McDonald’s Korea installs kiosks for the blind in first for Asia

Industry

Published: 15 Sep. 2023, 18:15

McDonald’s Korea installs kiosks for the blind in first for Asia

McDonald's Korea installed blind-friendly kiosks at 15 of its stores in Seoul on Friday. [MCDONALD'S KOREA]

McDonald’s Korea has installed kiosks for the blind at 15 of its stores in Seoul, the burger chain said Friday.

The blind-friendly kiosks with voice guidance features are the first of their kind in Asia and second in the world.

McDonald’s Korea is also the first quick-service restaurant company to introduce these standalone digital screens in the country.

The kiosks are equipped with voice software and a touchpad that will guide blind customers through the ordering process. Customers can plug in their earphones at the lower portion of the machine for clearer sound in a noisy setting.

McDonald’s in July test-ran the kiosks with representatives from civic groups for the blind and implemented upgrades based on their advice.

Based on the civic groups’ suggestions, the burger chain first set them up at stores near welfare centers, schools and vocational facilities for the blind.

The franchise plans to install more kiosks across the country, garnering feedback from those using the kiosks and applying the improvements.

“McDonald’s has been aware of the need for blind-friendly kiosks with voice guidance features and finally came to showcase them after long research and trial and error,” said a spokesperson for the company.