PMRExpo
16
www.criticalcomms.com January 2020
On the show floor
Exhibition stands are strange things – on the one hand,
they are temporary structures, put up in a frenzy of activity
and then torn down with the same alacrity a mere few days
afterwards. On the other hand, the common practice of
rebooking the same stand in the same place gives exhibitions
the illusion of permanence. This approach makes it easier
for organisers and exhibitors – but also visitors. Having
attended several previous PMRExpos, navigating our way
around the hall felt strangely familiar.
Over on the Hytera stand, we got to see its nextgeneration
software, hardware and platform/circuit board,
the HP785 DMR IP68-rated portable radio. It is due to
be released in 1Q20 and will replace the PD785. When
holding it, we were impressed by its ergonomics, while its
user interface, aided by a 2.4-inch colour screen, is designed
with the smartphone user in mind. The HP785 also
includes water-porting technology and real-time, AI-based
voice enhancement that reduces background noise.
The company also presented its two new TETRA
handhelds, the PT310 (screenless, no keypad) and the
PT350 (small screen, optimised keypad), both of which
are available in 320-475MHz and 806-870MHz, are
IP68-rated and meet the MIL-STD 810 G standard
for ruggedness. Both have programmable buttons and a
3,800mAh lithium-polymer battery. Hytera also presented
its DTM-6000 data modem, which is part of the company’s
SCADA over DMR solution. The DTM-6000 provides
connections for two RTUs (remote terminal units) for
monitoring and controlling devices such as sensors, counters
and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Configuration
changes and firmware updates can be done over Wi-Fi.
Airbus was displaying its TB4 hybrid base station,
which combines TETRA and 4G/5G radio access in the
same hardware platform. It has the same capabilities as the
TB3 base station (including dual homing, air-interface
encryption and base station fallback) along with lower
power consumption, while being less than half the size. The
TB4 is based on Nokia’s AirScale base station platform.
Panorama Antennas’ technical sales and support manager,
John Thomson, walked us through his company’s latest
releases, including a MiMo 4G/5G Dome Combination
Antenna. Thomson explained that it is designed to partner
with Cradlepoint’s ESN-certified COR IBR1700-1200M
LTE router and also supports Bluetooth.
South Midlands Communications (SMC) also had a
stand. Kevin Golding, its applications manager, recently told
us that it is starting to sell pre-packaged solutions based on
the SMC Gateway V2 – starting with TaskZ, a job-ticketing
multi-operator, web-browser-based application for use with
work-order-enabled Hytera radios (SMC is looking to soon
offer support for MOTOTRBO two-way radios as well).
Japan Radio Co (JRC) was promoting its range of private
LTE solutions. Products on show included a compact
eNodeB, its Smart EPC (evolved packet core), outdoor and
indoor CPEs and a USB dongle.
On Motorola Solutions’ stand, we got to see a new
analytics-based approach to monitoring lots of video cameras
in the form of the Avigilon Control Center (ACC) 7’s Focus
of Attention Interface. Each hexagon corresponds to a
different camera. Red means an alarm, blue with a smaller
light-blue shape means unusual behaviour, and blue means
motion. The latest version of the ACC software has AIpowered
facial-recognition capability.
China comes to Cologne
One of the most encouraging things about this year’s
PMRExpo was the considerable progress that has been
achieved by many Chinese two-way radio and PoC device
manufacturers in the past 12 months. This is a good thing
for us all, given that healthy competition spurs on other
vendors. We visited many of the Chinese exhibitors’ stands,
with UICE’s Cynthia Tan providing invaluable assistance as
an interpreter.
While it was harder to spot a clear trend than in 2018,
there was greater sophistication around PoC and hybrid
devices and perhaps a tacit understanding of some end-users’
preference for local on-premise, non-cloud-based solutions.
Kirisun claims to be the first company in China to have
produced an intrinsically safe PoC device with its GP700.
And on Boxchip’s stand, its S900A plus LTE/DMR hybrid
radio had an app for both DMR and PoC, and it can also act
as a gateway.
Elsewhere, Telo Systems showed its first hybrid device,
the TE-580PD, a compact 2W DMR/PoC handheld with a
touchscreen. PoC is the priority, with DMR set as the fallback
by default.
Inrico was displaying no fewer than four products on
its stand: the T640, a small portable PoC radio; the S300,
a IP68-rated PoC handheld; the S200, which looks like a
‘traditional’ PoC radio handheld with an HD camera; and
the T368, a dual-mode DMR Tier II/PoC device with a
6,000mAh battery.
There were a few new faces – it was the first time that
Shenzhen Jimi IoT, Anytone and Shenzhen Xin KingBrand
had attended the event. The companies showcased body-worn
video cameras, a unified service monitoring and dispatching
platform, automotive mobile radios, and rugged devices.
Clearly, China’s two-way radio companies are developing
quickly. It will be interesting to see what they bring next
year. At the same time, Airbus has signalled a long transition
to mobile broadband with its investment in hybrid
TETRA/4G/5G infrastructure. The market looks to
be embracing the opportunities that transition brings,
while continuing to provide innovative, new two-way
radio products.
Adobe Stock/Artem
Clockwise from
left: Airbus’s TB4
base station;
Motorola’s CCTV
monitoring
system;
Panorama’s Dome
antenna; and the
exhibition floor
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