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Intercom

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  • Background
    • There are three different "types" of intercoms that need to be accommodated:
      • Physical intercoms that are deployed in the field - we'll refer to these as client intercoms
      • A virtual intercom that is manned by a security officer - we'll refer to these as master stations
      • A virtual intercom that is created on-the-fly by anyone having permissions to call a client intercom from a location other than the security desk - we'll refer to these as virtual intercoms
  • Configuration
    • Need to add a Module
      • Module configuration to include:
        • If intercom system supports video
          • Outbound audio/video costs BluBØX money due to charges incurred by the datacenter.
        • Billing model - .10/call
          • Need to research if this still works when including outbound video from Guard/Master Station back to client intercom
          • Plus one time fixed cost 125/channel
    • Need to control who is able to use Virtual Intercom functionality
      • This will be done via a permission - it will be "Can use Virtual Intercom Functionality" with a boolean type of permission.
      • If you have the permission in "any" scope, AND you can see the intercom (see below), then you can call that intercom from your pc/phone/etc
    • Need to control who is able to see which Master Stations
      • We are not doing this with our permissions model because it is not granular enough
      • We will implement controlling which master stations you see based on explicit grants.
        • There will be a tab added to the Persons screen or possibly a new dedicated screen that allows you to assign master stations to a person (similar to assigning Readers to a person).  This table will be called PersonsIntercoms (master stations are just intercoms with IsMaster true and IsVirtual true)
    • Need to control who is able to see which intercoms
      • We are not doing this with our permissions model because it is not granular enough
      • We will implement controlling which intercoms you see based on explicit grants.
        • There will be a tab added to the Persons screen or possibly a new dedicated screen that allows you to assign intercoms to a person (similar to assigning Readers to a person).  This table will be called PersonsIntercoms (client intercoms will have IsMaster = false and IsVirtual = false)
    • Need to add/edit/view/delete intercom servers - BluBØX only as we will incur additional datacenter costs.
    • Need UI to add/edit/view/delete intercom devices
      • Need to support multiple SIP-based manufacturers, including :
        • Person Reader
        • Axis Door Station
        • 2N
      • Need to capture capabilities of intercom
        • Include video - this should come from metadata we have based on the model
          • If  video, what framerate, etc. - this can't come model-specific metadata as it will vary from device to device based on preference.
        • IP Address and Port of the SIP Server.
        • Whether or not there is an addressable output
          • If so, special command formatting, etc.
        • Username, password, host, etc.
          • Username is the extension in the SIP world, so by controlling passwords for the usernames(extensions), we can multi-tenant a single SIP server across multiple real-world customers.
        • Secure SIP?
        • Need to capture if the "intercom" is physical or virtual (this will be the case for Master Stations)
        • Need to capture if the "intercom" is a Master Station (it is possible that physical master stations will be in the mix beyond our virtualized ones).
      • Consider custom ringtone choice for each extension
        • Would help to distinguish between normal intercoms and the Emergency "blue light" intercoms audibly when the session is initiated

 

  • View List:
    Chart for Intercom.PNG
  • Fields for add/edit screen:
    Intercom.PNG

 

  • Need to research if we can use above information to configure the device itself via SDK
    • Not a problem for the BluBØX Person Reader
  • Camera in intercom is NOT set up as a camera in our cameras table.
  • Camera in BS is reserved for when the camera is being used as a Camera streaming to an NVR, etc.
    • Otherwise, it is an attribute of the Intercom object (yet to be created).
  • Realtime Interaction
    • Need software-based Master station
    • Need to show via Red/Green light if the Master Station has good connection to VOIPNow/FreeSwitch server in Azure
    • May include ability to leave voicemail at Master Station, but probably not at extensions even though it is technically possible
    • Two aspects:
      • Inbound
        • Displays list of both Active and Incoming sessions
        • "Incoming" sessions will ring with their appropriate configured ringtone and will show in flashing red?
        • Ongoing sessions will show as green
          • Ongoing sessions will have a "hold" button in case you need to switch to another ongoing or "incoming" session.  Replaces with "resume" button once clicked.
          • Hitting an incoming call while speaking to an ongoing call will result in dialog: hang up or put on hold?
      • Outbound
        • UI for this needs to look at your permissions and determine what devices you can connect to.
          • Needs a "intercom picker" UI
        • Based on the configuration of each device we know whether or not to show video
        • Outbound calls will also have a "hold" button that changes to "resume"
      • History/Terminated Sessions List
        • Shows as grey - for a session that either was not answered in time or was answered but is no longer active
          • Has a "call back" button/link
      • Need to capture full costs including data outbound (of guard to client)
      • Do we want to store (in Azure) the full session (audio and/or video)?

 

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