WorkplaceMeeting rooms
The display at the door reads the room's calendar
The AIO room display shows “free” or “occupied”, the current meeting and the next ones. It reads a calendar link at fixed intervals and does not book anything itself.
Kapaso solution: The room display is made by the publisher of this magazine.
The question of whether a meeting room is free is usually asked in front of a closed door. The answer is in the calendar, and the calendar is on the laptop that is currently shut and tucked under an arm. The information exists, just not where it is needed.
Kapaso's AIO room display puts it on the door. Technically it is a calendar element in Stage Builder, the editor of the AIO Hub digital signage CMS, and it runs on a screen with AIO Player.
What is shown at the room
The element shows a large status panel. If a meeting is in progress, it reads "occupied" along with the time span, title and location. If none is running, it reads "free" with the next appointment below. Time and date sit alongside, with a logo if wanted. A list of the following appointments can be switched on, and the number of entries is adjustable. The colours for free and occupied default to green and red and can be changed.
There are two related elements: an agenda as a plain list of appointments, and a dashboard that merges several calendars on one screen. It shows time, title and calendar name for each appointment and can be laid out in one or two columns. The dashboard suits a corridor or reception area where an overview of all rooms is wanted.
Where the appointments come from
The display needs one thing from the calendar: the room's sharing link in iCalendar format. Calendars from Microsoft, Google and Apple produce such links, as does an Exchange server. The link is entered once in the template.
After that the screen fetches the calendar at fixed intervals. The default is five minutes, and the value can be changed. Recurring appointments are expanded, including exceptions, and time zones are converted to the player's local time. The request goes through the hub rather than directly from the screen to the calendar service.
Signboard or an existing screen
As a device, Kapaso offers a 10-inch signboard. According to the vendor it has built-in light strips that show the status from a distance, and one version fits a flush-mounted wall box. The device is not mandatory: the template runs on any screen with AIO Player.
Where the limits are
The room display is a display. It reads the calendar and writes nothing back. A room cannot be booked, extended or released at the screen, and it does not prevent double bookings. That remains the calendar's job.
Fetching at intervals brings a second limit. Someone who books a room on the spot will see the change at the door only after the next fetch, so with the default setting after up to five minutes. A shorter interval is possible but increases the number of requests to the calendar service.
Third, the display shows what the calendar contains: title, location and time. Anyone who does not want confidential meeting titles readable at the door has to deal with that in the calendar, for instance through the type of sharing.
There is no list price; scope, hardware and setup are agreed in a quotation.
More information: aio-player.de, room display (German)
