Retail has emerged as the most active adopter of advanced indoor sensing (AIS), a diverse toolkit of capabilities and technologies that offers strong potential to drive topline increases, rather than cost-related reductions, Lux Research, provider of strategic advice and ongoing intelligence for emerging technologies, says.
“AIS will continue to remain hyped, especially as projections grow of devices connected by the Internet of Things (IoT),” Alex Herceg, Lux Research analyst and lead author of the report, titled “Advanced Indoor Sensing: The Next Frontier of the Built Environment,” said. “But AIS will succeed in the same way as the smartphone—by opening up robust sensor capabilities, building a versatile sensor platform, and by economies of scale.
“Large companies in real estate and facility management will begin to adopt AIS capabilities in the near term, but some others will also begin to address large untapped opportunities in health-care buildings, indoor wayfinding, movement tracking, occupant messaging, object location, and air-quality testing,” Herceg added.
Lux Research analysts developed a Blue Ocean strategy canvas to study the growth of AIS capabilities and applications. Among their findings:
- Presence detection has high promise. Among AIS technologies, there is no silver bullet, but some stand out. Presence detection and occupant messaging are clear winners. Both are inexpensive, easy to install, and deliver value. Other promising applications include indoor-air-quality testing, indoor wayfinding, and building automation, while object location and space-use analysis will struggle.
- Health care has the greatest potential. Among all AIS applications, health care leads in its potential to disrupt, with particular focus on indoor tracking of assets and people, according to a heat map by Lux Research. Hotels present opportunities for energy savings and adding guest comfort, while warehouses and storage can benefit from asset tracking.
- Other segments seen benefiting. AIS offers new opportunities to diverse companies, ranging from commercial hardware providers, such as building automation and control firms, to app builders and third-party financiers. Companies with operations expertise can benefit by building apps with high integrative value, such as presence detection, indoor wayfinding, and space-use analysis.
To view the report, click here.