SensFloor could improve your bottom line in the midst of a pandemic.

Majority of the world is currently at home either in lockdown, forced quarantine, self-isolation or adhering to a curfew and social distancing. The everyday activities that we have always taken for granted have been taken away from us, and even though we know this will pass, it doesn't make living in isolation any easier when our very bones desire company and companionship.

People want to be seen, communicate, connect and celebrate life together

However, people also understand that our current sacrifices are to help those who are in a much more vulnerable situation than most of us, our healthcare and essential workers are still out there, saving lives and making sure the world still functions. In reality, we aren't that hard off sitting at home in a time where there are countless forms of digital entertainment, classes, books and music to keep us busy. We should ultimately feel grateful that we have had and will have the opportunity to step outside again.

In a previous article we spoke about SensFloor? Activity and the benefits it could provide for retail stores before, during and after a pandemic, we also discussed the realities we need to consider when the world returns to normal post-COVID-19. That our version of normal might drastically change once the curve is flattened.

"Normal" for Dubai is to be one of the top choices for travel in the world be it for shopping, travel, events or tourism.

But those are also some of the industries that have been hit the hardest since COVID-19

SensFloor? Activity - Tourism, during COVID-19

The effect of a pandemic on the tourism industry is hard to ignore and if self-isolation is the cure to flatten the curve, what does that mean for activities that generate crowds and general 'closeness' such as events, trade shows and conferences?

Dubai is a beacon of attraction to people from all over the world, whether, for business or leisure, people flock in and out. In 2018 Dubai was crowned as the busiest airport for international travel with nearly 90 million passengers throughout 2018 (Gulf News, 2019)

Imagine how beneficial a smart floor could have been during times of social distancing.

From general crowd control and overview to enforcing social distancing rules by controlling the number of people allowed to enter per region of a hotel, museum or any other high-density venue.

SensFloor? Activity can do all that and more, let's dive a little deeper into the benefits for those areas of tourism...

SensFloor? Activity - Travel, during COVID-19

During a pandemic one of the first industries to take a knock would be the travel industry, as governments shut down their borders, put a stop to inbound flights and limited the number of people permitted to leave their homes or use any form of public transportation.

Had SensFloor? Activity been installed in public platforms such as airport terminals, metro stations and bus stops prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 it could have been used by facility managers, governments and law enforcers to ensure the safety of the public by managing crowd control.

All it takes if for a glance at a monitor either remotely or on-site and the viewer would be able to see the entire public space that has been equipped with SensFloor?.

The Floor could be programmed to limit the number of people on either the platforms or in elevators by being integrated into the control gates or by not moving the elevator until the socially acceptable amount of people are inside the elevator.

SensFloor? could have issued an alert displayed on the handle of luggage carts when two carts are two close to one another or it could have controlled the space between people in the queue towards or from baggage claim or immigration by automatically switching on lights or opening automated doors to indicate whether it is safe for a person to proceed.

SensFloor? Activity could allow for complete control of public spaces.

SensFloor? Activity - Malls and public spaces, during COVID-19

The benefits of SensFloor? Activity is not only limited to the retail spaces within a store. The same benefits can be applied on a larger scale as well such as Shopping Malls, shopping centres and other public spaces such as banks, museums and libraries.

During times of COVID-19 SensFloor? could have aided with control to maintain the correct number of people within elevators, stores, pathways and the like.

As an example, an ATM could only function if there was enough space between customers in the queue to use it, not only minimising the risk of infection but minimising the chance of the person behind you being able to view your private account balances from over your shoulder.

SensFloor? could control automated doorways and prevent them from opening in the room was too crowded at the time and only allow guests in once some have moved to a different region of the mall, this would prevent the entrances and exits being too dense.

SensFloor? also registers idle time, if the floor recoded the time people spent in front of each section of your museum you could quickly analyse that data to see whether you have multiple displays within the same region that tend to draw a crowd and then perhaps you could adjust the display to liven up any potential dead zones thus spreading the crowd and minimising congestion.

SensFloor? could also control any interactive features of any of the advertising, warnings or general interactive displays within malls, museums or any other large public spaces. This could warn the public of any health risks or entice them to visit another region of your attraction as an example, if the floor registers that there are too many people in a region of the mall, maybe people are crowded near a fashion outlet with a sale, an interactive display could light up and remind the people of an alternative sale in an attempt to separate the crowd and lower the infection risk.

As a safety manager, you could monitor the habits of the people who are visiting your venue, and analyse their movements throughout the layout and determine which areas need to be changed, noticing where people tend to gather and use this data to make changes to help you avoid crowds. SensFloor? could even notify security whenever there is a crowd in a certain section of the mall, thus allowing security to disperse the crowd.

SensFloor? Activity - usually used for; before COVID-19

There are other features of SensFloor? that are more relevant while the world is not in the middle of a pandemic, and though it would be great for people to maintain the appropriate social distance there are many other reasons SensFloor can be a benefit to public spaces.

The idle feature is a great addition for you to ensure that every region of your space is drawing attention, you can use this data to see if customers spend time in front of any of your attractions or whether they are going unnoticed. The same feature can be used to ensure your staff are actively spending time with your guests and not spending an abnormally extended period of time within a storeroom.

In addition, the idle feature of SensFloor? Activity could be used to identify anyone who might be at risk, perhaps a customer has entered a washroom and has not left, or perhaps someone has fallen and needs assistance. SensFloor could send your staff a warning allowing a staff member to investigate.

SensFloor? triggering interactive displays could have multiple uses as well as an example, in an amusement park, it could entice them to visit another region of your attraction as well as triggering the display as a person approaches it to advertises a fast pass ticket upgrade price, to try to catch their attention while in a queue.

Unlike camera systems, SensFloor? is 100% data protection compliant, as no personal data is captured or stored.

Reference

Gulf News, Dubai International once again crowned world's busiest airport for global traffic: Airports Council International, (2019) https://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/dubai-international-once-again-crowned-worlds-busiest-airport-for-global-traffic-airports-council-international-1.1552478214397

Image Copywrite and some data sources: https://future-shape.com/en/