Butlr Launches Smart Cleaning Technology for Commercial Offices

• Thermal-based sensor technology for the workplace provides anonymous insights into human actions to optimize offices for productivity and comfort.
• New module for restroom maintenance and cleanliness can save $1400 per restroom annually.
• Wakefield Research survey by Butlr finds 66% of facilities managers clean all areas with the same frequency regardless of use and need.

BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Butlr, a leader in physical AI (PAI) technology, today announced the launch of its Smart Cleaning module providing facilities management professionals with granular, anonymized usage data to ensure cleanliness and cost savings.

An MIT spinout, Butlr combines thermal body heat sensing technology and machine learning to infer human behavior without the use of cameras or other methods that compromise anonymity. The new Smart Cleaning module, part of Butlr’s spatial intelligence platform, is built specifically to reduce unnecessary costs of restroom cleaning without compromising cleanliness or safety.

Butlr’s thermal sensors easily mount to a wall or ceiling outside the restroom to capture foot traffic and occupancy data. The new Smart Cleaning module provides a deeper level of insight based on bathroom door swings. Inside the restroom, an optional touch module enables facilities staff to confirm cleanings are complete. The data feeds directly into the Butlr dashboard, providing a closed loop system that directs facilities teams where to focus their efforts. This is a more efficient use of staff and resources compared to fixed schedules that do not align with the needs of building occupants.

Butlr data also provides facility managers with the ability to identify trends that lead to cost savings through optimized cleaning and maintenance staff scheduling, lower supply expenses, and overall building efficiency.

Providing an easy entry point for optimizing facilities management through the Smart Cleaning module for restrooms, Butlr customers report an average cost savings of $1400 per restroom per year based on their ability to capture these insights.

“Restroom maintenance has always been challenging due to privacy concerns. As a result, facilities staff clean spaces that don’t need it and inadvertently overlook those that do. Our Smart Cleaning technology solution solves this challenge,” said Honghao Deng, CEO and co-founder, Butlr. “Butlr enables decision makers to know exactly how space is used so they can replace assumption-based decision making with verified data for immediate and measurable cost savings.”

Butlr’s new Smart Cleaning solution reflects the needs of today’s facilities managers responsible for workplaces. A recent Wakefield Research survey revealed 24% of unoccupied office space continues to be heated and cooled and 66% of facility managers clean all areas with the same frequency due to a reliance on fixed maintenance schedules. Yet 60% of those decision makers surveyed believe better data on cleaning costs could yield measurable savings.

The Butlr Smart Cleaning module is available now.

About Butlr

Butlr is an MIT Media Lab spinout that fuses artificial intelligence with body heat sensing technology to build patented sensors and an anonymous people-sensing platform. Using thermal insights, Butlr sensor technology understands subtle movements in a space, accurately discerns activity, occupancy, indoor location, and body posture yet is purposely designed to be incapable of capturing personally identifiable information. Butlr spatial insights are used by some of the world's largest companies in hospitality, senior living, health care, commercial real estate, retail, and public transportation to inform decisions regarding space occupancy and utilization, user experiences, patient safety, compliance, staffing, and ensuring buildings are operating with high efficiency and sustainability. For more information, visit www.butlr.com.