HETMA, an acronym for Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance, raises awareness of technology issues unique to the higher-education community. HETMA achieves this goal by working with manufacturers such as Xilica, as well as higher-education administrators, to address the challenges that technology managers face.

As a Gold Partner, HETMA will recognize Xilica as an accelerator of technology development and adoption within the higher-education vertical through several initiatives. Xilica will support independent, peer-reviewed product decisions through the HETMA Approved Program, which enables institutions to rapidly adopt new technologies that have already passed through education-specific evaluations. Xilica will also contribute subject matter experts to in-person and virtual HETMA conferences and events, and be an advocate for special HETMA initiatives. The latter includes the Prism Scholarship, which is dedicated to representing diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

“Xilica has placed a strong emphasis on developing partnerships and technologies that better serve modern-learning spaces and higher-education institutions, such as bringing hybrid-learning solutions to market that enable collaborative equality for all students,” says Shaun Robinson, VP product, Xilica. “We are proud to associate ourselves with an organization such as HETMA whose pure focus is to empower the higher-education community through an abundance of free resources, networking opportunities and great relationships.”

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on July 27, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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According to the company, the partnership results in an out-of-the-box, fully integrated video and audio solution with automated voice-based camera tracking capability and no upfront programming nor licensing.

The joint solution is available through mutual distribution partners in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

How Xilica & Lumens’ Automated Voice-Based Camera Tracking Works

Xilica’s automated camera-tracking technology utilizes data feeds from a range of beamforming ceiling microphone arrays to steer IP-controllable PTZ cameras to specific positions around a collaboration space. With integrated control engines, capable of Lua scripting for almost any IP-controllable product, Xilica’s digital signal processors have become a popular choice for simplifying system operation in collaboration environments. By activating a new partnership with Lumens Digital Optics, Inc., Xilica can offer its customers a wider choice of vendor for camera products and expand the range of rooms that can be covered with this technology more deeply into higher education, government and judicial and corporate markets.

“Configuration of Xilica’s automated camera tracking technology has always been intuitive, but this new integration with Lumens significantly simplifies the configuration process for our customers,” says Steven Liang, VP product development, Lumens. “Lumens functionality and control is natively integrated into Xilica software for an easy, turnkey experience for customers, leveraging pre-designed templates and pre-built user interface options for an immediate deployment. With just a few clicks, Lumens and Xilica customers can obtain a sophisticated, easy-to-deploy automated solution for voice-based camera tracking without code and a high learning-curve.”

Shaun Robinson, VP product, Xilica, says, “We are bringing sound and video together over the network in a way that drives interaction and connection between presenter and audience, no matter the scale of the system or room configuration. This solution ultimately eliminates the need for users to directly control cameras during a conference or classroom session in any collaborative environment, while giving them the freedom to fully-utilize their space and communicate in a way that is natural for them.”

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on July 26, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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The new Small Room Kit provides the pre-designed room audio system for smaller spaces: meeting rooms, classrooms and collaboration spaces that don’t require the sizeable coverage of a TeamConnect Ceiling 2, but still demand flexibility and freedom when presenting, reconfiguring room layout or involving multiple speakers simultaneously.

The IT-centric solution, based entirely around Category 5 cable and Power-over-Ethernet, is the new entry-level bundle in Xilica & Sennheiser’s joint SKUs, which continue to include the Medium and Large Room Kits.

Comprising a Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling Medium, a Xilica Solaro QR1-UC PoE-powered digital signal processor, two Xilica Sonia C5 Category-cable based in-ceiling speakers, and a Xilica Sonia Amp PoE++ amplifier with integrated network switch, the Small Room Kit requires only a single network cable to the ceiling for the full in-room audio system.

Related: Xilica Enhances Auto-Tracking Camera Module for Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2

Using existing network infrastructure, the Xilica Sonia Amp supplies power to the TCCM and relays audio over the Dante protocol back to the system’s Xilica QR1-UC DSP. Deploying the Xilica x Sennheiser Small Room Kit eliminates the need for traditional copper cable, messy termination, time-consuming system design and programming, and validation testing — which is completed by Xilica and Sennheiser using their in-house laboratories to ensure compatibility with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Webex by Cisco.

The full breadth of the Room Kit range allows enterprises, higher-educational institutions and governments to standardize on single product assortment for spaces of all sizes and scale up or down to meet the needs of specific rooms.

Streamlining training, deployment, and ongoing management, the Room Kits include voice-based camera tracking via Xilica technology with any common Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera, integrated mute and status sync for popular UC platforms, and pre-built modules to ensure easy setup while leveraging Xilica HearClear acoustic echo cancellation technology.

Additionally, Xilica has announced that Sennheiser SpeechLine wireless digital microphone products are now natively supported in its systems — offering additional control options, assurance, and functionality for end-users and system integrators leveraging both product lines.

Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits are available at select distribution partners worldwide.

Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister-site Commercial Integrator on February 2, 2023. It has since been updated for My TechDecisions’ audience.

