Jabra announces AI-powered updates to the Jabra PanaCast 50

Jabra, a leader in personal sound and hybrid work solutions, announces new AI-powered features for its PanaCast 50 and PanaCast 50 Room System today at InfoComm 2023. Hybrid meetings are top of mind for businesses, with Jabra research* revealing that 80% of all meetings globally are either fully virtual or hybrid. So, it is important that employees get the most out of their meetings, regardless of where they are joining from. rom.  

To address this need, in collaboration with Microsoft, Jabra is introducing new updates to its PanaCast 50 video bar, including Microsoft IntelliFrame with multiple video streams, as well as face and voice recognition functionality**. These new features aid Microsoft’s next-generation AI tools, including intelligent meeting recap in Teams Premium to revolutionise meeting experiences.         

PanaCast 50 enable productivity powered by AI 

As organisations strive to increase productivity in light of hybrid working, Jabra’s collaboration with Microsoft unlocks a new era of inclusive and dynamic communication. The PanaCast 50 will be one of the first intelligent front-of-the-room Teams Rooms on Windows video bar to enable Microsoft IntelliFrame with multiple video streams. Additionally, with Teams’ voice recognition capabilities, the PanaCast 50 allows in-room participants to maintain their identity in the meeting transcript, aiding AI based productivity tools. 

With intelligent recap in Teams Premium, you’ll get automatically generated meeting notes, recommended tasks, and personalised highlights to help you get the information most important to you, even if you miss the meeting. Meanwhile, Microsoft IntelliFrame gives each in-room participant a dedicated camera view, providing a more inclusive remote experience and providing an optimised front row experience in room-to-room meetings. 

Both features play a key role in helping employees to have more productive meetings, get up to speed on focus topics, organise key discussion points, and summarise actions so that the entire group understands the next steps.  

 

 

 

PanaCast 50 enables dynamic communication by facial and vocal identity technology 

The new multiple video stream functionality enables remote users in the Teams meeting to have a better view of who is in the meeting room with three video streams: the first stream is the current speaker, the second stream is for the previous speaker, and the third stream is the full panoramic room view of the meeting room or space, so no individual is excluded. The upcoming face recognition functionality allows in room participants – upon authorisation with individual enrollment – to display their names to remote users and populate the meeting room roster.  

Voice recognition functionality – upon individual enrollment – enables in room participants to maintain their identify in the meeting transcript, enabling more precise intelligent recaps for users with a Teams Premium license. 

Hybrid meetings are also taken to the next level as the system comes equipped with the Jabra Intelligent Meeting Space. The new features allow customers to set a meeting room or space virtual boundary with PanaCast 50, so that people within the defined space are fully included, whereas people outside of the boundary are not inadvertently included. The new feature allows PanaCast50 to exclude people who are visible through glass walls and are not part of the meeting.  

Aurangzeb Khan, Senior Vice President of Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra, says, “At Jabra, we are always looking for ways to harness the power of cutting-edge AI technologies to revolutionise hybrid and remote meetings. This is why we are thrilled to introduce these new PanaCast 50 capabilities for collaboration with Microsoft Teams. These features are set to give professionals immediate productivity benefits, helping them better navigate the hybrid working era seamlessly, online and offline.”  

Albert Kooiman, Senior Director, Microsoft Teams Devices Partner Engineering and Certification at Microsoft says, “Microsoft Teams leverages the power of AI to create unique user experiences before, during and after Teams meetings, to enhance employee inclusion and drive natural collaboration. Jabra and Microsoft closely worked together on the PanaCast 50 to make this device an essential component of unlocking these AI powered features for individuals, teams, and businesses.”  

Building a next generation device management platform. 

Jabra is looking to bring the same level of innovation into the device management side of our collaboration solution space. With IT managers and partners, the task of managing their installed devices is a vital success factor and Jabra PanaCast customers are no different. Jabra’s intelligent meeting room solutions require a management platform that takes full advantage of all the capabilities on offer, while also ensuring we reduce time and effort spent managing them. This reimagined management platform is planned for wider availability by the end of this year. 

