No More P.A. Systems or Walkie Talkies
Ever watch the 1980s version of Star Trek, where everyone wears a little communicator on their uniform? Reality catches up with fiction once again. Forbes has an online article about a company called Vocera Communications that has developed just such a device. (They don’t hide the fact that they are working from that exact inspiration - their meeting rooms are named after Star Trek characters.) To use the two-ounce communicator, which is worn like a badge, you tap it and speak the name of the person you wish to call. It connects wirelessly to a server that processes the spoken request and tracks down the needed individual and opens a link to them. It can even patch through to a cell phone.
So, when you need to talk to the office, just tap the button. On the other hand, when the office needs to talk to you, they’ll find you no matter where you are.
The article looks at how the system has been working in a hospital, and you can read it at www.forbes.com/technology/2004/03/16/cx_ah_0316chips.html.