We’re all more familiar with occupancy sensors than we might realize. Automatic lights, motion-triggered faucets, even paper towel dispensers — they’re all powered by the same type of sensing technology.
But when it comes to measuring workplace utilization, the concept can feel less intuitive. How can a small device installed on the ceiling accurately track how many people are in a meeting room, whether or not a seat is occupied by a human or a backpack, or how long a desk is actually in use?
That’s where modern workplace occupancy sensors, powered by AI and paired with powerful analytics capabilities, come in. In 2025, they’re no longer just motion detectors. They provide granular, anonymized data on how employees use office spaces, when, and for how long — turning activity into insights that help leaders right-size portfolios, reduce wasted space, and improve employee experience.
So, let's look at what occupancy sensors are, how they work, and why you need them.
Table of Contents
- What Are Occupancy Sensors?
- The Different Types of Occupancy Sensors
- How Occupancy Sensors Work
- How Optical Sensors Collect and Process Data
- Detecting Passive Occupancy
- Privacy and Security with Optical Sensors
- IoT Occupancy Sensors
- Occupancy Sensors + Analytics Platforms
- How VergeSense Can Help
- FAQ
What Are Occupancy Sensors?
Occupancy sensors are IoT devices that measure the presence and use of people and objects in a space. They can be ceiling-mounted, wall-mounted, or desk-mounted, and feed real-time data into workplace analytics platforms.
Teams use this data to:
- Understand employee habits and workspace usage (desks, rooms, collaboration areas)
- Improve building operations (HVAC, lighting) with demand-based controls
- Inform portfolio right-sizing and space planning decisions
Want benchmarks to compare against your own office data? The most recent Occupancy Intelligence Index analyzes 200M+ sq ft of workplace utilization worldwide, helping you see how your ratios stack up.
What Are the Different Types of Occupancy Sensors?
There are many different types of occupancy sensors, including Passive Infrared (PIR), Ultrasonic, Bluetooth Beacons, and Optical sensors. Each utilizes a different kind of technology to make sense of its surroundings.
Passive Infrared (PIR) Occupancy Sensors use infrared light to detect heat from a person walking past. These have a wide field of view and are often ceiling mounted. PIR Occupancy Sensors provide basic data on whether or not a space is vacant. They can also be used to control light and ventilation in an area.
Ultrasonic Sensors use the doppler effect to measure the length of time it takes high-frequency sound waves to travel between the sensor and an object in the room.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacons send out signals to devices nearby. BLE Beacons only work with those who have installed a specific app to ensure privacy for consumers.
Optical Sensors capture low-resolution images of a space. Optical sensors produce highly accurate data that can better inform planning, design & workplace automation.
Discover Infinity: VergeSense’s maintenance-free area sensor that helps you understand occupancy trends across desks, conference rooms, collaboration spaces, and more.
How Do Occupancy Sensors Work?
Occupancy sensors are a powerful tool in the workplace. And when choosing which sensor to use, you want to ensure that it is efficient, accurate, and preserves employee privacy. Let's take a closer look at each type of sensor to see which one might fit your needs.
Passive Infrared (PIR) Occupancy Sensors use infrared light to detect heat emitted from a person walking by. This ceiling-mounted occupancy sensor provides basic information—whether a person is in the area or not—and is unsuitable for getting an accurate headcount. But they work wonders in smaller spaces, such as at a desk, in a conference room, or in a doorway.
The PIR Desk Sensors are typically placed underneath a desk to track how often it is used. These sensors connect to the WiFi and send real-time information to your business's database. This is great for systems like hot-desking—the PIR Desk Sensors will tell you which desks are occupied and which are vacant. That way, your employees can be confident that reserving a desk at the office will be hassle-free.
Similarly, Door-counting Sensors are mounted to a door frame. These are best used in rooms with a single entry and exit point and can provide valuable information on how regularly a specific room, such as a conference room, is used. And, impressively, the latest models can track when each person enters and exits the room.
Many companies are using PIR Occupancy Sensors to stay on top of office cleaning operations. Let's say Bathroom A is closer to workstations while Bathroom B is tucked away in a back corner and rarely visited.
PIR Occupancy Sensors can inform the facilities management team that Bathroom A has been used X number of times and needs to be cleaned. At the same time, it can show that Bathroom B has yet to be used and is still clean. This saves the cleaning crew time and energy and, ultimately, the company money.
Ultrasonic Sensors use the doppler effect to determine whether a space is occupied. The sensor knows how long a sound wave should take to bounce off the room's walls and return to it. If the ultrasonic waves take the total time, the sensor knows no one is in the room. But if the waves return more quickly, the sensor knows they have hit an object present in the room—pretty remarkable technology.
Ultrasonic Sensors tend to be used for security purposes and can also be an alternative to PIR sensors in the workplace.
We are all very familiar with Bluetooth technology, as we send photos via AirDrop and listen to music with wireless headphones. But the technology used in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacons has greater energy efficiency than the original Bluetooth technology. That is because BLE Beacons transmit only a tiny amount of data over a short range.
BLE Beacons send a universally unique identifier to nearby devices with a compatible app. These sensors are great for helping companies create effective marketing plans and convert potential clients to active customers. It is important to note that BLE Beacons can only connect to devices that have downloaded a specific app—this ensures that consumer privacy is protected.
