Google & Lenovo launch first meeting room kits for Google Meet

Google and Lenovo have created new hardware specially designed for the Google Meet conferencing and collaboration platform.

Google Meet Series One meeting room kits are engineered for hybrid working environments, such as those in the office and in remote locations

The kit includes a smart audio bar, a regular or extra large true 4K smart camera, as well as compute, a remote control, microphone pods, and cables. The kits have inbuilt Google AI that can offer smart capabilities such as automatic participant framing.

The smart audio bar includes eight microphones and a TruVoice noise cancellation configuration that can filter out background sounds like keyboard typing and eating, but keeps voices clear and prominent to 'ensure every voice is heard'.

The Meet Compute System includes the Coral M.2 accelerator modules with Google Edge TPUs, which means that the kit can be forward-compatible with future AI and machine learning innovations.

Google adds, "The Compute System in Series One is purpose-built for Meet on Chrome OS, making it easy to install and keep up to date. Everything is securely managed through the Google Admin console, including device setup, status checks, and minor issue resolution without ever having to visit the room. To help monitor room utilisation and maintain safety protocols, each kit can anonymously sense the number of room participants and visits.

The compute device connects via power over ethernet (PoE), which enables low voltage power and network traffic over ethernet to the remote control, cameras and speaker bars.

Google states, "All kits support hands-free control through Google Assistant, so you can say 'Hey Google, join my meeting' and other queries to start or end a meeting, unmute, and more.

The kits will be automatically updated to ensure the latest firmware, patches, and features are always active and available. They will also include three years of Lenovo Premier Support.

"We are delighted to partner with Google Cloud to deliver easy to deploy and scalable collaboration solutions," says Lenovo Smart Collaboration Business general manager Joseph Mingori.

"The Google Meet Room Kits deliver effortless meetings with intelligent features that make video collaboration natural and more human, leverages G Suite productivity and helps bring people together through challenging times.

The Google Meet Room kit will be available in small, medium, or large, and in two colours, Chalk and Charcoal. These are expected to be available from November 2020. Local pricing and availability to be confirmed.