The Interconnected Workplace
May 5th, 2017
Modern society is intertwined with numerous sensors and embedded systems that monitor and control the world that surrounds us. Web applications bring this data to our fingertips. Sometimes we do not even recognize it anymore, but what is known by the acronym IoT (Internet of Things) has become an indispensable part of our daily life. We are no longer selling physical devices; we are selling the service hidden behind them.
It therefore is not surprising that these services are enmeshed in the most important parts of our lives and are fighting for our attention. However, there is a big part of our daily lives where this has not yet taken place – our working environment. We are facing a lot of problems here. The first one being, for example, a table and a chair which are usually used together but are not being produced by the same manufacturer. The same goes for almost everything else in our office environment and we rarely get to choose. Still, technology is making its own way because users are recognizing the benefits.
Perhaps, now more than ever, we are facing a paradox. We somehow fancy new technology, yet feel uncomfortable with all this connectivity and data gathering. We naturally do not like to be told what to do – especially not by some lifeless device. We do not like giving feedback or being told what we should do, yet the currency in the connected world of services is attention when it should actually be disregard.
Seamless integration. Simplicity at its finest. Services we can benefit from without even knowing they exist. Overall, we are lacking the holistic approach. To provide a service one needs to collect, analyze and decide, then act upon or execute. We are flooded by health and fitness apps that are giving us some statistics. This is not execution. This is not the service we are looking for. This is why we need to work together. Some can provide data; some know what to look for and some know how to act upon. And we can work together. Closing our borders is not the way forward – integrating, connecting and being part of the bigger picture is. And this is exactly what LOGICDATA did.
By being the leading manufacturer of mechatronics for adjustable furniture we wanted to (r)evolutionize this approach. We recognized that it is virtually impossible to create a fully integrated working environment on our own. Therefore, we created a product called LOGIClink, which acts as a communicational hub to interconnect different products, the environment and the user.
LOGIClink utilizes BLE, WIFI, NFC and USB communications. As part of the package, APIs for all platforms are provided, allowing for seamless integration with or into other products. It is the first step towards smooth and smart office integration. It is the first user-oriented product on the market, which brings together the full potential of IoT in one solution based on the customer’s demands, needs and wishes.
We are gradually starting to grasp how each of us would like his/her workspace of the future to be like and we have the tools and freedom to take us there. To unlock the full potential of the IoT market, we need to embrace what is the foundation of the technology. We need to merge into the connected world where we can join forces, exchange data and provide personalized services to achieve much more together.