VCU Space Strategy and Planning Pilot Program
Understanding how VCU uses academic, administrative and research spaces is critical to support our mission, aid in capital planning, make strategic decisions about space, and be good stewards of university resources. Optimally using university space also supports a dynamic and collaborative work environment, provides areas for confidential conversations, and inspires innovation.
To help enhance our space data collection and understand occupancy trends, VCU will implement the Space Strategy and Planning Pilot Program.
The Space Strategy and Planning Pilot Program consists of installing Occupancy sensors in strategically chosen academic, administrative and research on campus. The sensors anonymously scan for bluetooth and Wi-Fi signal activity within a given area and pick up laptops, cell phones, wearables (e.g., smart watch), and other connected devices. They then use machine learning algorithms to estimate the number of people within the area. This information will help VCU understand total foot traffic, how many people are in a space, and time spent within a given space and time.
The sensors do not show who is in the space but rather indicate the number of people in a space with 95% accuracy. The occupancy information is collected for the floor, not individuals or individual offices, classrooms, or workspaces.
VCU prioritizes data security and complies with all established university policies and guidelines. The privacy-first Occuspace sensors do not collect any personal information. You can read Occuspace’s privacy policy here.
This pilot program will help supplement the space utilization data collected for each space in VCU-owned buildings on the Monroe Park and MCV campuses via the annual space survey.
Sensor locations
The Occuspace sensors are installed in three buildings on the Monroe Park Campus. These locations were strategically chosen not only to evaluate space utilization, but more importantly, to explore how the university can reimagine the future design and functionality of our academic, administrative, and research spaces. Higher education institutions around the country have been successful in leveraging the Occuspace technology for similar purposes.
|
Building name and floor |
Occupant |
|
Hibbs Hall, second, third, and fourth floors |
College of Humanities and Sciences |
|
Oliver Hall Physical Sciences Wing, second and third floors |
College of Humanities and Sciences |
|
T. Edward Temple Building, third and fourth floors |
College of Humanities and Sciences |
Timeline
The Occuspace sensors were installed in the spaces referenced above in early April 2025 and will remain in place until summer 2026. After this time, VCU Space Management will work closely with university leaders to analyze the occupancy information, determine whether the information gathered yields valuable insight into understanding occupancy trends, and decide if it should be implemented in other VCU-owned buildings.
What information is Occuspace designed to gather?
The Occuspace sensors gather modeled estimations of the current number of people in their spaces based upon the total bluetooth and Wi-Fi signal activity observed at any given moment within a given area in spaces that are at least 1,500 square feet or larger. It does not report specific seats or individual office occupancy.
The Occuspace algorithms also consider the presence of multiple electronic devices per person by analyzing physical location and activity.
How does Occuspace gather information?
Occuspace sensors detect Bluetooth Low Energy and WiFi signal activity in an area from the presence of laptops, cell phones, wearables, and other devices in the vicinity and send summary information to Occuspace's cloud for data processing.
Do the sensors gather any personal information?
No, Occuspace has strong privacy principles and does not collect any personal information of any kind. Learn more about Occuspace’s privacy policy here.
Will the sensors “see” me? How does it detect an individual?
The sensors cannot “see” or track individuals; they simply identify the presence of radio signal activity. The collected signal data is analyzed by proprietary machine learning algorithms using extensive training data gathered over years by Occuspace. These models translate more than 20 unique attributes into estimated counts of people relative to the number and positions of people and radio signals in a space, deduplicating to represent counts of people.
Where will sensors be placed in the identified spaces?
The sensors are located in offices (both individual and open office areas), research labs and conference rooms. Each floor is grouped into zones with multiple sensors, which read approximately 300 square feet around them. Sensors do not gather data for individual spaces.
Do other higher-education institutions use this technology to measure occupancy?
Yes, Occuspace also works with a number of higher-education institutions across the country, which are listed on their website. Institutions include, but are not limited to, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State University, Northwestern, Oregon State, Stanford, University of California San Diego, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Virginia.
Who will have access to the occupancy information?
The data will only be provided to space administrators and university leaders who are involved in space planning and utilization. The information will not be used to track attendance or infer identities of occupants.
How and why did VCU select Occuspace?
VCU decided to use the Occuspace sensors because they meet the security and infrastructure requirements set by VCU Technology Services and provide the ability for Occuspace to reset the sensors and move them to other locations, upon request by VCU.
If sensors will be placed in spaces I use, will I be notified?
Yes, VCU faculty and staff in spaces where the sensors will be placed were notified in advance.
How were the spaces in the VCU pilot chosen?
The spaces were identified by the university to gain a better understanding of the current space utilization and leverage this data as a programming exercise to right-size current space planning efforts and forecast future renovations and capital projects.
A total of 45 sensors are installed in Hibbs Hall, second, third, and fourth floors, Oliver Hall Physical Sciences Wing, second and third floors, and the T. Edward Temple Building, third and fourth floors.