POINT.X is a Kalipso distributor based in the Czech Republic, an experienced provider of AutoID and mobile solutions for businesses and government organizations. They have previously worked with Astratex, the largest online store for women’s underwear, lingerie, and bathing suits in the country. You can also read this case study here.
COMINFO offers a wide range of products, solutions, and services for secure and smart access to corporate offices, airports, government institutions, and manufacturing plants – to name a few. COMINFO products can control nearly all entrances simply and efficiently.
According to Michal Herstus, head of POINT.X, COMINFO has been a hardware customer for a long time. Last year, COMINFO decided to go back to the Android system and invest even more in mobile access systems in its overall solution. They lacked experience developing mobile apps for Android, so they asked POINT.X to build both applications.
The first application is for access control and voucher processing for products such as beverages (beer, soda) in stadiums and other sports/cultural events. The other app is a mobile entry point to control people entering or leaving the controlled area like in a factory, construction area, etc. The first app has been used by customers for approximately five months, while the second is in the testing phase.
These projects involve a lot of technology that is only possible in Kalipso v5. “The apps are running on Coppernic hardware. We are using external APK for implementing RFID reading. Apps also frequently use JSON and WebServices (HTTP Request)”, explain Michal.
For the person in charge of POINT.X, there was no doubt. “Kalipso was immediately our first choice. The advantages for us were clear. We’ve been developing on Kalipso since version 3.6, so we have a lot of experience and skilled developers on our team. Also, the development performance is higher compared to Android/Java, so it was a logical choice for us.
There was also a winning argument for COMINFO. The fact that they can buy the SDK later and continue the work on their own. “This probably won’t happen, but it gives them an additional guarantee in case something happens to POINT.X“, adds Michal.
POINT.X has added a brand (Coppernic) that Kalipso doesn’t natively support and tells us about the experience. “You need a qualified Android developer to write the APK and design your API. Then using it within Kalipso is quite easy. I just have a comment or wish for the future. It would be beneficial to have the possibility of remote debugging for Android devices. The application with an APK extension cannot be tested in a simulator and this fact slows down the development and makes it a little more complicated”, concludes Michal.