Indyme Empowers Modern Retailers with Feature-Rich In-Store Communications, using Blackfin

Indyme solutions intelligently connect every device, application, and system within any given store's retail environment - providing seamless communication among teams and with customers, tailored management of store operations, and unlimited possibilities for further customer empowerment and satisfaction. It's a win-win situation for retailer and customer alike.

The Connect LX, in-store communications and event processing system from Indyme Solutions uses the Blackfin ADSP-BF533 processor to control communications device data streams in retail environments to connect store customers and associates, POS and price scanners, and security and loss-prevention monitors into a single, integrated system. The enhanced functionality of the Connect LX includes VoIP phone and analog phone system interfaces, as well as support for wireless PDA, kiosks, handheld units, price scanners, and several other devices - all made easier and more efficient by the Blackfin processor's high processing power, lower energy use, enabling a fanless design, and highly reliable uClinux operating system and device driver support.

Indyme solutions intelligently connect every device, application, and system within any given store's retail environment - providing seamless communication among teams and with customers, tailored management of store operations, and unlimited possibilities for further customer empowerment and satisfaction. It's a win-win situation for retailer and customer alike.

Indyme Solutions introduced the world's first shopper calling box almost 20 years ago, and has remained an industry leader by continually developing solutions to improve the customer experience, store and employee productivity, and enterprise performance. Thanks to the Indyme team's retail expertise and understanding of customer needs and store operations, more than 22,000 have been installed by North American retailers, including some of the largest chains in the United States.

For two decades, Indyme has concentrated exclusively on the retail market - including consumer electronics dealers, department and apparel shops, drug stores and pharmacies, grocery stores and markets, warehouse stores and discounters, hardware and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) outlets, and specialty goods shops. Each of these retail outlets has its own unique requirements addressed by the Connect-LX, chief among all of them being enhancing the overall customer experience. To do this, they need solutions to increase sales and stock productivity and enhance in-store communications while finding more efficient ways to handle increasingly complex, diverse product offerings. From beginning to end - whether helping customers with heavy, hard-to-reach merchandise in discount warehouse-type discounters, making in-store communications faster and more efficient, or increasing checkout speed - the Connect-LX is part of the Indyme solution building a more streamlined, productive, profitable environment that attracts more customers.

Indyme: Committed to an Enhanced Customer Experience
"The Blackfin is clearly superior to all the other processors we looked at," said Fred Anderson, Indyme Engineering VP. "Indyme has always been committed, first and foremost, to providing modern retail customers low-cost, feature-rich, environment-friendly solutions. The Blackfin's high processing power, low-energy use, strong operating system and device support met all the requirements we needed to enhance the Connect-LX system to support this commitment. Blackfin was the clear choice to power the Connect-LX design."

The Architecture Behind the Enhanced Customer Experience
The combination of the Asterisk VoIP server and Indyme software supports up to eight analog phone lines, and two high-fidelity audio streams for PA and walkie-talkies. In addition, the ADI AD1980 audio codec chip processes raw callbox data streams from as many 16 303 MHz receivers, receiving and configuring simultaneous input from multiple 802.11-based call boxes.

Previous attempts at providing such integrated services involved much more complex board designs with complex interface circuitry, and high levels of power consumption - and didn't operate fast enough to provide the levels of signal control and routing, and audio and telephony signal processing that are critical for meeting the above requirements that are becoming increasingly critical in the retail world. In contrast, the convergent Blackfin architecture means reduced board space and more tightly integrated operations, while the ADSP-BF533's high clock rates, compiler-friendly design, lower power consumption, all add up to a set of high-value features and lower costs. These key performance enhancements, higher operating speeds, and lower energy consumption make for a "greener" product that offers more punch in a smaller package.

Arrow Electronics, utilizing ADI Certified Field Applications Engineers, technically supported Indyme throughout the component selection, software integration and hardware design of this product.

Convergent Processor Design: Today's Advanced Reality
The unique convergent architecture of the Blackfin processor lying at the heart of the Indyme Connect-LX performs control functions and fixed point signal processing with a dual MAC design. For Indyme and the retail market, the ADI Blackfin convergent processor is more than a vision of the future of technology; it's today's required reality.

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