Find out more at https://www.jabra.co.uk/panacast50             

Jabra launches PanaCast 50 Video Bar System to facilitate next-level hybrid meeting experiences

Jabra, a leader in personal sound and office solutions, is unveiling the PanaCast 50 Video Bar System at ISE 2023 as part of Jabra’s PanaCast 50 solution portfolio for small-medium sized meeting rooms. The Jabra PanaCast 50 Video Bar System is an integrated solution, that includes an Android based compute unit, as well as state-of-the-art SOCs, speakers, microphones, video camera, with network and display interfaces for easy deployment. The solution comes with a 10.1” touch controller to manage the room experience. The system natively and securely runs Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android or Zoom Rooms. 

The complete portfolio delivers flexible deployment options to bring the best collaboration experience with either an integrated solution on Android, a modular on Windows through the PanaCast 50 Room Systems with Lenovo and Crestron or a BYOD solution with PanaCast 50.  

The ultimate hybrid workplace meeting experience 

The PanaCast 50 Video Bar System offers the same award-winning user experience as the two other solutions in the portfolio. It features full-room coverage with its unique 180° field of view Panoramic-4K multi-camera array, which uniquely delivers true-to-life representation of the people in the room. It also has eight professional-grade microphones with voice detection and intelligent algorithms that automatically identify and remove residual echoes and static noise, as well as an array of four powerful speakers in a zero-vibration stereo setup. Meanwhile, its Intelligent Meeting Room Experiences, which include the Virtual Director, Intelligent Zoom and Dynamic Composition, provide an engaging experience for remote participants.  

The PanaCast 50 Video Bar System is designed to adapt to the evolving UC experiences and hybrid workplace needs with its AI-powered software-defined platform. Above all, it is easy to install, manage and use with everything needed for video meetings embedded in the PanaCast Control for a one-touch start/join without requiring any additional devices, allowing simple, secure, and scalable deployment and management in any small-medium sized rooms. 

Aurangzeb Khan, SVP for Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra said, “We have an urgent need to improve collaboration in today’s hybrid working era. Our research* found that meeting equity has a strong impact on an employee’s experience, well-being, and productivity levels. The addition of the PanaCast 50 Video Bar System as a room solution to the Jabra PanaCast portfolio – with the already-delivered BYOD and room system solutions – can vastly enhance the hybrid meeting experience. The Jabra PanaCast 50 solution portfolio addresses the spectrum of business needs for small-medium sized meeting rooms. We want to facilitate effortless discussions and encourage innovation amongst meeting attendees no matter their location.”  

 

Key features of the PanaCast 50 Video Bar System:  

  • Integrated video bar that runs Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android and supports your licensed Zoom Rooms natively without the need for external compute unit. 
  • Full-room coverage with unique 180° field of view in Panoramic-4K with three 13-megapixel cameras that preserve human scale fidelity 
  • 8 beamforming microphones and 4 powerful speakers with echo cancellation, noise suppression, Full Duplex and Super Wideband audio  
  • Cutting-edge intelligent meeting room experiences to support immersive hybrid meeting experiences  
  • Simple Start/Join meeting with just a tap on the touch controller  
  • HDMI-wired content sharing, proximity join and dual display support 
  • Fast and Easy to install with minimal cabling  
  • Environmental sensors to monitor air quality in the room in real time 
  • Ultrasonic motion sensor that detects people in the room, so the system wakes up and is always ready to go 
  • Real-time, anonymous people count data with full room coverage to monitor room usage 

 

PanaCast 50 Video Bar System: Available from June 2023, MSRP: £3229 

Find out more at www.jabra.co.uk/panacast-50-video-bar-system

Jabra and Lenovo Expand Collaboration to Deliver First Full Microsoft Teams Rooms System

Jabra and Lenovo are expanding their collaboration to offer a seamless, easy to use meeting room system optimised for use with Microsoft Teams Rooms – the Jabra PanaCast 50 Room System. The purpose-built, modular room kit provides companies looking to upgrade their meeting room technology for the hybrid working world with enhanced business productivity and collaboration capabilities. The plug-and-play full room system is a first from Jabra and is certified for and preloaded with Teams Rooms software. 

