Facilities managers can use air quality sensors to detect vaping in restrooms and other areas in which video cameras can’t be used, says a video systems company that has released a sensor product.
“Sensors are ideal for monitoring sensitive areas … such as restrooms, locker rooms, health care facilities and secure storage areas,” Eagle Eye Networks says in an announcement.
The company touts the sensors as especially suitable for schools, where vaping isn’t allowed.
The “sensors help school officials address vaping by detecting, alerting and providing … information about incidents while maintaining privacy,” the company says.
The sensors integrate with the company’s flagship product, a cloud-based video management system. By combining the information provided by the sensors with information provided by video cameras outside of sensitive areas, officials can gain a more complete picture of unauthorized activity to determine if action is necessary, the company says.
If a “sensor detects vape smoke in a school locker room, the system automatically triggers an alert,” the company says. “School authorities verify the event and gain additional information from security cameras located in hallways or outside of the locker room.”
The sensors can be used in other contexts, the company says. They can track noise, temperature, humidity, and other factors that can impact indoor air quality, like volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and smoke. Other types of sensors can detect the presence of water, which can aid in detecting leaks, and whether doors are being left open. Alerting managers to open doors can help reduce energy use, especially in climate controlled locations like server rooms.
Mike Intag, managing partner at Gardient, a systems integration company, says he’s introducing the sensors to schools to help them control vaping, a “longstanding challenge in K-12 settings.” The sensors will also be used to monitor temperature, humidity and door use. “This advances our offering [to school clients] beyond security,” he said.
