Tag Archives: telepresence
2012
Top Five Video Conferencing Security Tips
IT security is a crucial concern for every business, regardless of what industry it operates in. A properly secured computer network doesn’t just begin and end at wireless passwords and desktop entry-points – it also needs to take into account all aspects of a company’s technology strategy, including the video conferencing systems that are installed and used by a corporation. For example, a recent article published by the New York Times detailed the findings of a computer security firm that discovered 5,000 video conferencing installations that were accessible to hackers due to a lack of the security protocols necessary to protect them.
Let’s take a look at the top five ways you can keep your video conferencing installation secure from hacking, thanks in part to the expert advice provided Cisco System’s Tor Halvorsen (@torhalvorsen) and Wainhouse Research’s Ira Weinstein (@wrvideoteam) .
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2012
Telepresence Robots Expand Post-Surgical Care Into The Home
Medical telepresence continues to change how patients access health care across the United States. One of the more cutting edge developments in medical video communications has to do with post-operative care. Specifically, Children’s Hospital Boston is now sending telepresence robots home with patients in order to provide follow-up treatment after serious surgical procedures.
The robots, manufactured by a company called Vgo Communications, are designed to provide a direct link between practitioners at Children’s Hospital Boston and recuperating patients – one that eliminates the need for regular return visits to the facility.
As the video above reveals, the robots feature a five-inch telepresence display where a ‘face’ would normally be found, and this interface works in combination with a high definition camera, microphone, and speaker system in order to help doctors and nurses keep in touch with patients at home. This includes not just direct conversations in order to report on recovery, symptoms, and pain, but also the ability to provide high resolution images of surgical wounds in order to track healing and spot any potential problems as early as possible. The robot is not an autonomous device, but one which is remotely controlled by hospital or clinic staff over the same cellular connection that it uses for communications purposes.
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2012
Top 10 Telepresence Posts of 2011 From The KBZ Communications Blog
It’s the first week of 2012, which means it’s the perfect time to take a look back on some of the most popular posts of the past year from the Telepresence & Video Conferencing Blog. Let’s recap the most commented, read, and shared telepresence posts of 2011 and see what trends and interests dominated the industry over the course of the previous 12 months.
10. Use of Video Conferencing Surges Toward Widespread Adoption
This post from September was one of the first that we put together charting the growing evidence that video conferencing was about to reach the tipping point in terms of mass adoption. Driving this trend were the lowered costs of telepresence technology, improvements in mobile video conferencing, and increased interest in having employees telecommute at least one day per week across a wide range of different industries.
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2012
Top 5 Telepresence Trends for 2012
2012 is shaping up to be an exciting time for telepresence professionals, with many pundits claiming that this is the year video conferencing breaks through to the mainstream and gains the widespread consumer and corporate acceptance that has been growing closer and closer over the past 18 months. Let’s take a look at five of the top telepresence trends as we move into 2012 and see what direction the industry looks to be heading in the near future.
1. Digital Signage
Digital video communications – and digital signage in particular – have gained a significant foothold in advertising and campus communications (both academic and corporate). Projections for digital signage market share are through the roof, with industry spending predicted to reach $5.2 billion by 2016. The next 12 months figure to factor into that impressive growth rate in an important way.
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2011
GIA Report Predicts Strong Global Video Conferencing Growth
A new report on the world video conferencing market has been released by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. The study offers not just an in-depth look at the factors that have lead to the increased adoption of video conferencing technology over the past several years, but also makes several projections concerning where the industry is heading.
The GIA report makes several interesting claims with regards to the factors that have driven a surging interest in video conferencing at both the small business and enterprise level. According to the report’s authors, a key reason for 2010’s spike in video communications sales was a “pent up” desire to implement new cost- and travel-saving plans following their emergence from the previous year’s recession. An increased focus on the advantages of harnessing a mobile workforce also dovetailed with the proliferation of Apple’s FaceTime as well as Skype’s video conferencing software, giving companies the ability to experiment with mobile video conferencing on a low budget before committing to more capable systems from industry leaders such as Cisco.
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2011
How Video Conferencing Provides Savings and Safety to the Penal System
Video conferencing technology is helping to usher in an unprecedented level of safety in the penal and judicial systems. One of the key advantages of telepresence is its ability to provide a communication experience that is akin to participants being in the same room together, regardless of the distance between them. This unique feature is helping to protect the health and security of prisoners, administrators, and law enforcement officers across the country in a number of important ways.
