You might not expect a British engineering company to shape accessibility standards for self-service kiosks not from its home shores, but from the United States and beyond. Yet for Storm Interface, that is exactly how the journey unfolded. It has been driven by a series of opportunities, partnerships and pivotal moments where the right expertise met a very real and growing need.
Over the years, those moments have helped Storm evolve from a specialist manufacturer into a global reference point for accessible keypads and interfaces used in self-service applications worldwide.
Where it all began
Back in the early 2000s, Storm Interface was already well established as a manufacturer of high-quality, weatherproof access control devices. Our products were designed to perform reliably in demanding environments, from transport and retail to industrial applications.
Then came a pivotal request from a leading research institute in the United States. The brief was deceptively simple: design a keypad for outdoor self-service information points that could be used by people with a range of disabilities, including blind and visually impaired users, while still meeting strict weatherproof requirements.
At the time, this way of thinking was far from mainstream. Accessibility was rarely considered at the design stage, particularly for public kiosks. But that challenge sparked the creation of what would become a defining product for Storm: The NavPad, officially launched in August 2005.
Setting the standard for accessible keypads
NavPad was not just another keypad. It introduced design principles that are now widely recognised as fundamental to accessibility: clear tactile differentiation, logical layout, durability, and ease of use without relying on sight alone.
In many ways, NavPad helped define what an accessible keypad should be. It proved that inclusive design and robust engineering could coexist, even in outdoor and high-traffic environments. That early work laid the foundations for Storm’s long-term commitment to accessibility in self-service.
A defining moment in US accessibility history
A few years later, in 2013, another opportunity arose, this time in the US video rental market. What followed became widely known as the Redbox settlement, a landmark case that brought accessibility in self-service kiosks firmly into the public spotlight.
Storm played a central role by developing a bespoke solution that enabled blind and disabled users to independently access video rental kiosks. The bespoke solution combined a tactile numeric keypad with a headphone jack, delivering private audio output that read screen content aloud and guided users through each step of the menus.
This approach addressed both usability and privacy, two critical aspects of accessible self-service. More importantly, it demonstrated how thoughtful hardware design could restore independence to users who had previously been excluded.
Building momentum beyond compliance
Following the Redbox case, the need for accessible kiosks became evident across many other sectors. Storm continued to support accessibility-driven projects in the US, helping to resolve further legal challenges and, more importantly, preventing future ones by designing accessibility in from the outset.
As awareness grew, so did Storm’s role in shaping best practice rather than reacting to regulation.
The evolution of AudioNav
In the years that followed, from 2014 to 2015, Storm was approached by NCR, at a time when the company was gaining recognition as a rising name in accessibility. The project focused on designing an accessible user interface primarily for ATM applications.
Storm’s research and development efforts culminated in the creation of NavBar in 2017 and AudioNav in 2018, now the company’s flagship product. Designed with ergonomics and ease of integration in mind, AudioNav features tactile guidance, private audio output, USB connectivity for seamless integration across multiple platforms and operating systems, and more recently, Bluetooth connectivity to support evolving kiosk ecosystems.
AudioNav built on everything Storm had learned since the early days, translating decades of accessibility experience into a refined, scalable solution.
Recognition from trusted authorities
As accessibility standards evolved, independent validation became increasingly important. In 2018, Storm’s accessible keypads were submitted to the RNIB for assessment.
For those unfamiliar, the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) is one of the UK’s most respected organisations supporting blind and partially sighted people. Its Tried and Tested certification is based on real-world evaluation by blind and partially sighted users, providing assurance that products genuinely work in practice, not just on paper.
Storm’s keypads successfully achieved RNIB Tried and Tested certification, alongside compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA). This marked a significant milestone, reinforcing Storm’s position as a trusted provider of accessible technology on both sides of the Atlantic.
Expanding interaction through voice
As technology continued to evolve, Storm expanded its portfolio further with the introduction of its voice activation range in 2020. Designed to support users with a range of disabilities, these solutions allow interaction with kiosks through voice commands, using advanced microphone arrays to ensure accuracy even in busy public environments.
This marked another step in Storm’s ongoing mission to remove barriers and create more natural, intuitive self-service experiences.
Shaping the market, not chasing it
Recent partnerships with leading kiosk manufacturers and software developers have further strengthened Storm’s position. Today, many organisations refer to Storm Interface as the global standard for accessible keypads and self-service interfaces.
What sets Storm apart is not that it offers accessible products now that accessibility is a hot topic. It is that the company has been there since the very beginning, helping to define the market long before accessibility was widely recognised as a requirement.
Storm did not jump on the bandwagon. It helped build the road.
And as accessibility expectations continue to evolve worldwide, Storm Interface remains committed to doing what it has always done: designing technology that makes the world more inclusive, one interaction at a time.