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Operations tech leader Samsara has unveiled a host of new hardware and tools aimed at making fleet management more intelligent than ever, as well as boosting driver efficiency and safety.At its Samsara Beyond 2026 event in Las Vegas, the company revealed its new 360 camera, designed specifically for heavy equipment and operations usage, making it easy to navigate around crowded sites and factories.It also revealed an expansion to its dash cam platform which will now include two-way voice capabilities, allowing dispatchers or even AI agents to communicate easily with workers in the field.Smarter camerasSamsara says its new device is the first 360-degree camera built for operated equipment, and looks to address one of the most annoying pain points for workers everywhere.On crowded sites, depots or factories, navigating huge and heavy equipment or delivery trucks can often be incredibly tricky, leading to possible safety risks and dangers for workers. However the new camera can now provide a full 360-degree view from a single mount point, including the ability to pan and zoom even in harsh weather conditions, giving insight to any risks in real-time, and allowing safety managers to track incidents in detail.(Image credit: Samsara)Samsara also revealed new AI multicam capabilities which can provide a worker with a birds eye view, looking top-down on their immediate situation, allowing them to spot any tight situations, or avoid collisions with people or equipment, vital for vehicles like school buses, garbage trucks, yellow iron, and box trucks.Elsewhere, new Rear Collision Warning and Vehicle in Blind Spot Detection tools will provide dynamic audio and visual alerts when a driver is reversing or changing lanes, in real time.And to give an extra oversight to dispatchers and bosses, the company has added two-way voice communication through its dash cam, meaning AI and human co-workers can stay in contact whenever needed.Say a driver has forgotten a vital piece of kit for a job site, or needs to detour to another depot to pick up additional hardware - the dispatcher can now call them directly, without the driver being distracted by engaging with a smartphone, or worrying about poor reception in remote areas. The system can also deliver AI alerts such as changing weather conditions, a lower speed limit, or parking restrictions at a site.“By combining the power to see everything with the automation to act on it, we are shifting into the next gear on safety,” said Johan Land, Chief Product Officer at Samsara. “The 360 Camera brings first-to-market visibility to operated equipment, AI Multicam gives road fleet drivers sharper awareness of what surrounds them, and two-way voice means the AI can respond the moment a question arises. Millions of frontline workers show up every day to keep our world running, and we are fully committed to helping get every one of them home safely.”

Families are right to be angry about devastating care failures in Nottingham. Ministers must respond fastThe painful familiarity of key themes in Donna Ockenden’s review of maternity care failures must not detract from the urgency around this issue. The 400-page report published on Wednesday is a shocking catalogue of what went wrong at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust. Its contents range from a excruciating case study of the errors leading to the death of baby Harriet Hawkins in 2016 – and the cover-up that followed – to trust-wide problems with staffing, culture and leadership. It also highlights flaws in the wider NHS, citing the finding of the 2022 Messenger review that political pressure can lead bosses “to look upwards to furnish the needs of the hierarchy rather than downwards to the needs of the service-user”.Given its around 100 action points, implementation is a daunting prospect. Next week, Valerie Amos will add to these, and the more than 700 recommendations of earlier reports, with her own investigation of maternity care in England. Wes Streeting had pledged to chair a new taskforce and his resignation as health secretary alarmed campaigners. Whoever ends up in charge, a commitment to maternity care improvement must be non-negotiable, and firmly grounded in practicalities. The review points to a damaging split between strategy and operations in Nottingham. NHS England must avoid replicating this. Continue reading...