A smart-case typically houses a battery pack, the main controller board and the electromechanical components that interface with the buttons/ports of the phone/tablet that fits into it. The need was to develop uniform solution across various platforms Android to Windows-based tablets and phones.
The company distributes a host of different types of smartcases that can be integrated with Android and Windows smartphones and tablets thus solution needs to function smoothly on these platforms.
A smartcase can perform in the harshest conditions while providing workers and enterprise users with the durable technology they need to get the job done so the key demand was to make solution network connectivity robust to even accommodate any random outages.
The smartcase also comes with an integrated array of cloud-connected sensors case that measure shock, vibration, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure independently by utilizing smartphone devices as an engine.
The smartcase provides out of the box flexibility by making the endcaps swappable. This allows enterprises to make their own customized business-class smartcase suitable for their business needs and also allows them to upgrade them as and when needed.
e-Zest has been a development partner for the company, delivering the entire software-side for the products. Its focus was on building a wide range of APIs that can be utilized to access the data captured by the smartcase and can be reflected in custom web or mobile apps. Later, custom mobile apps were designed to leverage the smartcase APIs whereas custom web apps were architected to leverage the Server REST APIs.
Developed the software development kits that need to be integrated into custom mobile apps for leveraging the range of features offered by the smartcase.
The web app, sample apps, and API development
The module provides an interface to the programmable indicator lights beneath each of the softkeys fitted on the smartcase. The indicator light’s color, intensity, and illumination pattern can be programmed directly through this interface.
The barcode scanner hardware is attached to the endcap of the smartcase as a Human Interface Device (HID). When a user presses the ‘action’ button on the smartcase, the barcode scanner comes into action, detects and recognizes a barcode held in front of it.
The smartcase sensors include environmental sensors that measure the temperature level, relative humidity, and barometric reading. Using the environment module, an app can query the environmental sensors in the smartcase.
Shock module and acceleration module
The EMV (Europay Mastercard Visa) module can be used to swipe a debit/credit card and make payments on the go by integrating with a payment gateway.
All the features of the platform are exposed through the platform APIs, a RESTful (representational state transfer) interface that communicates via HTTPS and uses JSON serialization for data. This API enables integration of the smartcase features and automation into any custom web or mobile application.
e-Zest also provides continuous maintenance support for the SDKs and APIs developed so far for:
The BridgePay payment gateway returns the transaction response in terms of payment success/failure, the transaction value, partially masked account number, card type and so on which can be used to make payments on the go.
API licensing model allows the company’s admin to explicitly define which features and functions of the smartcase are available to an enterprise based on the purchased subscription and endcaps. For example, which peripherals or sensors may be utilized.
