AI sensor system could help improve workplace concentration

Open plan, hot desk offices have become increasingly popular in recent years.

But whilst they may represent an efficient use of space and be useful for encouraging collaboration and teamwork, they can be noisy, distracting and uncomfortable places to work.

In an effort to help employers understand how to get the best out of staff working in such an environment, computer scientists from RMIT University in Australia and engineers from Arup have developed an AI-enabled sensor system for measuring staff comfort and concentration.

For the project the RMIT team worked with psychologists to identify several key variables for workplace concentration and comfort levels in work environments. These included noise levels, indoor temperature and air quality, humidity, air pressure, and even electromagnetic fields.

The group then joined forces with engineering consultancy Arup to develop a sensor-based system for measuring these variables and combining that information with survey data to train algorithms that could identify patterns in perceived concentration and activity.