You never know what you’re going to learn IoT Evolution Expo. At this year’s event in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, two tech leaders discussed how the adoption of their ground-breaking technology could change the way businesses operate, during “The Innovation Never Stops.”.
The speakers included Walt Shaw, product director at Boingo Wireless (News - Alert), whose company provides Wi-Fi services for major airports and Department of Defense facilities; and Joe Ward, CEO at IKIN. His company produces holographic communications software that operates on desktops or smartphones.
Private Wireless: 5G Opens Up Another Opportunity
Shaw’s group provides wireless for large enterprises, including manufacturing and healthcare verticals. “Our main thing is to understand their pain points,” he said.
In determining the path forward, Shaw and his team encountered the need for private wireless networks that augment their Wi-Fi installations. Companies were required low-latency, specialized networks that are free of congestion.
“We try to figure out what’s working well, and what is not working well on Wi-Fi,” Shaw said.
If there’s an issue, his team investigates the efficacy of installing a private network.
5G wireless has components specifically designed to host private wireless networks. Leveraging the new aspects of the technology is one of the primary aspects of installing private networks.
For example, one customer was having difficulty with touchscreen transmissions. The data would get caught up in the Wi-Fi traffic. Delivery was degraded.
By establishing a private network for the touchscreen traffic, Shaw said they were about to reduce line abandonment by nearly 15%. Result: Increased consumer satisfaction.
“There’s a need in both the front of the house and the back of the house,” Shaw says. “The ecosystem is the biggest challenge to private Wi-Fi.”
Device manufacturers have built private-network capability into their products since 2020 and Show says that’s turning into opportunity for Boingo.
“Increasingly, we’re developing private-wireless networks for our customers,” he said.
Holographic Software: Virtual Reality Without the Bulky Headset
IKIN has a different value proposition when it comes to 5G.
“As 5G came out, we really leaned into using that technology,” Ward says.
For the holograph project, IKIN aims to deliver what they call a “volumetric visual experience.” The company’s software converts 2D images into 3D experiences. Applications range from training to cosmetics.
Yes, cosmetics. During the pandemic, IKIN was hired to conduct virtual cosmetic trials. The project involved scanning faces multiple times to determine the effects of new cosmetics.
The project has other business applications, of course.
“If we can scan a face, we can scan a jet engine,” Ward said.
First, though, they had to get rid of the goggles.
“Goggles don’t work in the warehouse, or for the DoD,” Ward said.
One of their target verticals is the warehousing space, where scanning can combine with virtual reality to help locate and store items in the warehouse.
It’s called a maplication.
“Scan a barcode, go to a pallet,” Ward says. “Scan another barcode there, and it leads you to the product.”
The system displays the item in virtual reality so it can be compared with the live item. Instructions for storage and usage also are displayed by the software.
Cost savings from abandoning the headset are significant. Ward says they’ll let the mobile device go for around $500, while the desktop version runs about $5,000.