A new way to gather data is afoot.
Retail spaces, office buildings and nursing homes are beginning to incorporate floor sensors in order to track movements and glean information about consumer and resident habits.
When it comes to retail, the sensors give brick-and-mortar stores a massive advantage by providing new intel into the movements of their customers, the Associated Press reports.
In order to determine levels of interest and engagement as well as appropriate follow-up actions, Milwaukee-based startup Scanalytics developed floor sensors to track customer foot compressions and gather analytics on information. That info includes the length of time a person views a display, how often they shop in the store and which aisles and shelves are being visited the most. Using data that is collected over a certain period of time, the sensors eventually inform retailers when they should send a coupon to the customer, or when it is time to change the display.
Office and nursing home users can track footprints to determine the amount of energy being used and subsequently reduce cost, as well as alert nurses if a resident in a nursing home falls.
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