In 2018, Orion saw widespread adoption of voice-powered, push-to-talk devices across enterprise companies. The company added significant features to the Orion Connected Voice Platform including Orion Pro, the Orion Push to Talk app, and numerous Voice AI Bots. Now more than ever, voice technology is becoming a tool for the future of business, allowing for streamlined communication and collaboration among teams.

Looking to the year ahead, we see four trends emerging in the voice technology and public safety markets in 2019:

Trend #1: Public Safety Delivering on Tomorrow’s Promise Today

The growing public safety ecosystem will further open the marketplace and drive innovation by new entrants, allowing for faster time to market. AT&T’s commitment to the availability and growth of FirstNet is here and will continue to evolve in the coming year. Orion expects to participate in this through our FirstNet Certified™ app and other key public safety initiatives.

Trend #2: Voice as the New Interface in Enterprise

Markets will continue to shift to voice as the new interface – rapid evolution of voice services for consumers and businesses. We’ll increasingly see organizations move away from legacy radio and dispatch systems to real-time mobile solutions that are durable, light-weight, and always connected. Orion has a head start in developing voice services on its platform and provides solutions for enterprises and public safety groups, including those migrating from legacy radio systems.

Trend #3: Voice Technology Connecting the Workforce Safely in Real Time

Digital transformation in the workplace will drive new opportunities for team voice communication. It will redefine what it means to be a connected worker. The concept of 24/7 connectivity will scale far beyond a VPN and email account to a voice-connected offering that brings global teams together — regardless of their native language or geographic locale. Orion’s technology removes barriers by providing users with unlimited range.

Trend #4: Advancements in AI and Emotion Detection

Continued advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) supporting the detection of emotion, tone, and stress will bring an increase of real-time emotion-aware devices to the marketplace. By observing changes in a user’s speech and tone, the advancements will allow Orion Voice AI Bots to learn speech patterns, detect emotional stress, and initiate workflows.

If you’re interested in learning more about how AI will blend with voice technology, read: Orion at IBM Think 2019: Take Watson with You

What trends do you expect to see? Share your thoughts by tagging @OrionLabs on Twitter!

By Jesse Robbins, Orion Founder and Chairman

I’m proud to announce that the Orion Push to Talk app for iOS is now FirstNet Certified and listed in the FirstNet App Catalog. When first responders use the Orion Push to Talk app on a FirstNet Ready smartphone, teams can respond to emergencies faster and more efficiently.

Orion Push to Talk connects public safety teams anywhere they are with the push of a button. Use the talk button in the app to talk to team members, or add an Onyx wearable to keep your phone in your pocket and still stay in sync with your team.

Last week, we also announced partnerships with the FirstNet Authority and ResponderXLabs to support our mission of improving communication and workflows for public safety. As a firefighter and EMT, I’m excited that today we’re taking take that mission a step further.

What is FirstNet?

FirstNet is the first-ever nationwide communications ecosystem exclusively for public safety. In partnership with the First Responder Network Authority, it brings a much-needed technology upgrade to first responders.

FirstNet helps law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical service crews stay connected and share the information they need to help keep their communities safe and secure. It gives first responders an “always-on” connection so they can communicate – regardless of crowd size or network traffic.

How Does Orion Help First Responders?

My experiences in firefighting and emergency management repeatedly teach me the value of keeping teams heads up and in sync. With our voice-first platform and next-generation wearables and apps, Orion gives public safety teams a heads-up, eyes-free experience. Because they’re more situationally aware, first responders can communicate without losing focus, across any distance, anywhere in the world.

How Do First Responders Get Orion’s FirstNet App?

Download the FirstNet Certified Orion Push to Talk app directly from the App Store.

Or download the fact sheet to learn all about it:

Get the Orion Push to Talk for FirstNet® Fact Sheet

If you have a question about how Orion can help your public safety organization, contact our sales team at info@orionlabs.io or use the contact form at the bottom of this page. We’ve helped agencies throughout the world improve their public safety efforts.

First responders and eligible public safety organizations can communicate in real-time to stay connected and better protect their communities

SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 5, 2018) — Orion Labs, provider of the award-winning Orion voice-enabled platform for real-time workforce communication and collaboration, today announced that its Orion Push to Talk iOS 5.2.8 mobile application is now FirstNet Certified™ and included in the FirstNet App Catalog. First responders can use Orion’s voice communication platform with FirstNet’s priority access and preemption services, enabling teams to respond to emergencies faster and more efficiently.

FirstNet is the nationwide communications platform dedicated to America’s first responders and public safety community. It’s being built with AT&T in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority to favor the important work first responders do. It offers technology, features and functionality designed to properly handle the rigorous, specific and niche demands of first responders. With this much-needed technology upgrade, first responders can connect to the critical information they need every day and in every emergency.

“We’re pleased that Orion Labs’ push-to-talk application is now FirstNet Certified™,” said Bob Sloan, Chief Operating Officer, FirstNet at AT&T. “Having options is important when it comes to first responders’ communications tools.  As a FirstNet Certified™ application, public safety can be confident that Orion Labs’ push-to-talk app is a trusted solution that meets FirstNet requirements for relevancy, security, data privacy, mobility, resiliency, and scalability.”

Historically, first responders have relied primarily on traditional land mobile radios (LMR) to stay connected during mission-critical situations. With a new breed of push-to-talk mobile devices on the market today, public safety teams can augment those communications and quickly communicate across their organizations and between emergency agencies with the touch of a button. First responders on FirstNet using Orion Labs’ mobile application receive priority above commercial users, helping to alleviate network congestion and offering a means of highly secure, reliable and boundary-free communication.

“Orion Labs was born from our experiences in the fire and emergency medical services. We’re incredibly excited to bring Orion’s advanced communication platform to support first responders on FirstNet,” said Orion Labs’ Founder and CEO, Jesse Robbins. “Orion is honored to meet the high requirements for FirstNet Certified™ apps and hopes to be one part in helping public safety teams in their mission to save lives and better protect their communities.”

The Orion push-to-talk application is available now through the FirstNet App Catalog and the Apple App Store.

About Orion Labs

Orion Labs is a voice-first communication platform for mobile teams. Orion delivers instant and secure voice, location, and data messaging across a constellation of connected devices, applications, and AI-powered services. This powerful combination enables mobile teams to collaborate without losing focus, on any device, across any distance, without boundaries. The Orion platform includes the Orion Push to Talk app and Onyx wearables. These work with Orion’s web-based command center, advanced location services, language translation, voice bots, and workflows. Orion interoperates with traditional VoIP and Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems, and Orion’s APIs and SDKs enable developers to build on and extend the Orion platform.

Orion was recently named an IDC Innovator, received an Edison Award for Voice Technology, and won the 2018 “IoT Wearables Innovation Vendor of the Year” and “AI Breakthrough Best Overall Bot Solution” awards. The company was founded by cloud infrastructure pioneers Jesse Robbins and Greg Albrecht, who were inspired by their unique experiences using traditional radios as first responders. Orion is backed by leading investors and is based in San Francisco, CA.

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