The system features the Jabra PanaCast 50 and Lenovo ThinkSmart Core Kit. The PanaCast 50 offers innovative 180-degree Panoramic-4K video and works seamlessly with Microsoft Teams Rooms’ front row layout to make hybrid meetings more inclusive and engaging. Lenovo’s ThinkSmart Core Kit includes the ThinkSmart Core and the ThinkSmart Controller, a 10.1inch, 10-point touch HD display that allows users to initiate and control meetings, as well as share content and work with colleagues working remotely. 

 “The typical meeting is not what it used to be, and it’s time for meeting room technology to catch up,” said Aurangzeb Khan, SVP of Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra. “We’re delighted to unite the PanaCast 50’s unique capabilities with Lenovo’s innovative solutions to equip offices with solutions to foster inclusive and interactive meetings for everyone, regardless of where they are. The system works at the touch of a button and can connect employees seamlessly whether they’re in-person or connecting from home.”  

 “The shift to hybrid work has undoubtedly led to more demand for video enabled conference rooms, which is why we’re working with companies like Jabra and Lenovo to develop purpose-built Microsoft Teams Rooms,” said Albert Kooiman, Senior Director of Microsoft Teams Devices Partner Engineering and Certification. “Bringing together Jabra and Lenovo’s hardware with Microsoft Teams software allows users to experience key Teams features such as front row and Intelligent Camera, both for those in the meeting room and remote.” 

The new product bundle provides everything needed to set up a Teams Room. The Jabra PanaCast 50’s 180-degree view allows for every attendee to be seen, no matter where they’re sitting. This is further amplified by Dynamic Composition, an intelligent camera technology Jabra co-developed with Microsoft and released earlier this year. It helps to bridge the gap between in-person and remote meeting participants by providing a close-up view of in-room participants when they speak.  

 

 

Lenovo’s ThinkSmart Core is powered by an 11th Gen Intel® Core™ vPro® processor and delivers connectivity to support any meeting room configuration. Its understated yet stylish design means it can be placed discreetly, and it has ports to support multiple audio and visual accessories, along with integrated cable management. The ThinkSmart Controller’s easy-to-use Teams Rooms interface makes it ideal for meetings and collaboration.  It has Integrated Infrared sensors that detect when participants enter the room and automatically turns the system on and off. 

 “We’re excited to collaborate with Jabra to provide businesses with a way to bring their conference rooms into the hybrid work era,” said Shannon MacKay, General Manager of Worldwide Smart Collaboration Business, Lenovo. “Combining the power of our ThinkSmart Core solution with the Jabra PanaCast 50’s intelligent video system and Microsoft Teams Rooms technology will allow us to empower users to have more productive and inclusive meetings no matter where attendees are located.” 

Building on the initial offering made available in EMEA last year, this joint-offering will be the latest full Teams Rooms system from Jabra. It will be available to order from September 15th 2022 

More information on the JabraPanacast 50

Now Available: PanaCast 50 video bar for insight driven collaboration in the hybrid world. #Jabra #PanaCast50

Following its announcement in April 2021, Jabra today confirms that the PanaCast 50 is now shipping and is certified for Microsoft Teams and Zoom rooms. Engineered to be the world’s first new-normal-ready intelligent video bar, the PanaCast 50 reinvents meeting room video, audio, and intelligence for the ‘new normal’ workspace.

Jabra collaborated with Intel to provide a computer vision solution to help facilitate more engaging and productive meetings. The PanaCast 50 has been engineered to help businesses navigate the flexible hybrid way of working. Combining immersive video, world-leading audio technologies and cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence, the PanaCast 50 completely reinvents meetings and collaboration.

