Seeking to expand the capabilities of its wireless mesh network technology, MeshDynamics Inc. introduced a voice application that can be used in some of the harshest industrial environments.
The Persistent Baseline Voice (PBV) technology, announced today, is software that runs on the company’s MD4000 wireless node access points and can initiate voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls when needed. It is set up to be used as a backup server to WiFi-connected handheld VoIP devices, and will route calls even if the network is interrupted or isolated, the company said.
If, for example, there were a communication failure inside an underground coal mine, the PBV technology would take over as the voice-enabled Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Registrar and enable connectivity among all phones in the isolated segment so that calls would continue without interruption.
“Baseline voice technology is like a little listening device in each of the wireless nodes, listening to VoIP call setups … and forming a backup of the voice network,” said Byron Henderson, MeshDynamics’ vice president of marketing in an interview with Managing Automation.