The demand for more capable communication technology in the workplace is ever increasing and has forced AV systems to become more and more complex. Furthermore, companies, as part of the race to stay relevant, have often draped their offices, campuses, and mega complexes with disjointed AV systems that leave the everyday staff that they were “designed” for perplexed as to how to actually use them. That is why there is now a growing desire to simplify through automation. Here are some examples of this exciting new technology in action.
Automated Startup
Always in a hurry? Walk in and start your meeting without pressing a button. Programmers can combine the capabilities of various sensing devices to turn on the lights, lower the shades, turn on the display, and detect the correct input source—all without the user touching a single control panel.
Shades and Lighting
Raising and lowering shades or even turning lights on and off is nothing new, yet a timely dimming of the lights during key points of a talk can create that “Wow!” factor that will set the mood for the rest of the presentation. Automation will make changing light effects easy, seamless, and almost like magic. It can also make office environments more comfortable for employees by altering light effects based on the position of the sun, time of day or year, weather conditions, and room occupancy.
Room Scheduling
Need to meet right now? Finding an open conference room with the right communication tools for your meeting needs may not be easy. However, room schedulers allow you to interface directly with your Outlook Exchange calendar to locate and reserve a room quickly. Use a personal device or simply consult the current meeting schedule using the interactive displays outside each conference room entrance. Programmers can even make the scheduler book the room for you just by walking into it and accepting the reservation on the touchscreen.
Camera Presets
Whether you are teaching via distance learning or planning the next quarter using videoconferencing, all types of group discussions benefit from the use of automated AV technology. For example, instruct your cameras to focus on who is speaking, even if they are moving around. You can also automate the pan, tilt, and zoom to make sure you have the right shot for every word.
Kiosk Show Start
When a museum visitor steps up to a display area, automation tools use presence detection to initiate the start of a show controller. That controller then directs media playback, special effects, lighting, sound, animation, and more.
Audio Mixing
Nothing sounds better than a microphone close to the presenter’s mouth; however, that is not always an option. When the conference room or council chambers have multiple microphones and require sound reinforcement, automated mic mixing can make all the necessary adjustments without the need for a sound technician to operate it.
