How endpoint intelligence improve the Work From Home experience (WFH) - Ambiq

November 3, 2020

Remote work and work from home (WFH) aren’t new concepts, but the COVID-19 outbreak has forced organizations and employees to transition quickly. In-person meetings and traveling for work were gone overnight. Even after the world moves past the pandemic, the workforce will likely work from home at a higher rate.

In recent years, we have come to rely on endpoint devices like laptops, desktops, smartphones, and even virtual environments to complete our work. Connected through the Internet of Things (IoT), these endpoint devices are quickly becoming more intelligent as technology evolves.

Endpoint intelligence can improve not only your WFH experience but also your work-life balance. This article will look at some of the popular WFH endpoints and how they are enabling a more productive and connected experience.

Creating a Smarter WFH Environment

Increasingly, smart devices are becoming a larger part of our everyday lives. But beyond devices like smartphones and fitness trackers, things like digital displays and speakers are also becoming more intelligent. When used in a WFH environment, these devices can form the foundations of a productive office or workspace.

Smart Display

For many people, listening to music in the background is a must while they work. Many people also prefer to have a clock nearby, so they don’t lose track of time entirely. A smartphone can handle these tasks, but you might forget to check your phone.

A popular device addressing these needs is the Google Nest Hub. Not only can it always display the time, but it can also play music, do math, and even answer any random questions someone might have while working.

Smart Speaker

Virtual assistants are driving the new trend of intelligent desktop companions. For example, the Echo Dot is a popular budget smart speaker with all of the same digital assistant features found in Amazon’s more expensive products.

For casual background listening, a smart speaker is ideal. Coupled with the ability to set alarms, create reminders, and receive news and weather updates, intelligent speakers make it easy for employees to stay focused on their workspace.

Smart Assistant

Smart assistants, or virtual assistants, are quickly becoming a ubiquitous form of technology found in our everyday devices. Amazon Alexa is perhaps the most well-known example. When it comes to remote work and WFH, a virtual assistant AI can be leveraged for real-time help.

Many smart displays and smart speakers have already come equipped with a smart assistant. Beyond setting timers and reminders, a smart assistant can help improve work-life balance by integrating useful applications such as fitness apps, self-care apps, and even cooking apps.

Enabling Endpoint Intelligence

Edge computing is already used in many applications, especially in combination with IoT. As endpoint devices continue to evolve, many are shifting to edge computing where the data processing occurs on the device itself. When endpoints don’t have to send and receive data from the data, they can offer low latency, rapid analysis, and fast action.

However, endpoints need to have a powerful processor built in to handle all this data. And the more powerful a processor is, the more power it consumes. For endpoint devices to mimic intelligence, they need to run inference and complex algorithms, which is impossible if energy consumption is too high.

For WFH and remote work, an endpoint device that must be continuously plugged in can be inconvenient. Without finding a way to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency, enabling intelligence on endpoints proves to be a massive challenge. Thankfully, ultra-low-power solutions have recently become available.

How Ambiq and TOP can help

Ambiq’s ultra-low-power wireless MCUs and SoCs are at the core of millions of connected sensors that enable a productive WFH and remote work experience. We enable battery-powered endpoints beyond the edge to run inference and mimic human intelligence without compromising performance, quality, or functionality.

Built on our patented Subthreshold Power Optimized Technology (SPOT) platform, Ambiq’s products reduce the total system power consumption on the order of nanoamps for all battery-powered endpoint devices. Simply put, our solutions can enable intelligence everywhere.