Interactive education and training using video communication

Cisco SX80 is a group video communication terminal designed for organizing video communication in interactive classrooms, conference rooms or large meeting rooms. The main advantages of this solution are high quality audio and video, innovative capabilities

for a local or remote presenter to work with an audience; and versatility.

The configuration of the premises for conducting education or training can be different, for example, it is

there can be a classroom for 20-40 listeners or a lecture room for 40-100 listeners. 

 

In the learning process, with the participation of remote students or a remote teacher, a number of

special tasks:

1. providing high-quality audio and video communication between the teacher and students outside

2. depending on their location; 

3. the ability to view presentation materials from the teacher's computer by students regardless of their location;

4. ensuring simplicity of work for the teacher and the convenience of students.

 

To solve these problems, a solution based on the Cisco SX80 video conferencing codec can be used. with automatic guidance to the active participant Cisco SpeakerTrack60 and an additional a Cisco Precision60 camera for capturing a presenter.

 

Equipping the audience 

The central element of the system is the Cisco SX80 codec, to which all elements are connected

systems. An IP network is used to communicate with video conferencing equipment for remote audiences.

data transmission. The SX80 codec supports SIP and H.323 protocols and can work both standalone and

under the control of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) system. SX80 codec can stand alone

collect multipoint conferences up to five participants with call quality up to HD or use

external conference servers.

 

Any displays or projectors suitable for the size of the room and providing sufficient image brightness. To connect funds display in the SX80 codec has three video outputs (2xHDMI and 1xDVI-I).

For improved convenience, it is recommended to use ceiling microphones that allow

do not lay audio cables or use table microphones in the classroom. 

In addition to the speaker's laptop, as a source of presentation materials,

document cameras or other devices with VGA, DVI, or HDMI video outputs. Broadcast

presentation materials from the teacher's laptop can also be carried out wirelessly

Wi-Fi network using proprietary Cisco Proximity technology.

A Guide to Video Analytics

 In the past few years, video analytics, also known as video content analysis or intelligent video analytics, has attracted increasing interest from both industry and the academic world. Thanks to the enormous advances made in deep learning, video analytics solutions has introduced the automation of tasks that were once the exclusive purview of humans.

Recent improvements in video analytics have been a game-changer, ranging from applications that count people at events, to automatic license plate recognition, along with other more well-known scenarios such as facial recognition or smart parking.

In this guide, you’ll discover the basic concept of video analytics, how it’s used in the real world to automate processes and gain valuable insights, and what you should consider when implementing an intelligent video analytics solutions in your organization.

What is intelligent video analytics?

The main goal of video analytics is to automatically recognize temporal and spatial events in videos. A person who moves suspiciously, traffic signs that are not obeyed, the sudden appearance of flames and smoke; these are just a few examples of what a video analytics solution can detect.

Real-time video analytics and video m

Usually, these systems perform real-time monitoring in which objects, object attributes, movement patterns, or behavior related to the monitored environment are detected. However, video analytics can also be used to analyze historical data to mine insights. This forensic analysis task can detect trends and patterns that answer business questions such as:

When is customer presence at its peak in my store and what is their age distribution?
How many times is a red light run, and what are the specific license plates of the vehicles doing it?

Industry applications

Healthcare
Real-world example
Smart cities / Transportation
Retail

Thin Client Selection

In modern conditions, an ordinary personal computer at the workplace is becoming ineffective and even inhibiting the entire business tool. Therefore, increasingly companies choose a thin client for the work of their employees. This diskless computer is used to enter information and display the program interface, the size of a home router. The thin client operates using a light operating system and transfers most of the information processing tasks to the server via the network.

Thin Client Benefits

Thin clients (or terminal computers, or client computers) are chosen with the aim of saving on hardware, software, and maintenance, without compromising operational efficiency. The advantages of thin clients in the case of the desire to minimize enterprise costs are obvious:

1. such computers are cheaper than conventional PCs because they do not have built-in storage media;
2. thin clients are unified: they have the same set of programs, do not need personal debugging and configuration;
3. capable of scalability of a single system for an expanding team;
4. the economic efficiency of thin clients is also in security: all user information is stored on the server and regularly backed up, thin clients are provided with OS “from the manufacturer”, are most protected from breakdowns. Maintenance costs are almost completely absent.

Thin Client Comparison and Review

Comparison of thin clients - an individual solution in each case. A terminal computer will help reduce initial investment in job creation. When it comes to buying thin clients, a market review becomes an extremely important step.

Thin clients from the Smart Office company will help the company reduce costs by refusing to purchase licenses for Windows, configure software and purchase system units. Client computers work in the terminal (kiosk) mode, connecting directly to the terminal server without the ability to work locally on the computer.

