

New Technology That Could Cut Public Restroom Wait Times - nairteashop
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2014/06/30/the-new-technology-that-could-cut-public-restroom-wait-times-by-50/

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stormbrew
So... that thing they've always done on airplanes?

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rogerbinns
The planes don't show which restrooms are free, just that one or more are.
I've been on a few flights where there are several people waiting, and no one
is sure which are occupied since you can't see around corners or into other
aisles.

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alexmarcy
I wasn't aware this was even something people worried about until I saw
someone else doing a low-tech version of it a while back...
[http://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2014/02/19/-reno-
inv...](http://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2014/02/19/-reno-inventor-
peep-no-more/5600733/)

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joncrocks
"New technology". You mean a light? Or a door slider?

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josephschmoe
To be fair, this falls very well into the "Internet of Things" category.
Imagine this scenario: You're at a convention and looking for a bathroom - but
the convention hall floor just closed and there's big lines everywhere. You
have to choose: A. Wait in line B. Look for a less occupied bathroom

With this, you could look at a map with simple %'s and see not only average
usage - but the exact occupation rate right now. You could then see that the
Hall A's restroom is only at 50% capacity and head over there.

A similar technology could be employed for seating and room occupancy as well,
telling you better break rooms or where all the crowds are. Wouldn't it be
awesome if you knew your coworker was in her cubicle, even if she wasn't on
the computer? Or if you're a building manager, you could note the number of
people who use certain restrooms, hallways and meeting rooms and adjust
accordingly to redirect traffic elsewhere.

Essentially, these sorts of things are what traffic engineers have been doing
for a long time - but applied to people instead of cars.

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bradddd
I can't wait for the cluster analysis generated quest to find the 3 archetypal
bathroom-user types.

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joezydeco
_" Tooshlights can also collect data on restrooms’ usage rates: for example, a
consistently green light in a sea of red may tip off the maintenance crew that
a loo is out of order or needs to be cleaned."_

This doesn't really clarify what happens with a stall that's out of order or
in an, ahem, "unusable" state. In fact it sounds more confusing because now
the person that was first wants to become first again and wait for another
usable stall to open...

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DrinkWater
Is that a troll post by Forbes? I am confused.

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jasonpeacock
Or just install cell-phone jammers in the restrooms...

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n0rm
Fixing lights on doors is new technology?

