In March 2017, Cisco announced the impending arrival of two brand new room systems called Spark Room Kit Plus, and Spark Room Kit. These kits are almost complete video-conferencing systems, they simply lack a physical display. Each system comes with cameras, speakers, and microphones. The main difference is that the "Plus", has four fixed cameras, and the standard kit has one.
The room kits follow the announcement of the Spark Board which was launched last January. The Spark Board offers a touchscreen solution for whiteboarding, and works in conjunction with Cisco Spark. On the other hand, the room kits can be used with cloud-services like Spark and WebEx, or on-premises infrastructure. Even though they use advanced tech, the kits are designed for small to medium-sized rooms.
A Simple Answer to Collaboration
Over the years, some of the most appealing room cameras have come with tilt, zoom, and pan. However, this can add distraction to a meeting space. Even automated solutions create movements and sounds that distract and detract from the meeting.
However, the new room kits offer automation with visual and audio cues that adjust cameras, all without the moving parts. Everything is connected thanks to high-resolution 5k cameras, and sensors enable digital processing without damaging the quality of the connection. You can even access a remote for the cameras on your smartphone if you need to.
Artificial Intelligence Developments
What makes the room kits even more impressive, is the fact that you can ask them questions, such as whether you can join or end a conference, and what time it is in another part of the world. The conversational elements are delivered by back-end services, and the Nvidia Tegra X1 chips implemented by Cisco. These are the chips used across Facebook's virtual reality headsets, and Tesla cars.
Cisco are planning on using the latest technology for the purpose of facial recognitions. Right now, the systems can automatically frame pictures and pinpoint faces. The telemetry data provided can include the number of faces in a conference, and Cisco has previewed a feature which can display each participant's name on the screen to facilitate better analytics.
Stunning attention to Detail
It's worth noting that the room-kits also include a great deal of physical attention to detail. The video equipment used by Cisco, including the Spark Board, has been designed in the Oslo design centre. Each kit is wrapped in custom textiles that are stain-resistant and perfect for sound.
Cisco Spark Board[/caption]
