In recognition of the different applications and user needs - including those of the disabled and children - we designed a range of product variants: the Desktop, Junior and Free-standing. The Junior variant was specifically designed so that it could easily be used by wheelchair users and children. All variants are based on modular parts giving the product additional versatility whilst reducing manufacturing inventory.

To reduce the capital costs, cast resin mouldings were produced for the display enclosure and side cheeks. (The high tooling costs for injection mouldings would be hard to justify due to the relatively low production volumes). 3D Pro Engineer files were downloaded directly to the sub-contractor to reduce tooling lead-times. Appearance design and mechanical design issues were reviewed and developed concurrently to ensure a fast development process to meet tight time-scales.

To simplify operation, add to user-safety and reduce cost, we developed an internal scanning mechanism that reads the bar code on the book through a glass aperture in the worktop. There are no external moving parts. We configured the mechanism to allow the scanner to read barcodes on books, CD's and video tapes. The user is guided through the self issue procedure by on-screen images that illustrate every step of the process.