Vo-Fi Vendor Vocera Scores Motorola Money

Motorola disclosed this week that it has made an equity stake in Vocera Communications, a maker of lightweight wireless handsets designed for use by mobile workers--especially those in environments such as health care, manufacturing, hospitality and retail--who benefit from hands-free communications.

Vocera's flagship technology, known as the Vocera Communication System, consists of a wearable badge that personnel can use to contact co-workers. The technology blends Wi-Fi, Voice over IP and speech-recognition technology to simplify and expedite collaboration among highly mobile workers within a campus environment.

Vocera said the investment would help the company extend the development of its existing technology platform to meet what the vendor described as the increasingly complex needs of its customers.Neither company revealed how much Motorola invested in Vocera.