There has been more and more adoption of voice control, and the new user interface is now finding its way into the workplace. Bill Lally, President of Mode:Green, a company that designs turn-key systems for audiovisual, energy management, lighting and HVAC control, shared with SMAhome...
There has been more and more adoption of voice control, and the new user interface is now finding its way into the workplace. Bill Lally, President of Mode:Green, a company that designs turn-key systems for audiovisual, energy management, lighting and HVAC control, shared with SMAhome his views on voice assistant’s application in the office.
From your company’s perspective, what are some of the common voice control applications for office use?
Voice control can be used to manage automation in office meeting spaces, presentation rooms, lobbies, and more. With automation, a single voice command can power multiple rooms at once to wake them up for a presentation by turning on the lights, lifting the shades, and activating displays and broadcast control. Voice control is an intuitive interface in an office environment, and can serve both as a way to manage the space as well as its typical intelligent assistant features.
Do you think office applications will increase in the future? Why?
Voice control is new to the office, and it will continue to be a fixture in this space as more integrations emerge with the capability. In hospitality, we’re seeing how voice control can be used not only as an intuitive interface for guests to control the lighting, temperature, or entertainment devices in their room, but also get information about conferences, the hotel and its amenities, or nearby attractions. Voice control can be used in office applications in coordination with automation to manage rooms and make it easy for users to set them up for the right ambiance for meetings, training, or presentations. Instead of operating from a touchscreen, voice control makes it easy for users to adjust the room conditions with a command. Like in the hotel space, more information could be incorporated to be accessible through the voice interface about other aspects of meetings and presentations.
Are there any unmet demands in the office that can be resolved with voice control?
Offices search for the most intuitive and effortless way to control their spaces, and voice control may be the solution. Keypads, remotes, or touch screens are still popular methods of control and remain an important fixture to let users discretely or quietly power displays, adjust lighting, and more as needed. Voice control however, can be more welcoming and intuitive to new guests to an office space; instead of needing to develop familiarity with the interface on the touchscreen, guests can ask the system to turn on the lights, for example.
Who are your target customers? What’s your core competency in the industry?
Mode:Green is a premiere integration firm servicing the world’s top hotels and large-commercial spaces. We provide consulting and system design and integration for sustainability, guest engagement, building management, and hospitality technology, where we focus on providing tailored solutions to each project based on proven installation methods and by working with best-in-class manufacturers.