Vocera announces Wi-Fi-based communicator: Vocera announced at the DemoMobile conference today their Vocera Communications System which uses a small wearable communicator that connects over standard Wi-Fi networks to offer mobile workers voice-based intercom and telephony. The system relies in part on a voice-recognition system that lets people wearing these badges carry out tasks by speaking them, obviating the need for hands or an interface. The device has been beta tested with nurses where one nurse told the company they saved as much as an hour a day using the communicator, and the device is also expected to be a big winner in the retail environment. The company told me a few weeks ago about an aspect of their system which allows people to be grouped by function. A supervisor could say, "Find me the nearest cashier," and the system would use the group list and some proximity information from Wi-Fi access points to pick the likeliest person. More on Vocera next week.

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