More natural and productive collaboration 

Jabra leveraged Intel technology to deliver intelligent zoom, active speaker detection, and other innovative capabilities – all to streamline and optimise the conferencing experience. This technology powers the Virtual Director feature to automatically adjust the frame according to what’s happening in the meeting, allowing Jabra PanaCast 50 to detect active speakers and the flow of conversation, thereby delivering a remote meeting experience that’s fully immersive and responsive.

Three 13-megapixel cameras create an immersive 180° field of view in Panoramic-4K that covers the whole room. Patented real-time video stitching technology uses advanced algorithms to decide exactly the right way to live-stitch the video streams together in real time with ultra-low latency. From single person calls to full team meetings, this intelligent technology always includes everyone in the most optimum way.

The PanaCast 50 also features eight beamforming microphones with precision voice detection which are backed up with intelligent algorithms that remove disruptive noise. Four powerful Jabra-engineered speakers – two 50mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters – in a zero-vibration stereo setup fill the room with premium, high-definition audio, while the latest 2-way audio technology delivers more natural conversations.

Enhanced workplace safety

Businesses need to ensure the safety of their employees in the workplace. Jabra uses Intel-powered AI to deliver real-time people detection and counting that helps promote compliance with infectious disease protocols. Because of its 180° field-of-view, PanaCast 50 can achieve 100% coverage of the meeting room and provides the best opportunity to count everybody in the room.

Additionally, through the network interface, longer-term analytics data is available for IT administrators, enabling the business to make data-driven decisions about how they’re utilising their meeting spaces. Organisations will have an overview of how many rooms are being used, even when there is no active meeting, helping inform decisions on office space.

Data security 

Security and privacy are top concerns for organisations. The Intel Edge AI processing capabilities within the PanaCast 50 help keep sensitive data secure by eliminating the need to transmit video and audio data to the cloud. By performing the analysis directly on the device, cloud security and data-in-transit risks are removed from the collaboration experience. Additionally, because the experiences are powered on the device, not only are the risks of security breaches significantly minimised, the accuracy, speed, and overall quality of the experience are maximised.

Aurangzeb Khan, Senior Vice President of Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra, says, “We are so excited to announce that the PanaCast 50 is now available for shipping. Without our partnership with Intel, we would not have been able to make our vision of an effortless collaboration experience become a reality. Their outstanding Edge AI technology has enabled us to deliver the first video bar of its kind, and we hope that the intelligent features we have created together will make meetings in the hybrid world of work as inclusive and collaborative as possible.”

Brad Haczynski,Vice President and General Manager, IoT Sales at Intel says, “Jabra is delivering a smart, more secure, and more natural collaboration experience with the PanaCast 50, powered by the Intel Movidius VPU. The AI technology enables more engaging and productive meetings which can lead to increased collaboration and innovation in the hybrid workplace.”

More at https://www.jabra.co.uk/panacast50

Jabra PanaCast 50 Key features and specifications:

  • Astounding sound from the world leaders in professional audio
  • Unique 180° field of view keeps everyone in the picture at a safe distance2
  • Virtual Director intelligently adjusts the video in real time for more immersive meetings2
  • Safety Capacity and Room Usage Insights generates anonymous room occupancy data for all your meeting rooms at once
  • Network-connected system enables easy remote management and data delivery
  • Real-time whiteboard streaming for more inclusive remote collaboration
  • Uniquely advanced system architecture and built-in dual Edge AI processors powers a range of intelligent features
  • Plug-and-play for fast setup and maximum ease of use
  • Easy installation, with a choice of wall mount, table stand and screen mount (VESA)3
  • Certified for Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Zoom Rooms, and works with Microsoft Teams Rooms as well as optimised for all leading UC platforms

Jabra PanaCast 50: Now available in Black and Grey, MSRP: £945

Find out more at https://www.jabra.co.uk/panacast50

Jabra reinvent videoconferencing with the PanaCast 20 & PanaCast 50 #Jabra #PanaCast

Jabra today announces the new Jabra PanaCast camera line-up that’s set to reinvent meeting room video, audio, and intelligence for the ‘new normal’ workspace: the Jabra PanaCast 50 – engineered to be the world’s first new-normal-ready intelligent video bar, and the Jabra PanaCast 20, a ground-breaking intelligent personal camera.

