UPDATED 17:12 EDT / AUGUST 27 2014

Smarter robots, armbands and new MDM solutions for connected offices

This week’s Smart City roundup features smarter workplaces with wearable tech, a way to make robots intelligent, and a new collaboration offering for easy mobile device management in the enterprise.

Myo Armband

Myo armband invades the workplace

 

Thalmic Labs, Inc. introduced the Myo armband last year as was seen as a technology that could push gesture control to a whole new level. Gesture control technology requires sensors and cameras to track a person’s movement, but Myo measures the electrical activities in a person’s muscles to interact with digital devices such as smartphones, game consoles, tablets and PCs, to name a few. At first, Myo was deemed a revolutionary gaming tool, or even a great way for people to control their smart homes. But Thalmic Labs had better things in mind – the enterprise.

Thalmic Labs announce the integration of Myo with smartglasses including Google Glass, Recon Jet and Epson Moverio.  The integration will allow workers in industries such as construction, field services and healthcare to efficiently and effectively interact with smartglasses using subtle hand and finger gestures while on the go, without the use other controllers that slow down the process of entering or retrieving data.

“Smartglasses remove barriers to accessing the information and communications needed to effectively and efficiently perform the job at hand. Now, the Myo armband frees up your hands to unlock the full value of smartglasses,” said Stephen Lake, CEO and co-founder of Thalmic Labs.

The company has partnered with Google Glass app maker Augmedix Inc., software maker APX Labs LLC, mobile and web communication platform Bridgit Inc., and heads-up display maker Recon Instruments to develop innovative smartglass enterprise solutions.

Robo Brain

 

There are robots being deployed in homes and offices to ensure the safety and security of their inhabitants, checking air quality air, learning human movement patterns, sending out intruder alerts, watching out for signs of fire, and even maintaining room temperature, as these “butler robots” can be connected to a home or office’s HVAC system.

Cornell University believes robots can serve more purposes if they have access to more data, namely information found on the web. A Cornell research team has developed a large-scale computational system called Robo Brain that is able to learn from publicly available Internet resources. The information being gathered by Robo Brain will then be translated into something that can easily be understood by robots, so these machines can better understand how the world works and how to better help humans.

With Robo Brain, robots can learn more about simple, everyday objects, how they work and how they should be handled.  One example is the handling of a coffee mug. Robots can learn that coffee mugs hold liquids and that when filled, mugs should be carried in a certain way to prevent spillage compared to when carrying empty mugs back to the sink or dishwasher.

Telus’ new MDM solution for the enterprise

 

In collaboration with AirWatch by VMware Inc. and Vox Mobile LLC, Telus Communications Co. is introducing the Telus “MDM Made Easy,” a powerful mobile cloud offering designed to provide businesses with a richer user experience while simplifying and securing the management of mobile networks. It leverages AirWatch and Vox’s technology that allows businesses to manage their smartphones and tablets through a cloud-based portal.

MDM Made Easy is designed to be customized and built to manage mobile devices across multiple mobile operating systems and carriers. It allows businesses to quickly deploy a feature-rich MDM solution without investing in costly infrastructure. And because it is cloud-based, it eliminates the need for on-premise hardware, while pre-configured user profiles simplify enrolling, configuring and updating devices. This ostensibly frees up a company’s IT resources and expertise to focus on their core business.


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