Vocera V5000 Release Notes
Version 5.1.3.36
Updated: March 21, 2022
Vocera Smartbadge
Overview
The Vocera Smartbadge is a
small, lightweight, wearable communication device purpose-built for healthcare. The Smartbadge is powered by
the Vocera Platform, enabling interoperability with the majority of clinical and operational
systems used in healthcare.
The Smartbadge gives
caregivers the agility to respond to the complex and unpredictable patient care environment by
enabling real-time situational awareness and allowing them to receive a prioritized alert and
alarm notifications, make and answer calls hands-free, and send messages securely.
The salient features of the Smartbadge are:
- Hands-free calling and answering calls.
- Smooth, natural bi-directional conversation.
- Seamless texting as done on a smartphone.
- Receive phone calls, messages, and alerts with essential information available at a
glance.
- Present priority items to the end-user.
- Integration of hardware, software, and firmware within a single device.
- Real-time situational awareness and help in reducing interruption fatigue.
For detailed documentation on Vocera V-Series Smartbadge, refer to Vocera V-Series Smartbadge.
For the previous versions of the release notes, refer to the Vocera Release Notes Library.
Prerequisites
Perform the following prerequisites before performing the installation instructions for
the Vocera version 5.1.3.36 Firmware release.
Configure Vocera Smartbadge Using the Standalone BPE
Configure Vocera Smartbadge
using the standalone version of Badge Properties Editor (BPE) 5.4.0 or later, to reflect the
5.1.3 Firmware Release. If you do not have the standalone version of BPE, contact Vocera
Customer support or open a case in the Support Portal.
Update Smartbadge
Properties
The BPE is installed on both the configuration computer and the Vocera Voice Server computer. If you
are performing initial badge configuration, use the BPE on the configuration computer.
To update the Smartbadge
properties, perform the following tasks:
- Locate and double-click the Vocera BPE Launcher icon on the desktop to log in for
the first time. For subsequent logins, access the Vocera BPE Launcher using the
URL, http://127.0.0.1:8011/#!/, where
127.0.0.1 is the localhost, and
8011 is the Voice Server IP port for BPE.
The
Badge Properties Editor appears.
- Select Badges>V5000.
The V5000 Smartbadge
Properties Editor is displayed.
For specific instructions on how to configure your badge using BPE, refer to
Vocera Device Configuration
Guide.
Smartbadge
Properties
Following are the properties required for the Badge Property Editor:
Mandatory Settings
- V5.ServerIPAddr <CorpServerIPAddr OR LocalTestServerIPAddr>
Wireless Settings
Wireless settings are dependent on the configuration settings of your environment.
- V5.AuthenticationType = WPA-PSK
- V5.PreSharedKey = <64 Char HEX Key or ASCII Passphrase>
- V5.SSID = <SSID>
- V5.EncryptionType = CCMP
Custom Settings
There are settings to control specific functions that can be applied through the Custom
Settings fields. For information on the custom setting appropriate for your environment,
contact Vocera Technical Support.
Installing an RPM Package
This section includes installation instructions for the Vocera version 5.1.3.36
Firmware release. This release applies to Vocera Smartbadge
only.
Vocera provides the core software needed to run the Vocera Platform
in a gold image. Additionally, optional pieces of software that can be installed
known as RPM packages. Typically, these packages are additional adapters but can
include items such as firmware.
-
SSH into the client VM.
Log into the virtual machine (VM) using the address of the machine and
tpx-admin credentials:
ssh tpx-admin@<IP of VM>
-
Update the repository to the latest software versions
Close any open sessions. Run YUM clean
all:
sudo yum clean all
Update the list of all available RPM packages for adapters and devices. Run
YUM check updates to update the RPM package
list:
sudo yum check-updates
-
View the list of updated software
Input the command below to view the available software for a particular
adapter or device. Below, we are viewing the RPM package for the Vocera Smartbadge,
designated by the "V5000". Update the command to reflect the appropriate adapter
or device. Run the YUM list command to show the list of files
available:
sudo yum list available | grep "V5000"
-
Install the RPM package
Select the correct file from the list. Update the command to reflect the
appropriate file. Run the YUM command to install the
software:
sudo yum install vocera-FW-V5000.x86_64
-
Reboot the VM.
sudo reboot
-
After the reboot completes, verify that Glassfish and the Voice Service are
running.