Hybrid working is the new normal. Teams are collaborating more, and seeking to do so in a flexible, hybrid network – from cafes, to their home, and satellite offices. Since the beginning of the global pandemic, we’ve seen a significant increase in video usage as we work more in distributed teams – with 66% of office workers using either a stand-alone webcam or built-in PC camera pre-COVID, and now 86% of home workers doing the same. The Jabra PanaCast range has been engineered to help businesses navigate the flexible hybrid way of working, combining immersive vision and video, world-leading audio technologies and cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence to completely reinvent meetings and collaboration.

When it comes to a solution for the office, organisations are often forced to choose between outstanding audio and high-definition video. Jabra PanaCast 50 addresses that by offering a plug and play solution to deliver the most immersive and engaging video experience available on the market today.

PanaCast 50: Immersive video and sound 

The PanaCast 50 effectively takes on the role of the “director” of your meeting – intelligently adjusting the video stream to follow the action in the meeting. The Virtual Director feature uses both AI-based video and audio streams, as well as Jabra’s proprietary AI algorithms, to automatically adjust the frame according to what’s happening in the meeting. This allows Jabra PanaCast 50 to detect active speakers and the flow of conversation, thereby delivering a remote meeting experience that’s fully immersive and responsive.

Three 13-megapixel cameras mounted in a high-precision multi-camera array create an immersive 180° field of view in Panoramic-4K that covers the whole room. Crisp, high-definition, patented real-time video stitching technology uses advanced algorithms to decide exactly the right way to live-stitch the video streams together in real time with ultra-low latency. From single person calls to full team meetings, this intelligent technology always includes everyone in the most optimum way.

Jabra PanaCast 50 features nine powerful Edge processors, including two state-of-the art Edge AI processors, specifically engineered for audio and video. This ultra-advanced system architecture enables the intelligent video bar to carry out real-time integration of audio, video and data. This powers the Intelligent Zoom feature which always frames the user perfectly for the far end. The Virtual Director feature transitions video frames from speaker to speaker, depending on what is happening in the meeting. This makes it much easier for remote participants to follow the discussion and allows Jabra PanaCast 50 to deliver an immersive and engaging video experience, without distraction.

The Jabra PanaCast 50 can deliver two video streams simultaneously. This allows the device to perform multiple functions at once, so while one video stream is busy focusing on the meeting participants, the second can be used to focus on a particular area of interest within the room. The two video streams also enable the whiteboard sharing feature, which is built into the device itself – it allows whiteboard content to be captured and enhanced in real time. This is then streamed live within the meeting, lesson or lecture so every participant or student can see the whiteboard content and contribute to the discussion, leaving nobody at a disadvantage because they’re not present in the room.

Insight driven behaviour 

In addition to dual video streams, the PanaCast 50 also delivers an independent always-180° data stream which provides anonymous people count meta-data as real-time numerical information. Because of its 180° field-of-view, PanaCast 50 can achieve 100% coverage of the meeting room and provides the best opportunity to count everybody in the room. This information is anonymous as the device simply counts people; it doesn’t recognise them.

The PanaCast 50 PeopleCount feature enables the system to compare that count with a customer-defined room capacity limit number to determine if the room utilisation is over capacity. If the number of people exceeds the capacity limit, the PanaCast 50 provides visual and aural cues to the people present, enabling them to make good decisions for their safety and wellbeing. This means that anyone present in the room gets instant, real-time notifications when local guidelines are exceeded. Additionally, through the network interface, longer-term analytics data is available for IT administrators, enabling the business to make data-driven decisions about how they’re utilising their meeting spaces. Organisations will have an overview of how many rooms are being used, even when there is no active meeting, helping inform decisions on office space.

