Gai-Tronics are a UK based company, with a US parent, that specialises in rugged communications equipment supplying telephones, evacuation systems, intercoms and critical telecomunications equipment to both the industrial and public sectors.

Their existing product range covers both analogue and digital products , but they had little prior exposure to IP telephony and its surrounding technology. Axtan initially provided a number of gateway products to Gai-Tronics for demo purposes after which a suggestion was made that they would benefit from thier own fully integrated VoIP Phone. A development contract was signed in July 2007 and an initial version delivered later that year.

The design of the phone was based on an Infineon SoC device that incorporated both DSP and microcontroller technology. The design was capable of operating with both handsets , headsets and loudspeaker facilities. It incorporates an POE supply so that only a single CAT5 ethernet cable connection is required for operation. 

The IPR for the phone design remains with Axtan Ltd , but an unlimited license to manufacture the product was provided to Gai-Tronics Ltd and it US parent Hubble Inc.

The product is far from being a simple telephone, with the ability to interwork with several SIP proxies at the same time and deliver calls to several locations in succession without the need for IP PBX functionality. Capable of working in a peer to peer mode , or connected to an IP PBX or direct into a service provider the Gai-Tronics IP telephone also has several independently controllable relays and inputs that can be monitored /controlled remotley across the IP onnection.

Because a great deal of Gai-Tronics business is won through its ability to provide custom phones for different applications the design also required that the keypad could be easily remapped to provide function specific keys that could activate various functions such as memory dial lists etc.

The phone can operate in a number of stealth modes that allow the micropohone to be used to listen to events/activities in the surrounding area without the requirement for notifying users or having to manually answer a call . This facility is useful for campus type deployments or railway platforms where an audio input can be combined with an IP based camera to give full audio visual surveillance capabilities.

 

The telephone can also be managed in several different ways to provide the right solution for each and every client. It provides a browser based interface , a Telnet command line interface as well as an up/downloadable configuration file system to allow quick and easy configuration. It can generate its own status and alarm information that can be streamed out using Syslog , or e-mails direct to an SMTP server, or can generate SNMP traps. To help client installation comply with US and European laws on disability discrimination it's operation also required a number of relay and LED output combinations to signal its status to users who may have hearing disabilities.