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innovations
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Simpler web conferencing
Hosted collaboration service provider
Arkadin – the world’s fastest growing,
according to Frost & Sullivan’s
Analysis
of the Global Web Conferencing Market,
November 2012
– has redesigned the
interface of its ArkadinAnywhere web
conferencing service to make operation
simpler and more intuitive.
The move comes as hosted web
conferencing usage grows at 25-30% and
becomes more widely used by SMEs.
Key features include: Quick share
buttons for fast, intuitive sharing of screens,
applications, whiteboards or documents; an
easy icon-driven conference control panel;
instant invitations for inviting new participants
any time during conferences; public and private
chat pop-ups when new messages are received;
audio and web recording for instant editing
and sharing of content; and mobile integration
for conferencing on-the-go with iPad and
Android apps for tablets. ArkadinAnywhere can
be accessed from web browsers without the
need for any downloads. It is used by 26,000
customers worldwide.
Virtual tape measure to save millions
No one thinks twice about getting
undressed to try on clothing in shop
changing rooms and in the future online
shoppers, too, might be happy to slip out of
their clothes if it helps them to choose an
item that fits.
The London College of Fashion and
computer vision experts at the University
of Surrey have developed ‘virtual tape
measure’ software that calculates a person’s
measurements from images captured on a
webcam or smartphone camera and uses them
to recommend what size of clothing to buy.
The system builds on previous University of
Surrey research into developing 3D body-shape
templates from single-view images, which has
been used commercially to create animated
representations of people for games such as
the Sims.
Once a shopper finds an item on a
participating retailer’s website, all they have
to do is activate the software with the click of
a mouse, stand in front of the camera in their
underwear, take a photo and type in their height.
The software takes detailed measurements
at a number of different points on the body
and combines these with a person’s overall
proportions to build up a detailed 3D image.
This, say the developers, makes it much more
accurate than body scanning systems that are
starting to be used in retail stores.
The photo remains entirely confidential and
is not transmitted over the internet in any way.
The University of Surrey expects the virtual
tape measure to save retailers and shoppers
millions of pounds a year in return postage
costs. It estimates that 30-60% of clothes
bought online – usually only on the basis of
waist size or small/medium/large categorisation
– are returned.
The virtual tape measure is being developed
in collaboration with body-mapping specialists
Bodymetrics and the digital creative agency
Guided. It has received £350,000 of funding
from the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC) and is expected to be
launched within two years.
www.epsrc.ac.uk www.surrey.ac.uk/cvssp
www.fashion.arts.ac.uk
Emergency sewing
A must for any briefcase or laptop bag,
tic is the quick and easy way to replace a
shirt button without a needle and thread.
Developed in Sweden, tic clips almost
any type of shirt button permanently and
neatly in place. Visit www.ticsweden.com
to see a video of how it works and to
check UK availability.
As organisations make greater use of
digital video for advertising, marketing
and customer support, Alcatel-Lucent is
introducing a secure, enterprise-grade,
YouTube-like channel for business.
OpenTouch Video Store (OTVS) – the first
hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering
from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise – enables
employees to create, share and access video
content from any desktop or mobile device with
an internet connection.
OTVS can be used by any business regardless
of its communications network infrastructure
to improve corporate communications, enhance
idea sharing and speed up problem solving and
decision-making with instant access to video
‘big data’.
Businesses that use Alcatel-Lucent’s
OpenTouch Suite of multimedia
communications (not a requirement) can
integrate video content from OTVS into
existing collaboration tools.
Alcatel-Lucent has deployed OTVS to
improve its own internal knowledge sharing.
Branded ALUTV, it has 25,000 active users who
watch an average of 300,000 videos per month.
Alcatel-Lucent says that as well as improving
collaboration, the service has cut costs by
removing the involvement of outside agencies
in the creation of videos.
In 2011, ALUTV won an Intranet Innovation
award set up to recognise organisations that are
delivering better and smarter intranets.
The new process could revolutionise online
clothes shopping for both the retailer and the
consumer (Image credit: Jane Reck).
The new system builds up a detailed image of
body measurements, making it much easier for
the shopper to order the correct size for their
body dimensions.
Hosted video channel for business