Powerful sound

The PanaCast 50 features eight beamforming microphones with precision voice detection which are backed up with intelligent algorithms that remove disruptive noise. Four powerful Jabra-engineered speakers – two 50mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters – in a zero-vibration stereo setup fill the room with premium, high-definition audio, while the latest 2-way audio technology delivers more natural conversations. The PanaCast 50 is also optimised for all leading UC platforms. As well as working with Microsoft Teams and Zoom, it is also a device for use with Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms, making collaboration easier.

PanaCast 20: Superior security for video collaboration in your pocket

With the Jabra PanaCast 20 flexible workers can benefit from high-quality, secure video collaboration, no matter where they are, in a beautifully designed, compact, portable and easy-to-use package. The device features AI that is managed on-device with Edge processing – and advanced experiences are generated directly on the device without extra data being sent to the cloud for processing, without need to install additional software. All the experiences are powered on the device itself, significantly minimising the risk of security breaches and maximising speed, accuracy, and the overall quality of the experience. For those using the camera, it has a built-in lens cover to guarantee privacy, and prevent the camera being left “on” accidentally, adding an extra layer of ‘peace of mind’ for the user.

Security assurances for those working outside of the office are important, but equally so are video and picture quality. The PanaCast 20 delivers this via 4K Ultra HD Video, HDR video as well as personalised Intelligent Zoom, which always frames the main user properly, regardless of their environment. It also has automatic lighting correction, so whatever the time of day, or the situation in which they’re collaborating, their video stream is optimised in the best way feasible.

 

Aurangzeb Khan, Senior Vice President of Intelligent Vision Systems at Jabra, says, “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary solutions and we believe the new Jabra PanaCast 50 and PanaCast 20 deliver just that. We are happy to present the PanaCast 50, the first video bar to combine world-leading Jabra audio with our unique 180° field of view and unique room usage insights, for inclusive, collaborative meetings in the new normal. The time is now to start thinking about future-proofing offices, creating optimal collaboration circumstances for flexible hybrid workers and to ensure maximum productivity as your teams return. We invite businesses, organisations and institutions all around the world to experience audio and video like never before with the Jabra PanaCast intelligent devices.”

  Jabra PanaCast 50 Key features and specifications:

  • Astounding sound from the world leaders in professional audio
  • Unique 180° field of view keeps everyone in the picture at a safe distance2
  • Virtual Director intelligently adjusts the video in real time for more immersive meetings2
  • Safety Capacity and Room Usage Insights generates anonymous room occupancy data for all your meeting rooms at once
  • Network-connected system enables easy remote management and data delivery
  • Real-time whiteboard streaming for more inclusive remote collaboration
  • Uniquely advanced system architecture and built-in dual Edge AI processors powers a range of intelligent features
  • Plug-and-play for fast setup and maximum ease of use
  • Easy installation, with a choice of wall mount, table stand and screen mount (VESA)3
  • Works with Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams Rooms, Zoom, and Zoom Rooms, and optimised for all leading UC platforms

Jabra PanaCast 50: Available from 15th June 2021 in Black and Grey, MSRP: £945

Find out more at https://www.jabra.co.uk/panacast50

Jabra PanaCast 20 Key features and specifications:

  • Personalised Intelligent Zoom
  • Intelligent Light Optimisation
  • Picture-in-Picture feature – users can define and easily integrate a second video stream within their main picture
  • 4k Ultra, HDR video
  • Edge AI processing – adding advanced experiences processing and an additional layer of security for flexible working from anywhere
  • Plug-and-play connectivity for instant collaboration
  • Works with with Microsoft Teams, Zoom and optimised for all leading UC platforms

Jabra PanaCast 20: Available from 1st August 2021 in black, MSRP: £232

Find out more at https://www.jabra.co.uk/panacast20