Guardhat Communicator smart hardhat revolutionizes the safety of industrial workers by connecting users with remote command centers

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 16, 2020 — Lantronix Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRX), a global provider of Software as a Service (SaaS), engineering services and intelligent hardware for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Remote Environment Management (REM), today announced that its IoT wireless connectivity and power management technologies have been integrated into the Guardhat Communicator smart hardhat. The smart communicating hardhat connects workers with a remote command center via sensors, camera and microphones to help improve worker safety.

“To revolutionize the safety of industrial workers, the innovative founders of Guardhat re-envisioned the hardhat into a wearable device at the edge of an end-to-end industrial safety system,” said Jonathan Shipman, VP of Strategy for Lantronix. “Lantronix’s advanced technologies and engineering services helped bring the smart hardhat design to life as a real-world solution.”

“Using sensors, Guardhat identifies and shares information about the worker’s location with the home base. Comprehensive communications options allow for voice and video calls. A single button enables the user to call for help,” said Anupam Sengupta, CTO and co-founder of Guardhat Inc.

Challenge: Deliver Globally Certified Connectivity

Safety first is the key goal in industrial operations and management. To help ensure the safety of industrial workers, the innovative creators of Guardhat re-envisioned the hardhat as a wearable device at the edge of an end-to-end industrial safety system.

To make the hardhat a communicating device, the Guardhat team turned to Lantronix and its Intelligent Edge Solutions team to tackle a big design challenge: add all the features and functions they wanted without making the hardhat too heavy or cumbersome for the workers to wear. The design incorporated sensors, a camera and microphone, tying them together with on-device processing power. The design specified wireless connectivity for remote communication plus the ability to ensure secure boot as well as wireless communications and updates.

Solution: Lantronix Open-Q 626 μSOM and Development Kit

The Guardhat designers chose the Lantronix Open-Q 626 µSOM, which is based on the APQ8053-Pro SoC (system on chip), to deliver the ideal balance of advanced processing capabilities and power efficiency. Guardhat engaged Lantronix to design the hardhat and achieve the required performance profile.

Far from a conventional wearable, the Guardhat Communicator takes advantage of roughly 300 pins that the carrier board routes out as interfaces to the SoC, creating a wearable IoT device that includes board support, camera, audio and wireless connectivity.

The Guardhat team also utilized Lantronix’s Open-Q™ 626 µSOM Development Kit, a cost-effective, feature-rich, camera-tuned, exposed board platform powered by the Open-Q 626 production-ready µSOM, based on the APQ8053Pro processor. It was used by the Guardhat team to jumpstart the design process and contain development costs.

Results: Guardhat Communicator Smart Hardhat Connects Remote Workers

The Guardhat Communicator smart hardhat monitors the workers’ environments, sending warnings and alerts in case of imminent danger, and applies wearable technology to overcome hazardous conditions. It enables remote communication with the user, including audio and video calls as well as the ability to push a single button for help. It also provides a real-time decision-making and data analytics platform that connects industrial workforces through situational awareness.

About Lantronix Open-Q 626 μSOM and Open-Q 626 µSOM Development Kit

The Lantronix Open-Q 626 production-ready µSOM (Micro System on Module) is based on the APQ8053Pro processor. Lantronix’s Open-Q 626 µSOM Development Kit is a cost-effective, feature-rich, camera-tuned, exposed board platform powered by the Open-Q 626 production-ready µSOM. It is ideal for evaluation of the Open-Q 626 µSOM as well as jump-starting development of connected camera devices or other high-performance embedded products.

About Lantronix

Lantronix, Inc. is a global provider of software as a service (SaaS), engineering services and hardware for Edge Computing, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Remote Environment Management (REM). Lantronix enables its customers to provide reliable and secure solutions while accelerating their time to market. Lantronix’s products and services dramatically simplify operations through the creation, development, deployment and management of customer projects at scale while providing quality, reliability and security.

Lantronix’s portfolio of services and products address each layer of the IoT Stack, including Collect, Connect, Compute, Control and Comprehend, enabling its customers to deploy successful IoT and REM solutions. Lantronix’s services and products deliver a holistic approach, addressing its customers’ needs by integrating a SaaS management platform with custom application development layered on top of external and embedded hardware, enabling intelligent edge computing, secure communications (wired, Wi-Fi and cellular), location and positional tracking and environmental sensing and reporting.

With three decades of proven experience in creating robust industry and customer-specific solutions, Lantronix is an innovator in enabling its customers to build new business models, leverage greater efficiencies and realize the possibilities of IoT and REM. Lantronix’s solutions are deployed inside millions of machines at data centers, offices and remote sites serving a wide range of industries, including energy, agriculture, medical, security, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail, financial, environmental, infrastructure and government.

Incorporated in California in 1989 and reincorporated in Delaware in 2000, Lantronix is headquartered in Irvine, California.

For more information, visit www.lantronix.com. Learn more at the Lantronix blog, www.lantronix.com/blog, featuring industry discussion and updates. To follow Lantronix on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/Lantronix. View our video library on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LantronixInc or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/lantronix

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Any statements set forth in this news release that are not entirely historical and factual in nature, including without limitation statements related to our solutions, products and technologies and the integration of our IoT wireless connectivity and power management technologies into the Guardhat Communicator smart hardhat and the potential effects on revenue on future business and on our performance, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, future business, financial condition, or performance to differ materially from our historical results or those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement contained in this news release. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as the effects of negative or worsening regional and worldwide economic conditions or market instability on our business, including effects on purchasing decisions by our customers; the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our employees, supply and distribution chains, and the global economy; cybersecurity risks; changes in applicable U.S. and foreign government laws, regulations, and tariffs; our ability to successfully implement our acquisitions strategy or integrate acquired companies; difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights; the level of our indebtedness, our ability to service our indebtedness and the restrictions in our debt agreements; and any additional factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 11, 2019, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of such report, as well as in our other public filings with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in our future filings. The forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

© 2020 Lantronix, Inc. All rights reserved. Lantronix is a registered trademark, and EMG, and SLC are trademarks of Lantronix Inc. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

# # #

Lantronix Media Contact:            

Gail Kathryn Miller

Corporate Marketing &

Communications Manager

[email protected]

949-453-7158

Lantronix Analyst and Investor Contact:               

Jeremy Whitaker

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]
949-450-7241

Lantronix Sales:

[email protected]

Americas +1 (800) 422-7055 (US and Canada) or +1 949-453-3990

Europe, Middle East and Africa +31 (0)76 52 36 744

Asia Pacific + 852 3428-2338

China + 86 21-6237-8868

Japan +81 (0) 50-1354-6201

India +91 994-551-2488

#  #  #