Transporting inmates from one part of a facility to another can be a risky proposition even under tightly controlled circumstances, but introducing an outside element to a jail or prison population (as happens during visits from family members or friends) adds greater volatility to the situation. Some county jails have begun to replace the thick glass barriers that separate inmates from their visitors with video conferencing systems that allow for just as much personal communication between the parties involved while significantly dialing down risk.
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2011
How Video Conferencing Professionals Used LinkedIn in November
This past November, members of the Videoconferencing Professionals LinkedIn group used each other as sounding boards to help find the answers to a number of questions concerning industry strategies and technical issues. Peggy Daly, corporate account manager at MSpace, asked for a user perspective comparison of Polycom HDX and Cisco C Series technology. Rodolfo Dávila López of ICE stressed that it was important to identify the specific type of user before answering this particular question, as it was a fairly broad topic. That being said, Cisco TelePresence technology edged ahead on the strengths of its ease of use and quality of features, an opinion that was held by members such as Paul Lofgren, president of Golden Gate Networks, LLC, Mark Okern, senior network engineer – video at Enventis (@mrokern), and Florent Gasselin, video conference technician at Audio Visio Media.
The hive mind was tested once again when Mike McKenzie, national accounts manager for Kiedinger, Inc., asked for help in finding a technical solution that would allow him to send two camera images as a single video feed from a courtroom, a question that prompted a diverse range of vendor and technology suggestions. Tanju Hasanof of AMCOL also probed the group to ask for global video bridging solutions, while Wade Curtis, marketing manager at Interactive Video Solutions, Inc. (@wncurtis), drew the group’s attention to a telepresence robot designed by Bell Labs which in addition to its business applications also had the potential to serve as a therapeutic communications tool for developmentally disabled children.
Top Influencer for November
This month’s top influencer award in the Videoconferencing Professionals LinkedIn group belongs to Henry Liu, TVSS and collaboration systems engineer at Cisco (@howkliu). Liu was an active participant in many of the most heavily trafficked conversations in November, offering up not just advice but also contributing solid technical information to each discussion that he posted in.
Benjamin Hunting
KBZ Communications Blogging Team
2011
Cisco TelePresence Tech Tips: Five Commonly Asked User Questions
Here are five commonly asked questions from Cisco TelePresence system users:
Q) If I am in the control panel screens, is there a quick key to exit out of the menu?
A) Hold down the [X-Cancel] button to clear the menu and display the source full screen. If a change was made in the menu, it will prompt you to save or cancel.
Q) When displaying DuoVideo in a call, can I change the layout?
A) Yes. Press the Layout button on the remote to show layout options for viewing the presentation and video.
Layout button on a Cisco TelePresence remote control
Q) Will the PrecisionHD Extension kit function with the Video Switch?
A) The extension kit will work off the 6000 MXP or the 3000 MXP codecs only going to the Video Switch. The extensions kit would be in line with the 6000 MXP and the 3000 MXP going to the Video Switch only. The extension kit cannot be used between the Precision HD camera and the Video Switch.
Q) Can multiple HD cameras be setup on a 3000/6000 MXP system?
A) Yes, this would require the Cisco TelePresence Video Switch.
Q) Is there a way to switch an MXP for different room settings or configurations?
A) On the Control Panel, Installation page, press Profiles to allow switching between different system settings.
Cisco TelePresence control panel Profiles button
2011
Benefits of Video Conferencing in Government
Video conferencing is a technology that has been making important in-roads into government – both local and national – for many years. In particular, telepresence offers the ability for citizens to gain more direct access to their elected officials, especially as the cost of video conferencing drops and proliferation of this type of communication becomes more common, even in smaller municipalities.
The advantages of video conferencing at the government level extend beyond constituents and office-holders staying in touch. Inter-agency cooperation can be dramatically improved through the use of telepresence to connect offices that may be geographically distant. The reduction of travel for meetings introduces significant cost savings for government officials, particularly where large territories make it difficult to schedule get-togethers at convenient locations.
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2011
Video Conferencing In Academia Post Sparks Interesting Feedback and Discussion
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Last week’s blog post discussing the advantages of video conferencing in academia triggered a wave of response from this blog’s readership, particularly from members of the Video Conferencing Professionals LinkedIn group. Although the original post focused on areas where video conferencing has penetrated outside of the classroom setting, many of the comments tackled the distance learning concept and the effectiveness of using telepresence as a tool for engaging remote students.
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