The first parameter that you should pay attention to when choosing is the number of users (jobs): up to 20 or more. Depending on this, you can choose a thin client according to server performance parameters - the number of processors, the amount of hard drives, etc. The Smart Office company offers terminal servers on the Windows Server platform for rent, which is much more profitable and more expedient than a purchase.

Support for the PCoIP protocol is also important - hardware or software. Using the PCoIP protocol, thin clients transfer data from the remote desktop to the server. A hardware solution generates and processes information on a computer, and a software solution through applications. The presence of digital ports will also be an important parameter for choosing a thin client - for connecting a monitor (DVI-D and DVI-I) and other devices: USB 2.0, PS / 2 (for mouse and keyboard), Mic-In and Head-Out, and others. The amount of RAM (flash memory) for a thin client and a graphics chipset are needed if the user’s work is associated with the processing of graphic information and the need to connect widescreen monitors.

How to connect a thin client?

A smart client based on the Raspberry Pi 3 B + from the Nexgen IT Solutions and Services is the optimal choice with minimal costs and settings. This compact computer is characterized by high performance and wide functionality, suitable for organizations with a large number of employees.

You can connect a thin client both independently and with the help of Nexgen IT Solutions and Services specialists. By phone 909-467-6777 you can ask all your questions.

How to create a remote workplace

The introduction of a virtual office in the company's IT infrastructure implies the creation of remote jobs for all employees or a specific group of personnel. Another name for the remote workplace is the abbreviation (Desktop as a service - “desktop as a service”). The essence of the service is that users work with so-called desktop images, while all data, programs, settings are stored on a remote server.

Since all the hardware is concentrated on the side of the service provider, users automatically get rid of problems with installing, supporting, updating programs on the remote desktop. And we are talking not only about specialized software, such as accounting and automation programs, but also about office suites, instant messengers, email clients, etc.

How to create a remote workplace ? There are two main technologies for desktop virtualization: VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) and RDS (remote desktop services). In the first case, images of the operating systems of each user are located on a shared server. In the case of RDS, the user's working environment is the operating system of the server itself, that is, programs run directly on the server. RDS technology consumes less server hardware resources, and also reduces the cost of licensed programs. On the other hand, the user with this approach will not be able to install his virtual application.

The service of connecting and configuring remote (virtual) workstations is in demand among small business executives, startups, owners of online stores, brokerage companies, creative agencies and many other areas. All of them are united by the desire to minimize the cost of maintaining equipment and software. This is the optimal solution if the business "lives" online, and the main task of the DaaS service is to make working with software safe, controlled and convenient.

The benefits of organizing remote jobs for company employees include:

1. The transparency of the work of each employee. In terms of security policy, a virtual desktop is more reliable than desktop computers. It is impossible for an employee, for example, to discreetly download a customer database to disk or accidentally delete important data.
2. Quick setup of a new workplace. Deploying a remote desktop for each employee takes several hours, even taking into account individual settings.
3. Lower IT costs. For example, if you connect a remote workstation, you do not need to buy a powerful server, keep a system administrator on staff and buy a license. All your expenses are equal to the DaaS service fee.

5 reasons to choose cloud solution

Cloud solution allows you to use all the features of remote access to the virtual servers of the provider company. With this approach, the client does not invest in server equipment and purchase a 1C license, but works with licensed applications on a rental basis for a fixed monthly fee. The main objective of the transition to cloud services is the optimization of IT resources. Cloud rental is a direct and comfortable way to reduce service costs.

In what situations is it beneficial for a business to switch to cloud technologies?

1.Branches of the company are located in different cities.
The standard situation for business: employees from different offices, retail outlets, warehouses are scattered throughout the country, but must work in a single information space. The easiest way to provide convenient access to the database is to transfer it to the cloud.

2.It is difficult to predict the cost of servicing.
The cost of renting in the cloud is transparent, since it directly depends on the number of users. Knowing that the number of employees will not change in the coming month, it is possible to predict rental costs.

3.It is urgent to organize several user places with access to .
Cloud services - this is perhaps the only way in a few days to deploy full-fledged jobs for accounting, human resources and other units that are closely related to accounting programs.

4.It is not possible to maintain staff for service.
Renting a cloud eliminates the need to hire a specialist with such a narrow profile. The provider will undertake update, technical support, data protection from virus attacks. In addition, the area of ​​responsibility of the provider is fixed in the contract, so he is interested in the quality of in the cloud.

5.There were problems with the security of the existing infrastructure.
The transition to the cloud system will save company management from the need to constantly think about data protection. A reliable provider constantly monitors security systems, places servers only in certified data centers, and backs up user data. The Nexgen company carries out daily backups of its customers' databases; archives with copies for the last 7 days are stored.

cloud service meets the needs of both medium and large businesses. Server performance is enough to perform any amount of operations by any number of users working in at the same time. Other company resources can be transferred to the cloud, for example, mail, CRM, data storage.