Technology news Collaboration on Tap


Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub available from Exertis


One launch that we clearly


didn’t spend enough time on at ISE 2019 is the new Logi- tech Tap. This represents the latest stage in Logitech’s moves to simplify the technology in- stalled in a meeting room to the pointwhere anybody can use it. All that is required is the press of a single button to get an image on the meeting room display.


Having failed to watch a demo at ISE, Logitech’s’ Head of Marketing, Video Collabora- tion EMEA Ann Marie Ginn very kindly agreed to go through a virtual unboxing and installa- tion, mirroring the user’s ex- perience, and also highlighting some of the features of Tap. Tap is described as a universal meeting room controller that offers one-touch video calls with leading collaboration plat- forms. Microsoft Teams will be the first to be integrated, with Google and Zoom soon to follow and others in due course.


System specifics


Two things were immediately apparent from the unboxing. Design and manufacture are up to Logitech’s usual high stan- dard, and pricing for the attrac- tive and robust control units is exceptional. The standalone touch control display solution, not that Logitech expect to sell many, is priced at $1199. Then there are a variety of room solu- tions with camera and audio solutions, plus various mount- ing options including rider, ta- ble, wall and VESA mounts. Room solutions, with Logitech


Tap, for video conferencing are pre-configured for Google, Microsoft and Zoom custom- ers. These range in cost from $2,999 to $4,999 depending on the size of the installation, from the small room bundle to the large room bundle. Logitech Tap systems are completed with other proven Logitech products. For example, the large room system includes Logitech Tap, Rally Plus audio system, Ral- ly Mounts, computer, and PC Mount.


Logitech also supplies a range of installation accesso- ries, including Logitech Tap Mounts with


table, riser,


and wall mounts at $199 per piece. Logitech Strong USB op- tions including stndard a 10m Strong USB cable. The cable is also sold as an accessory in 10m and 25m lengths at prices


ranging from $249 to $499. Conclusion


Logitech Tap is a touch con- trol display solution that makes team collaboration rooms easy to deploy and use. On the front of the Tap, a motion sensor detects the presence of people to wake the meeting room system instantly. Tap comes with pre-configured room solutions for major collaboration plat- form providers such as Google Hangouts Meet Hardware, Mi- crosoft Teams Rooms (former- ly Skype Room Systems), and Zoom Rooms. With the ad- dition of Tap, Logitech room solutions represent the next stage in the simplification of deployment and use of video conferencing in any meeting room.


Key Features


•Simple and Consistent UX: Logitech Tap delivers one- touch video calling simplici- ty for users in an affordable, IT-friendly design mass deployments.


ideal for


•Cabling Flexibility: Logitech Tap removes compute, and related cables, from the table. In-wall rated cabling with the option to run up to 25 meters (82 feet) enables topologies and room layouts that please the eye as well as IT. •Rugged Cable Retention: Each cable is secured with multiple stress relief mea- sures.


•Multiple Mounting Options: A range of table, riser and wall mounts offer tremendous placement flexibility, en- abling Logitech Tap to be pro- fessionally deployed in any size room - from phonebooth to boardroom to classroom. •Works


with from


tion: coupled with intuitive products


any Applica- leading


col-


laboration service providers, it’s easier than ever to deliv- er functions like one-touch start, calendaring, and seam- less content sharing. Logitech Tap solutions will be available to the channel from April 2019 onwards. The launch distribution distribu- tor is Tech Data Maverick.


Exertis has extended its Leno- vo product range to include the ThinkSmart Hub products. Re- sellers will be able to offer cus- tomers the Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub 500 and the ThinkSmart Hub 700 through its Exertis Pro AV Solutions division. Research has shown the im- portance of providing high tech collaborative technology. Eighty-two per cent of millen- nials say that high tech offices will influence their decision about accepting a new job. Research by Cascade Insights* into how meetings work main- tained that companies are los- ing up to 15 valuable minutes at the beginning of each meet- ing trying to get the technology in the room up and running. The Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub 500 is a purpose-built Skype-


Designed for small to medium sized meeting rooms and hud- dle spaces, they enable better productivity through their inno- vative features, simple deploy- ment and ease of use. These solutions will enable our re- sellers to offer a cost-effective solution that meets the needs of the modern workplace.” The Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub 500 is an all-in-one unit with a 11.6” anti-glare and smudge resistant, touch panel mounted on a fully rotatable 360-degree stand. It also benefits from two integrated microphones and speakers with Dolby Audio Pre- mium sound. Portable enough to be easily moved to different meeting rooms or spaces, it has an innovative cable man- agement system that prevents cables being accidently discon-


Zytronic supports children’s ‘fairy kitchen’


Zytronic has announced that its touch sensors are central to a new kitchen experience, where young children can enjoy the illusion of ‘cooking with fairies’ in complete safe- ty. ‘Hungry Kitchen’ is part of the Docodoco indoor island of adventure, a digital play- ground attraction built within the Hachikawa Takashimaya S.C by Bandai Namco Amuse- ments Inc.


The Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub 500 is an all-in-one unit with a 11.6” anti-glare and smudge resistant, touch panel mounted on a fully rotat- able 360-degree stand.


based device that lets users conduct Skype meetings and share content with local and remote participants. While the ThinkSmart Hub 700 supports multiple platforms such as Zoom, as a speakerphone, it can easily be upgraded to a full video conferencing system. Greg Bennett, Head of Ex- ertis Pro AV Solutions said, “The ThinkSmart Hub range is designed to enable more effi- cient meetings together with a collaborative experience to cre- ate a more engaged workforce.


nected. Windows 10 IoT Enter- prise provides intelligent enter- prise-grade protection and the built-in Skype Room Systems app has a universal lockdown feature. Two HDMI ports can drive external displays to show video and content from remote participants.


The Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub 500 is available now.


The


ThinkSmart Hub 700 will be available from April. *Cascade Insights Study, commissioned by Oblong Industries, 2016


Mitsubishi cuts its flagship LCD bezel


Mitsubishi Electric has launched the latest upgrade to its popular high-end LCD video wall display, the LM55. The new P3 version of the 55” LCD display now features an extreme narrow bezel (eXNB) of 1.8mm bezel-to-bezel, greatly reducing the visible mullions between individual displays. The result is a more seamless display surface, which is less distracting to operators and offers greater image visibility when viewing large scale con- tent over several displays. Like previous versions, the LM55P3 is designed for com- pact control rooms requiring a cost-effective visualization solution that delivers high qual- ity, 24/7 performance with high reliability and low cost of own- ership. The 55” displays, which have an operational lifespan of 60,000 hours, deliver Full HD resolution, and when combined


in a 2 x 2 configuration, create a compact 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) display with only a sin- gle mullion vertically and hori- zontally. This makes the LM55 P3 an ideal system where high-resolution images need to be viewed across the entire display, such as surveillance, process or traffic monitoring. A built-in Display Port 1.2a input terminal allows individual displays to be daisy-chained via a standard Display Port cable to create displays of up to 5 x 5 configuration with no external processing required. Multiple inputs can be displayed simul- taneously on the screen. Addi- tional versatility is afforded by a built-in OPS slot. Used in conjunction with the optional VC-LM1HD card, this supports HDCP long-distance transmis- sion of up to 100m when using the CAT5e cable.


Zytronic touch technology under the chopping board senses the po- sition of the plastic knife allowing an appropriate response from the game.


‘Hungry Kitchen’ offers young children a full ‘aug- mented reality’ kitchen expe- rience including cutting foods on a virtual plate, frying and mixing to serving up, without any of the risks of a real kitch- en. Zytronic touch technolo- gy under the chopping board senses the position of the plastic knife and the palms allowing an appropriate re- sponse from the system. The plastic kitchen knife and other utensils include a conductive material that allows the touch sensor to detect their location. A custom sized 15.2” Zy- tronic Zyfilm together with a ZXY150 multitouch control- ler were selected following a comprehensive performance evaluation. A key requirement was that the touch sensor re- sponded reliably from its loca- tion underneath an 8mm thick


melamine chopping board, with the kitchen surface and foods all projected onto the surface from an overhead projector. For this application, the touch control- lers 'palm rejection' algorithm was disabled, so that for exam- ple, if a child used a hand to flatten a piece ‘virtual’ chicken with a palm, the touch controller would recognise this and Band- ai Namco’s software would re- spond appropriately. The system designers appreciated the fact that set up values are stored on the ZXY150™ touch controller itself, eliminating the need to store them on the host PC, and improving servicing. Ian


Crosby, Sales and Mar-


keting Director at Zytronic, commented: “For their special project, Bandai Namco Amuse- ments Inc. had been seeking a projected capacitive touch sen- sor available in a unique design and in very small quantities. In addition, the chosen technology had to be capable of detecting a touch through a thick, opaque surface. We designed a bespoke 15”multitouch foil to their pre- cise specifications. As our touch sensors and controllers can also operate through various non-con- ductive materials such as glass, acrylics and even stone, it pro- vided an ideal solution for Band- ai Namco Amusements Inc.”


AV News March 2019 P5


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