Input the following command at the ssh prompt. The first command is to verify
Glassfish (sudo systemctl status extension-glassfish) and the second command is
to verify the Voice Service (sudo systemctl status vocera-voice.service). The
remaining text shows either service running.
sudo systemctl status extension-glassfish
...
[tpx-admin@nextgen ~]$ sudo systemctl status extension-glassfish
● extension-glassfish.service - Glassfish Appliance Server
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/extension-glassfish.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Thu 2019-08-20 14:34:12 EST; 1 months 5 days ago
sudo systemctl status vocera-voice.service
● vocera-voice.service - Voice Server Launcher
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/vocera-voice.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2019-08-21 11:59:58 EDT; 1h 49min ago
Aug 21 11:59:54 sc-platform656l3 java[5048]: 2019-08-21 11:59:54.899 [I] [39] ServerState changed to 'Server started'.
Aug 21 11:59:58 sc-platform656l3 java[5048]: 2019-08-21 11:59:58.514 [I] [36] Vocera Server : Ready.
Aug 21 11:59:58 sc-platform656l3 java[5048]: 2019-08-21 11:59:58.514 [I] [36] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aug 21 11:59:58 sc-platform656l3 java[5048]: 2019-08-21 11:59:58.514 [I] [36] ** The Vocera system is ready **
Aug 21 11:59:58 sc-platform656l3 java[5048]: 2019-08-21 11:59:58.514 [I] [36] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Verifying the Firmware Build on the SmartbadgeTo verify the firmware build on the Smartbadge, perform the following steps:
- Navigate to the Settings screen.
The default settings screen with the
status is displayed.
- Tap the chevron to navigate to the Badge Settings >
Badge Information > Firmware Build
Number.
The firmware build loaded on your Smartbadge is displayed.
New and Enhanced Features
This section summarizes the new features in the Vocera Platform version 6
releases
The Smartbadge
redefines healthcare communication by combining Smartphone usability with hands-free freedom.
Smartbadge
represents a new category of wearable communication devices that enable clinician agility and
accelerate patient care.
New and Enhanced Features in 5.1.3.36
This release does not have any new features.
New and Enhanced Features in 5.1.3.35
This release does not have any new features.
New and Enhanced Features in 5.1.3
This section summarizes the new features in the Vocera Smartbadge 5.1.3 release.
- User Interface Enhancements
- Hide patient details during auto-wake—If the setting to auto-wake on delivery
is set, the Smartbadge changes the patient header to a clickable button to access the
information. This ensures no Personal Health Information (PHI) is visible when a message
is received.
- Panic call location—The location of the panic call is now displayed when a
panic call is received.
- Audible clicks on key-press during keyboard use—A user now has the option to
turn on audible audio feedback for the keyboard through badge settings.
- Push-to-talk (PTT) button timing — Allows the user to set the PTT timing
according to their requirement.
- User-selectable call button timer—Allows the user to set the duration of time
that the Call button must be touched before a call is placed.
- Suggestive text and keyboard optimization—The keyboard layout is now changed to
increase ease of use and accuracy. Predictive text speeds text entry by allowing the
user to select the word instead of typing it.
- Badge settings grouping—Badge settings are now grouped into entries to improve
usability.
- Broadcast Calls—Broadcast calls are now reflected as mass alerts.
- Coverage Request—The Smartbadge supports the Vina coverage request feature.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity Enhancements
- Certificate for Wi-Fi authentication—Support for SHA512 and SHA384 signed
certificates are now provided.
- Enhancement to channels-to-scan feature—Channels to scan feature is now
enhanced for efficient scanning. ChannelsToScan is a combined list
of 2.4 and 5 GHz channels. If this property is specified in the
badge.properties file, then only the specified channels is used
to perform full scans by the Smartbadge, which optimizes scan time and reduces the
amount of active radio time. If ChannelsToScan property is not
specified in the badge.properties file, then by default, the
Smartbadge performs a full scan of all supported 5 GHz channels, including DFS
channels.
