“The next time a company accountant is tallying up operational expenses for their office buildings there could be several new items on the list: sensors, ultraviolet lights and maybe even plants with algorithms,” according to a new article on CNBC.com:
- Elevator manufacturer Otis has deployed cab air purifiers to keep elevators well ventilated, as well as mobile apps to summon elevators to a floor in order to avoid touching buttons. This all fits in with Otis’ investments in the internet of things for monitoring elevator use and maintenance.
- Density, a San Francisco start-up, rolls out sensors in a building that detect human movement through infrared laser lights. It generates 3D images of people and objects at entrance ways and open floor plans to analyze how these spaces are being used.
- Swiss start-up Oxygen at Work provides offices with tropical plants and accompanying sensors to track air quality and humidity, with data analytics to make sense of that information.
The companies cited in the article say that sales have spiked during the pandemic and the efforts to reopen.