Logitech has revealed its new Logic of Work platform, a line of products and services geared towards improving collaboration and engagement between those working from home and those in the office.
The new launches include Sight, a 315-degree camera placed at the center of a conference table that can intelligently shift focus on individuals. It’s is designed to be used in conjunction with Logitech’s Rally Bar range of forward-facing cameras, connected via an ethernet cable and controlled through the CollabOS video conferencing software.
Other competitors already offer full 360-degree cameras for this purpose, but Logitech argues that these can distort perspective and still prohibit inclusion within a hybrid working environment. The company maintains that their multi-camera setup offers a more effective solution.
AI Director
At the heart of Sight is what Logitech dubs the AI director, which allows the camera to automatically shift focus onto those that are speaking around the table. The seven in-built microphones feature acoustic beams which calculate the time of attack of speech sounds to know who is talking when, and then adjusts the camera to capture them face on.
Sight can be fixed in place via a clamp, in a grommet, or elsewhere in your floor space thanks to the optional tripod. It also has a sliding lens cap to give you peace of mind from prying eyes when no meetings are taking place.
At a launch event in London attended by TechRadar Pro, Logitech was open about its R&D process, detailing the failed attempts leading up the development of the Sight. One of these made “uncanny valley” avatars of the people in the room, but thankfully this was scraped.
Other products
Another product part of this new vector for the company is Scribe, a camera that goes above a whiteboard and digitally converts scribbles in real time, resulting in tidy representations for others to see.
In addition to business, education was also highlighted as a new focus for Logitech, with the company believing that hybrid arrangements will soon be commonplace in schools and universities as well. The company’s Crayon, designed for the new range of iPads, is aimed at students of all age groups, offering a more competitively priced alternative to the Apple Pencil.
The Crayon and Scribe are both available now, and the Sight is expected to arrive summer 2023 with a price of $1,999/ £1,745.