Optical Sensors are the most powerful devices for analyzing workplace occupancy. By leveraging computer vision technology that preserves anonymity, optical sensors can provide insight into person count, active occupancy and passive occupancy to truly understand how that space is used. Information gathered from optical sensors provides leadership teams with context—and that is invaluable insight when making significant decisions.
How Do Optical Sensors Collect Data and Understand Spaces?
Optical sensors generate low-resolution images of a space directly onto the device. That image is converted by AI technology into 0s and 1s. The image is promptly deleted and never sent elsewhere or stored in a database. Only the 0’s and 1’s are sent to a company’s processing systems.
Let’s say the optical sensors are integrated into your company’s desk booking platform. A zero indicates a desk is vacant, and a one means it is occupied.
Imagine that Derek booked a desk for the day, arrived at the office, dropped his stuff at that desk, and then joined a meeting in a conference room. Other sensors, such as PIR Desk Sensors, would note that Derek is no longer present at the desk and trigger the desk booking platform to mark it as vacant. Therefore, Leya is in for a frustrating surprise when she arrives at the office to find the desk she thought was empty to have Derek’s backpack.
This type of misunderstanding of a space does not happen with optical sensors.
Upgrade your workspace with the Infinity Area Sensor: install once, optimize forever.
How Do Optical Sensors Detect Passive Occupancy?
Passive occupancy is when a space is actually occupied even though a person is not present (i.e., Derek’s backpack at the desk). By taking low-resolution images of the area and using AI, optical sensors can see the backpack and will register the space as occupied.
According to VergeSense’s 2025 Workplace Occupancy & Utilization Index, nearly one-third of all desk time is passive occupancy.
How Do Optical Sensors Keep Information Anonymous and Protect Employee Privacy?
Optical sensors use edge-processing, low-resolution, and secure (ELS) technologye. IoT edge-processing means the data is used as close to the source as possible rather than transferred to a centralized database or processing system. Images generated by optical sensors are immediately converted to zeros and ones and then promptly deleted. They are never sent, stored, or retrieved. So, if you are wondering if optical sensors will violate your company's privacy policies, the answer is no.
Further, images are incredibly low-resolution. Other than the presence of a human or object-like shape, it is impossible to detect any specificity from them. Employee identities are entirely protected.
And lastly, most optical sensors and their associated platforms comply with GDPR CPIA, ISO/IEC 27001, and SOC2 Type II. This ensures that all information is encrypted and stored at one of the highest-security data centers. Data is also backed up daily and stored in multiple locations to assist with faster recovery. Employees can thus rest assured that the security of their information and identity is well-protected.
IoT Occupancy Sensors
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a fun name for all physical objects in your office that collect data and communicate it to your company's databases and systems via the internet. All occupancy and vacancy sensors—whether used to implement hot desking or track the number of people in a conference room—are IoT sensors.
Investing in smart building technology has significant ROI for your company. IoT sensors transform the efforts of your operations team. They provide leadership teams and company stakeholders with invaluable information to decide how to right-size the office. And IoT sensors increase energy savings, making your office space more sustainable and cost-efficient.
How Occupancy Sensors and Analytics Platforms Work Together
Occupancy sensors on their own provide raw signals: motion detected, seat occupied, room vacant. But the real power comes when those signals flow into an analytics platform. This is where tools like Meridian, VergeSense’s analytics layer, transform sensor data into actionable intelligence.
- Data unification: Sensors capture person count, active occupancy, and passive occupancy. Meridian unifies these inputs with other systems like Wi-Fi, badging, and data from booking platforms to give a holistic view of workplace use.
- Contextual insights: Instead of just knowing a desk was “occupied,” the platform distinguishes between active use (someone sitting there) and passive use (a laptop or bag). This distinction is critical — the 2025 Workplace Occupancy & Utilization Index found nearly one-third of desk time is passive occupancy.
AI-powered predictions: With tools like Predictive Planning, leaders can simulate headcount changes, hybrid policy shifts, or peak squeeze scenarios. That means you’re not just looking backward at how space was used — you’re modeling the future.
Sensors tell you what’s happening now, while analytics and AI help you decide what to do next.
That combination is what transforms occupancy data into true Occupancy Intelligence — empowering leaders to cut wasted space, optimize portfolios, and improve employee experience with confidence.
How VergeSense Can Help
Are you interested in speaking with a workplace expert to help determine which occupancy sensors might be the right fit for your needs?
VergeSense is the Workplace AI company powering the era of Occupancy and Decision Intelligence. Our platform, Meridian, unifies every occupancy signal—sensor, badge, Wi-Fi, and booking data—into a single AI-powered system that helps workplace, real estate, and facilities teams measure what’s happening today and plan what comes next.
Next step: Explore Predictive Planning, powered by Meridian or see the latest Occupancy Intelligence Index to ground your workplace strategy in real-world benchmarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate are occupancy sensors?
Accuracy depends on the type of sensor. Basic PIR sensors can detect presence but not headcount. Optical sensors with AI, like the VergeSense Infinity Area Sensor, can distinguish between people and objects, detect passive occupancy, and deliver high-confidence utilization data. The Infinity Area Sensor measures occupancy with up to 95% accuracy.