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The Xilica Follow Me camera-tracking module now uses the virtual beam location of a Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) microphone to automatically steer the camera to a seating position in a conference room. Remote meeting participants can then visually track the conversation based on who is speaking at the physical location.

Integrators and tech managers can configure the module using Xilica Designer software by setting specific camera positions based on the Sennheiser TCC2’s beam angle and selecting the appropriate room size and layout. The setup process also provides quality checks for audio presence and intelligibility through live metering.

Benefits of the Follow Me Module

“Our PTZ controls in the Xilica Follow Me module make it easy to focus the camera on different seating positions, and from there it is as simple as saving preset numbers with the corresponding seats and activating Follow Mefunctionality,” says Shaun Robinson, vice president, product management, Xilica.

Robinson continues, “What this really represents is the next phase of Xilica and Sennheiser’s combined efforts to simplify the technology and streamline the infrastructure in modern collaboration rooms, while ensuring that physical and remote attendees are equal participants.”

Related: University of Québec in Montréal Transforms Campus to AV-over-IP

Charlie Jones, global alliance and partnerships manager for Sennheiser, says, “The launch of our Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits earlier this year proved very successful and established a strong foundation on which the two companies could continue to build on with simple, problem-solving solutions.

Jones adds, “The Follow-Me module is built with the TCC2 feature set in mind, and seamlessly brings the intelligence of our audio beamforming technology into the collaborative video infrastructure to create an entirely new group of benefits for our enterprise and education customers.”

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister-site CommericalIntegrator.com.

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What’s included in the Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits?

Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits are purpose-built to solve the specific challenges of medium and large collaboration spaces. Both bundles include a Xilica PoE-powered DSP and a Sennheiser beamforming microphone array (TeamConnect Ceiling 2) to reduce noise and eliminate echo in challenging acoustical environments. The kits also includes Xilica’s CatX-connected in-ceiling speaker systems to optimize in-room audio and streamline architecture.

The Medium Room Kit includes a Xilica Solaro QR1-UC DSP, Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 microphone, one PoE+-enabled Xilica Sonia Amp and two Sonia C5 in-ceiling speakers. The Large Room Kit includes all of the same technologies but with four Sonia C5 in-ceiling speakers and a Xilica XTouch 80 touchscreen for simple in-room control.

How does Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits stand apart from other audioconferencing solutions?

Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits stand apart from traditional audioconferencing solutions in several ways, including its centricity around CatX cable and existing installed network infrastructure, according to a joint statement between the two companies. The room kits boasts easily install options, with no mains power requirement, full in-ceiling installation, and distributed ceiling speakers that address the requirements of collaboration room audio across a larger space without termination or proprietary wiring. The pre-validated solution reduces the costs of building an audioconferencing solution from individual components, while also providing installers with a practical system that is quick to deploy.

“Extending our partnership with Sennheiser into room bundles is an ideal way to speed up design and deployment of cutting-edge collaboration spaces,” says Shaun Robinson, VP product management, Xilica. “The Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits are true ceiling-installed systems that require no in-room equipment racks or mains power and work over existing network infrastructure. Their scalable, consistent design enables easy deployment in hundreds of rooms across a campus with the same level of quality but without time-consuming programming and installation.”

Utilizing the most advanced algorithmic processing from both vendors, Xilica HearClear acoustic echo cancellation and Sennheiser’s TruVoicelift functionality work together to further lift voice intelligibility, reduce audio artifacts, and eliminate room and acoustic distractions that limit clear communication. Xilica Solaro QR1-UC DSPs include a 2×2 USB audio interface that offers volume and mute status sync for Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, adding value for hybrid applications, allowing remote workers and students to raise, reduce or mute from their computer keyboards.

“These Xilica and Sennheiser bundles make it quick and easy to audio-enable meeting rooms in one building or throughout an entire enterprise,” explains Ira M. Weinstein, managing partner at analyst firm Recon Research.  “And the inclusion of Xilica’s Teams- and Zoom-friendly DSP means these kits have the processing power and intelligence to handle some of the more acoustically challenging spaces.”

The Medium Room Kit and Large Room Kit are adaptable to a wide variety of spaces, including auditoriums, board rooms, conference rooms, lecture halls, and training spaces as well as standard classrooms. Larger enterprises and universities have the added benefit of configuring kits with Solaro QR1’s advanced DSP functionality prior to deployment. This allows customers to easily standardize kit components to serve the specific needs of each space.

“Sennheiser has worked closely with Xilica to bundle these pre-validated products for today’s enterprise and education needs,” says Charlie Jones, global alliance and partnerships manager for Sennheiser. “No matter the size or shape of room, combining the flexibility of these two product ranges with commonly-available Category cable, easy setup, and assured compatibility allows everyone’s voice to be heard in record time – from the front of the conference room to the back of the lecture theater.”

The Xilica x Sennheiser Room Kits are available now from select distribution points worldwide.

This article originally appeared on MyTechDecisions’ sister-site CommercialIntegrator.com.

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