New and Enhanced Features in 5.1.1.51 [15.3]
This section summarizes the new features in the Vocera Smartbadge 5.1.1.51 [15.3]
release.
Placing Direct Calls from Vocera Devices
As part of the Vocera care team connect solution, the new direct call feature enables the
communication between the patient and the caregiver in bed locations that lack nurse call.
This feature reduces the need to don and doff PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and improve
the patient experience.
When the direct call feature is enabled on Vocera Platform and Vocera devices, the user can
press the Call button to immediately place a call to a predefined recipient without
having to interact with the genie. The direct call recipient can be another user, group, or a
contact in the system.
To enable this feature, set the custom badge property V5.DirectCallEnabled
true by using the BCU or through the VCB menu only. Do not add this
property to the Badge.Properties of the Vocera Platform. The default value of the badge
property is false.
Note: When the custom property V5.DirectCallEnabled true is enabled using
the BCU, any user that logs into the Vocera device is automatically set to this mode. Ensure
that devices intended for this use case are configured with this custom property.
Vocera recommends the following:
- Do not enable this property on the Vocera device of caregivers.
- Do not add the V5.DirectCallEnabled property to the Badge.Properties
of the Voice Platform.
For information on Vocera device usage guidelines for the Direct Call feature, refer to the
Vocera V-Series Smartbadge User Guide, Vocera B-Series Badge User
Guide, and Vocera Device Configuration Guide available on Vocera Documentation Portal.
New and Enhanced Features in 5.1.1 GA
This section summarizes the new features in the Vocera Smartbadge 5.1.1 release.
- USB-C digital headsets—Vocera Smartbadge supports the
use of USB-C digital headsets. Due to the variety in configurations and performance of
digital USB-C headsets, it is recommended to choose USB-C headsets that are targeted for
laptops and Android smartphones. This feature is enabled by the following badge property
v5.EnableDigitalHS_ [True|False]. The default value is false.
- Wake Word to initiate a Genie call—Smartbadge now has
the ability to respond to the spoken voice command
OK Vocera
to initiate a Genie call
without having to touch the Call button for a true, hands-free
calling experience. This feature is enabled through the badge property
V5.EnableHotword [True|False]. The default value of the property is
False.
- Log File Enhancement—ARP entries are now displayed in the Smartbadge log
files.
- Wi-Fi Changes
- A badge property V5.ForceIGMPVersion introduced to force specific
IGMP versions to be adopted. The default value is IGMP v3.
- The Linux TCP Selective Acknowledgement (SACK) vulnerability detailed in
CVE-2019-11477, CVE-2019-11478, and CVE-2019-11479 have been mitigated in this
release.
- Hide patient information―If you do not have permission to view patient information,
the patient information header displays the patient location only, and the patient view in
the directory is hidden.
- Accept alert option for multiple users
- If configured, a new view option is offered for an alert to be looked at before
accepting or declining. You can see who has accepted or declined the alert in the Alert
Chat view.
- User Interface Enhancements
- The volume settings are now available for speaker, handset, headset, and Bluetooth
audio paths. The volume settings are saved in the user profile.
- Configurable delay for the Panic Button operation is introduced. The default is 1
second and can be controlled through the badge property V5.PanicDelayDurationMS
= 100-5000 (msec).
- When a call is forwarded to an external phone number, the forwarded number is now
hidden.
- You can now turn the screen off by swiping to the right on any primary screen such as
Event/Home, Directory, and Settings screens.
- Haptic touch for the keyboard is a user option, accessible through user settings. A
vibration can now be felt when typing to aid in typing accuracy.
- Expired messages and alerts are now automatically removed from the Events screen to
reduce clutter.
- Empty screen tips are now provided to define blank screens.
- Alert pop-up screen is now displayed during Genie enunciation.
New and Enhanced Features in 5.1.0 GA
This section summarizes the new features in the Vocera Smartbadge 5.1.0 release.
- PIN Authentication for Logging in
An authentication PIN can be enabled to
identify the user logging into the Smartbadge. As
the user presses the Call button, the genie enunciates an invitation for the user name and
then requests a PIN for authentication. The user PIN requirement is set up by the
administrator.
