the possible risk from touching the pump parts is mitigated. BONUS: this also mitigates the risk of scamming credit card scanners.
How to Build a Touchless Gas Pump - So, there are a few steps here.
That sounds complex, and it is. Moreover, we have to package all of that into a simple plug-n-play server so gas station managers can deploy this with minimal IT support required-- no AI knowledge required. We’re now also helping our client file patents around this revolutionary award-winning system.
Indeed, we got it done in about 3 weeks, from conception to actual production roll-out. This system is now in place at hundreds of convenience stores, on its way to be rolled out to thousands of more stores in the coming months.
If anything, the description here is a very simplified version of the actual data and logic flow. Despite this complexity, we estimated that we could do it in less than a month and at a very affordable price. Why were we so confident? Because we have Interplay.
Client:
Global Convenience Store Chain
Goal:
Improve Customer Experience
Development Time:
4 weeks
Deployment:
1500 gas stations