Business Info - issue 134

businessinfomag.uk magazine 0814 Digital identity Yoti is a free digital identity app that makes providing ID simpler, faster and safer. To set up a digital identity, users simply take a selfie and scan a passport or driving license with their smartphone. Yoti can then be used for age verification, identity verification, biometric login and building access, removing the need to carry paper ID documents and protecting against fraudsters. User details are secured with advanced hybrid encryption, so only the individual can see their personal data. www.yoti.com B2B bartering Bartercard, the company that gives businesses the power to exchange goods and services as part of the world’s largest trade exchange, has released a new version of its app. Bartercard enables SMEs to buy goods and services without affecting their cash reserves through the use of Trade Pounds. The updated app can now use your location to find other members, and the payment section of the app has been improved so users can scan a QR code from another member to receive a payment. www.bartercard.co.uk Buy the right batteries The Panasonic Battery App helps buyers find the battery they need. The ‘Find My Battery’ function lets you find the best suited Panasonic battery for a particular electronic device by choosing from a list of simple icons. The ‘Locate Battery’ function uses your smartphone camera to help detect the correct product on- shelf. www.panasonic-batteries.com Make your app chat Jongla, developer of the Jongla – Social Messenger app, has released Delivered, a social messaging SDK and cloud service for companies and app developers. Developed by the Jongla team to consume as little data as possible, the messaging protocol brings one-to-one chat and group messaging to your business app. CEO Riku Salminen says it will allow companies to “build their own social network inside their app” so that users no longer have to leave the app to socialise. www.jongla.com Lighting installation analytics Philips Lighting and enterprise software specialist SAP SE have launched a social impact analytics app to help tourist boards and city authorities measure the social and economic impact of illuminating city landmarks. The app merges image analytics developed by Philips Lighting, which identifies architectural lighting photos of landmarks on social platforms like Instagram, with SAP’s Cloud Platform, which collates data on what is being posted about a piece of architecture on social media and news sites. Data from the app will help city authorities to identify the most popular lighting displays and refine lighting strategies to best meet the needs of their local community. www.lighting.philips.com A smart welcome Proxyclick’s visitor management system improves the office guest experience. Visitors are added directly from any electronic calendar into the software and receive an invitation with all the information they need for a meeting. Upon arrival, they simply check in using an iPad. The check-in app can take a photo of the visitor, print out an access badge, send visitors aWi-Fi code via SMS and notify hosts when guests arrive. A recent update enables the app to confirm the identity of a guest by scanning their ID card using a face-matching algorithm. www.proxyclick.com AI app empowers visually impaired people Microsoft’s Seeing AI app helps blind and partially sighted people by describing the world around them. It uses Artificial Intelligence to recognise objects, people and text via a phone or tablet’s camera and relays what it sees to the user. The app can speak text that appears in front of the camera; provide audio guidance to capture a printed page and recognise the text; scan barcodes and speak the product name and packaging information; and save friends’ faces in the user’s contact list so that they can be recognised later. www.microsoft.com Gatwick app wins Business IT Innovation of the Year Gatwick’s Airport Community App has been named Business IT Innovation of the Year at the UK IT Industry 2017 Awards by BCS. The app gives the 10,000-strong workforce easy access to real time information about airport issues on a smartphone. The BCS judged Gatwick’s app to have delivered the most measurable benefit for its business users and customers out of ten shortlisted finalists. www.gatwickairport.com Ride pooling MOIA, a mobility startup from the Volkswagen Group, will launch its ride pooling concept internationally in 2018. The concept, which aims significantly to reduce traffic in major cities, consists of the MOIA car, a fully electric car with space for up to six passengers; an app for customers to book and pay for a MOIA; and a driver app. A pooling algorithm groups passengers with similar destinations together in order to increase the capacity for each car and to avoid detours. www.moia.io APP UPDATE 08 i New apps for business and leisure Yoti Panasonic Battery App