Occuspace Expands Occupancy Monitoring to More Colleges and Universities

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 11/17/22

Occupancy technology company Occuspace has announced its expansion into several colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada to report real-time and historical space-usage data for campus buildings to anyone using their Waitz mobile app, especially useful to students seeking places to study, the company said.

In a survey done in October 2022, 85% of Occuspace customers reported using the data to gauge the use of their physical spaces. Vanderbilt University reported "an overwhelming positive response from students using the Waitz app to navigate busy times in the dining halls and libraries," said Mark Brown, director of business services technology at the university. In addition to Vanderbilt, Occuspace technology has recently been installed at Purdue, Columbia, UCLA, and several others. Read a case study of how UCLA uses Occuspace to manage traffic in 11 dining halls. To see the software in real-time action, visit the North Carolina State University page: How Busy is the Hill Library?

Occuspace at North Carolina State University

Occuspace data in action at North Carolina State University's Hill Library

Occuspace sensors are plugged into regular wall units and scan for bluetooth and WiFi signal activity in an area from laptops, cell phones, wearables, and other connected devices. Algorithms maintain 90% accuracy and account for those who may have several devices. Individuals are not tracked, the company said. The approximate annual cost for less than 5,000 square feet is $600. Cost is based on the number of sensors needed depending on square footage, with one sensor for every 2,500 to 5,000 square feet, based on layout. Read more about how the technology works and use the approximate cost calculator.

For more information, visit the Occuspace home page.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • Three cubes of noticeably increasing sizes are arranged in a straight row on a subtle abstract background

    A Sense of Scale

    Gardner Campbell explores the notion of scale in education and shares some of his own experience "playing with scale" — scaling up and/or scaling down — in an English course at VCU.

  • AI-inspired background pattern with geometric shapes and fine lines in muted blue and gray on a dark background

    IBM Releases Granite 3.0 Family of Advanced AI Models

    IBM has introduced its most advanced family of AI models to date, Granite 3.0, at its annual TechXchange event. The new models were developed to provide a combination of performance, flexibility, and autonomy that outperforms or matches similarly sized models from leading providers on a range of benchmarks.

  • minimalist bookcase filled with textbooks featuring vibrant, solid-colored spines with no text, and a prominent number "25" displayed on one of the shelves

    OpenStax Celebrates 25th Anniversary

    OpenStax is celebrating its 25th anniversary as 2024 comes to a close. The open educational resources initiative from Rice University has served almost 37 million students in 153 countries and saved students nearly $3 billion in course material costs since its launch in 1999.

  • a professional worker in business casual attire interacting with a large screen displaying a generative AI interface in a modern office

    Study: Generative AI Could Inhibit Critical Thinking

    A new study on how knowledge workers engage in critical thinking found that workers with higher confidence in generative AI technology tend to employ less critical thinking to AI-generated outputs than workers with higher confidence in personal skills.