The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming an increasingly growing topic of conversation in our personal lives and in the workplace. At its core, IoT is about connecting devices over the Internet, letting them talk to us, our apps, and each other. What if your smartphone could tell you when and where in the workplace you were most productive? What if it shared that information with the companion devices of your colleagues? What if an organization was seeking to discover where, when and how space is being used to uncover potential growth space, reduce costs and improve the workplace environment?
At a high level, this type of workplace utilization system could collect valuable occupancy and movement information on how people are using office space in real time by deploying IoT technology like radio frequency sensor technology in an anonymous and non-intrusive way. Or data could be collected using a companion device such as a smartphone, which is equipped with sensors able to capture information such as location (GPS), speed of movement (accelerometer) and light sensors measuring the brightness of the ambient light. Collectively, these sensors would produce a huge amount of data, both in unstructured form like pictures, as well as structured, such as location and movement. This data could tell you where and when you and your colleagues work most effectively. It could be interpreted to provide insights into improving the effectiveness of the workplace, its design, its collaborative and private space utilization.