Which answers can you find here

• How does Mapiq know the availability of desks?
• How are the sensors working?
• How can I see which desks are available when I'm not in Mapiq?;
• How can you find a quiet place to work? 

This article is relevant to:

If you have the following interface(s):

• Mapiq web interface
• Don't know which interface you have? Check out this article.

If you have the following solutions: 

• Workplaces - when zooming in do you see workplace availability (green check marks and red crosses)? 
• Don't know which solution you have? Check out this article.

Important notice: 

Because Mapiq is custom made to fit your situation best, some parts of this page can not be 1 on 1 applicable to situation. Therefore this article gives you basic instructions and generalized information but can differ from the actual situation.

The article

Technology behind desk Availability (optional)

Mapiq can visualize the availability of workplaces, to help you not only find the right place to work, but one that is available. This will make sure you don't have to wonder around at the office spending loads of time searching for a place to work . Visualizing the availability per desk is achieved in two ways in the Mapiq platform.

Using PIR (passive infrared sensors) at desks: 

A PIR sensor is basically a motion detection sensor. At a workplace the sensor is placed underneath a desk and it will detect movement underneath the desk. When movement is detected it will see that the desk is occupied and Mapiq will visualize the desk as occupied. When no movement for (x minutes) is detected, Mapiq the desk  will switch to available. In this case two types of states are visualized: 

- Available (green) 

- Occupied (red) 

In this situation four workplaces are shown. Two are available and two are occupied at the moment. 

NOTE: when you are working on a standing desk, or work without moving a lot, it is possible the sensor doesn't detect you any more and will make the desk available again. 

Using Capacitive sensors

Capacitive sensors are working on another basis. It basically detects if a person is present (anonymously) at a desk. It uses comparable technology as you touchscreen of your phone. The availability will be shown in the same states as the PIR sensors, with one exception, the Orange state. The orange state means that your colleague is temporary not at his/her desk. 

- Available (green) 

- Orange (temporary not at desk)

- Occupied (red) 

So in the case above there is one desk temporary  not occupied (left), one is occupied (in the middle) and one desk is free (right).  

Another difference with PIR sensors is that besides the visualization in Mapiq, the sensor itself contains a small LED light that shows the current state  of the desk. So, when you are searching for a desk on a floor, you can easily see which desk are free, occupied or temporary not at the desk. The release- button let's you make the desk available for your colleagues immediately. 

Availability per area

Mapiq can also provide the occupancy per area. In this case this is accomplished via the Wi-Fi network in the building. It can detect the amount of devices in an area, which Mapiq can (anonymously) visualize in a heatmap. As shown in the example below, you can see the occupancy on the 4th floor with. You can also see the Icons that represent the work spaces, so you can quickly find a free spot. 

In this case you can sit quietly in the areas on the left en right side of the building.