- Home Screen Features
- The Home screen has the following filters:
- Home—Displays an integrated view of all call types, voice messages, text messages,
alerts as entries in a conversation.
- Calls—Displays the call records and selecting one will take you to the call view
for the corresponding conversation.
- Messages—Displays text messages.
- Alerts—Displays all alert-based conversations.
- The most recent conversation is displayed at the top.
- You can leave a conversation by swiping left and tapping Leave.
- You can favorite contact from a call log or a Voicemail.
-
Directory Screen
- Directory screen displays the following filters:
- Staff—Names of the staff members in your favorite list.
- Patients—Name, room number, MRN, gender, DOB of the patient assigned to the user.
- Groups—Names of the groups in your favorite list.
- You can search the names of staff and groups, and favorite the search for easy
access.
-
Messages and Alerts
- Messages and alerts appear in the inbox in chronological order with the newest at the
top.
- Incoming messages and alerts play the appropriate notification based on priority or
enunciate based on the server specified setting.
- New alerts are received as pop-ups with a brief description and may include response
options such as Accept, Decline,
Accept & Call.
- Patient details are provided along with messages and alerts if a patient is associated
with it.
-
Patient Context
Provides the ability to access information about a patient to understand the real-time
situation of the patient. Patient context has the following features if a patient is
assigned to a user:
- Patient identification details, such as name, DOB, MRN, sex, room.
- Current status such as admit reason, fall risk score, and so on.
- Care team information to access additional patient details enabling a user to see and
communicate with specific members of the patient’s care team.
- Patient details can be attached to new conversations.
- Patient details get attached to a call made to a care team member.
- You can leave a conversation.
-
Flexible DND
Options available to select preset custom messages.
Fixed Issues
The following list contains fixes and improvements for firmware release and the V5000
product.
Fixed Issues in Release 5.1.3.36
- G5W-10412 Hotword feature was re-enabled without user input.
- G5W-10413 Urgent message enunciations did not interrupt normal calls and broadcast.
This issue is fixed now.
Fixed Issues in Release 5.1.3.35
- G5W-8797 Group member presence is displayed inaccurately.
- G5W-9498 The status of a new message in a conversation was marked read when the device
screen was switched off, the conversation was open, and a new message for that conversation was
received.
- G5W-9464 When Raise to Wake feature was enabled, incoming
messages automatically opened without user intervention.
- G5W-10173 Occasionally, when Vocera Smartbadge received alerts as it lost
connectivity, the alerts were not enunciated and subsequent alerts received were also not
enunciated until the Smartbadge was restarted.
Fixed Issues in Release 5.1.3
- G5W-4195 The Aruba quiet IE feature caused the radio to stop
transmitting. Disabling the Aruba Quiet IE feature worked around this
issue.
- G5W-5707 Choppy audio was observed when UAPSD was enabled on the Smartbadge, and UAPSD
was disabled in AP. If UAPSD was enabled or disabled on the Smartbadge, it needed to
be enabled or disabled on the Access Point also.
- G5W-6267 With WPA-PSK-SHA256, the Smartbadge sometimes was
unable to generate temporal keys in the four-way handshake. Workaround: On the Smartbadge, enable
authentication type as WPA-PSK or WPA-EAP and
enable Configure80211w 1 (optional). On the Access Point, set
Authentication and Key Management (AKM) as SHA2.
- G5W-7002 A USB-C digital headset did not get detected when handset mode was
enabled.
- G5W-7277 The chat screen did not open when the Smartbadge received a
text message during sleep even if the Raise to Wake option was
enabled.
- G5W-7510 Accept and decline options appeared on the alert details screen when the
alerts were accepted from the PIN timeout screen.
- G5W-7572 Pressing the call button did not initiate a call to the contact when the
voice message details screen was opened from a conversation call screen.
- G5W-8403 Users added to the favorite list offline could be deleted from the favorite
list and are displayed twice when added to the favorite list again.
- G5W-8705 The Smartbadge UI restarted
when the name of the patient was empty.
Fixed Issues in Release 5.1.1.51 [15.3]
There are no new fixes in this release.
