Difference between revisions of "Vocera"

Revision as of 13:20, 23 April 2006

The Vocera Communications System is a wireless platform that provides hands-free, voice communication throughout any 802.11b networked building or campus. The system enables fluid, instant voice conversations among team members, across groups, and throughout an organization of mobile professionals. The Vocera Communications System is made up of two elements: the Vocera System Software and the Vocera Communications Badge.

Vocera System Software runs on a standard Windows server and houses the centralized system intelligence: the call manager, user manager, and connection manager programs as well as the Nuance speech recognition software and various databases.

The Vocera Communications Badge is a wearable device that weighs less than two ounces and can easily be clipped to a shirt pocket or worn on a lanyard. It enables instant two-way voice conversation without the need to remember a phone number or manipulate a handset. The Vocera Communications Badge is controlled using natural spoken commands. To initiate a conversation with Jim and Mary, for example, the user would simply say, "Conference Jim Anderson and Mary Guscia." In addition, when a live conversation is not necessary, text messages and alerts can be sent to the LCD screen on the back of the Vocera Communications Badge.

I have seen this device in use at El Camino Hospital, in Mountain View, CA. The system worked great. Nurses were able to easily find other nurses, call physicians, and check on schedules. The speaker independent features seemed to work well. It looked like this technology was solving a real problem at El Camino Hospital.