TETRA  |   DMR  |   LTE  |   P25  |  2018-03-06

Orion Labs Expands its Product Portfolio with the new Orion Radio Bridge

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

The new Orion Radio Bridge secures interoperability with traditional land mobile radio (LMR) systems and launches AppTalk Plus for Android via collaboration with device manufacturers Kyocera Mobile and Sonim Technologies.

Orion Labs, the fast-growing voice platform for teams in business, enterprise, and government organizations, today announced several updates and engagements with industry leaders, designed to make it easier for organizations to improve responsiveness and productivity through powerful new voice technology. These updates come as enterprises increasingly look to voice as the interface to access and input information, and to trigger time-saving automated processes.

Orion’s new AppTalk Plus turns select Android phones with dedicated physical push-to-talk (PTT) buttons into smart walkie-talkies. Compatible phones include the Sonim XP7, the recently announced, FirstNet approved Sonim XP8, the Kyocera DuraForce Pro, and the Kyocera DuraForce XD. By simply downloading the Orion app from the Google Play Store onto one of these compatible handsets, users will immediately be able to talk with other Orion users, see group members’ real-time location, and access features like Orion Translator for real-time language translation and Orion’s IFTTT integration.

The new Orion Radio Bridge allows organizations with traditional land mobile radio (LMR) systems to extend the range and reach of their communications without requiring additional radios or signal-boosting equipment. The Orion Radio Bridge connects to most existing LMR systems, such as Radio over IP (RoIP), and enables any organization to take advantage of Orion features without overhauling their existing setups. Through Orion Radio Bridge, people using push-to-talk radio handsets can connect to others on the Orion Voice Platform, whether they’re using Onyx smart walkie-talkies, AppTalk, or AppTalk Plus.

By integrating with the JPS RoIP API, LMR systems that utilize radio gateways from JPS Interoperability Solutions gain access to the Orion Voice Platform. This includes Orion’s advanced voice and virtual assistant technology, including the Orion Panic Bot, in addition to Orion’s award-winning push-to-talk service.

Further, through an integration with Mutualink’s Interoperable Response and Preparedness Platform (IRAPP), the Orion Voice Platform extends to Mutualink’s nationwide customer base, which can often include multi-agency incident resolution. This includes interoperability with a rapidly growing list of agencies representing over a 1,000 LMR systems across the US.

“There is a massive and profound shift across the real-time voice market,” said Jesse Robbins, CEO and Founder of Orion Labs. “Today we are expanding Orion’s constellation of products and integrations that make a new category of voice applications and services available to the entire ecosystem. We’re honored to work with industry leaders like Sonim, Kyocera, JPS Interop, and Mutualink as we build a world powered by voice.”

AppTalk Plus and Orion Radio Bridge come as Orion continues an aggressive product pipeline intended to make voice more flexible and functional for any type of organization. Recent announcements have also included enhancements to Orion Pro, the subscription-based Push-to-Talk solution for businesses, and Orion AppTalk, Orion Labs’ newly launched talk button feature that turns the Orion iOS application into a walkie-talkie app, helping users choose voice tools that fit the way they work.

Orion AppTalk Plus is available for Orion Labs customers today, with the purchase of a compatible device. Orion Radio Bridge is available for pre-order, and will be ready for deployment in Q2 2018.