Fixed Issues in Release 5.1.1.51
- G5W-5150 Selecting the Hold and Accept option on the screen
of an incoming call while a panic call is in progress terminates the panic call.
- G5W-5639 When a user comes out of the DND mode, the genie enunciates the missed
call information twice even when the user cancels the genie enunciation.
- G5W-5984 Intermittent unable to logout using the UI button.
- G5W-6149 Calling an inactive user from the call log displays the following error:
Voice service is unavailable.
- G5W-6177 / PFM-12804 When a user sends a voicemail to a group that they do not
belong to, the user gets a notification along with the receiver.
- G5W-6181
Smartbadge
notification tones repeatedly play when Vina client sends an image until the request times
out.
- G5W-6275 Alert escalating to tertiary level may not display the Accept option.
- G5W-6343 If a calling user has an apostrophe in their user ID, the UI crashes.
Fixed Issues in 5.1.0.321
- G5W-3253 When 80MHz or 40MHz channels enabled on the WLAN controller, the Smartbadge will
display the center frequency.
- G5W-4195 Aruba quiet IE feature causes the radio to stop transmitting. Disabling
the Aruba Quiet IE feature works around this issue.
- G5W-5707 Choppy audio is observed when UAPSD is enabled in the Smartbadge, and
UAPSD is disabled in AP.
Known Issues
The following section lists the known issues in this firmware release and the V5000 Smartbadge
product.
Known Issues in 5.1.3.36
As part of the resistance to dust and water ingress, the removable battery is a snug fit when
initially deployed with the Smartbadge. When
removing the battery after sliding the latch to the red position, it is recommended to apply a
little pressure in the direction of the USB-C socket to ease the removal of the battery.
The following list provides information about known product issues in the 5.1.3.36 firmware
and the Vocera Smartbadge:
- G5W-2809 LEAP Authentication may fail due to an incorrect size PMK.
- G5W-2987 When using 802.11r roaming, Smartbadge does
not support FT-Over DS roaming; it supports over-the-air roaming.
- G5W-2900 During an 802.1x association, the first attempt may fail due to a delay,
causing a second attempt, which is successful.
- G5W-3026 When using Cisco WLC 8.3, where both 802.11ac and 802.11n are disabled,
the Smartbadge
ping messages are not passed to the Vocera Voice server. This problem is resolved with
Cisco WLC 8.5.
- G5W-3566 When deploying the Vocera Smartbadge with a standalone AP in a test
environment, the Smartbadge may take several minutes to complete its DHCP transaction.
This problem does not occur in a Wireless LAN environment.
- G5W-5776 Several call log entries are displayed every time users decline the same
group call.
- G5W-5948 The Smartbadge does
not retain the DND mode after a reboot.
- G5W-7293 The IP address of the Voice Server cluster is displayed in the badge
settings even after clustering is disabled.
- G5W-7509 When a message play is canceled at the beginning, the urgent voice
message status is displayed as read.
- G5W-7526 Declined alerts are displayed on the Home screen even after the same
user re-logs in.
- G5W-7536 Alert does not expire if the alert was received on the PIN timeout
screen and accepted by a user.
- G5W-7555 The Genie screen appears for a few seconds when a user taps the view
button of a mass notification pop-up.
- G5W-7573 The Smartbadge User Interface sometimes restarts when a user logs out
and logs in to the Smartbadge consecutively.
- G5W-8002 Pressing the DND button during an alert enunciation declines the
alert.
- G5W-8082 System messages of coverage requests may not appear in sequence.
- G5W-8210 Inserting and removing the digital USB-C headset multiple times makes
the Smartbadge unresponsive. Workaround Remove and reinsert the battery to move out
of this state. This issue is not seen with the Vocera branded USB-C headset.
- G5W-8408 Keypad buttons in the directories do not respond sometimes.
- G5W-8450 In the Directory screen, tapping favorite
contacts do not display the contacts occasionally.
- G5W-8719 Unable to view patient information from the Directory or search results
if the patient's name is empty.
- G5W-10171 If the rasie-to-wake feature is enabled and a new text message is
received when an alert pop-up is already open on the screen, the automatically opened text
message is not marked as read.