Since 2019, the Hong Kong Government has been setting up initiatives to upgrade all of the approximately 240 public toilets in the city. This has also been extended to public toilets in commercial shopping malls. HK$600 million has been set aside for the refurbishment project with the aim to not only improve public hygiene for the local population, but also to align with the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign designed to reverse the detrimental effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on the local tourist industry and to bring tourists back to the city. With this in mind, the Government is aware that it must promote Hong Kong’s image as a sanitary city which is why the state of public toilets has been called into question. In order to make these upgrades to public toilets, it is inevitable that technological solutions will be called upon. Smart toilets are now becoming a popular option for authorities globally because they both help to maintain better toilet hygiene through automation while also mitigating the long-standing issue of manpower shortages in the cleaning industry through the cleaning-on-demand principal. At the heart of the smart toilet system are a variety of IoT sensors and in this blog, we will look at 4 reasons why sensors are so important for smart toilet systems.
Smart toilets operate using IoT sensors with Wi-Fi connectivity. This allows various real-time data to be sent to supervisors to see the state of the toilet. Cleaners can then be sent only when required, rather than on a fixed schedule, i.e. cleaning-on-demand. This means not only less manpower is needed, but also a more effective use of available manpower. The data gathered by the sensors ranges from detecting the ammonia level to as low as 0.1 ppm to indicate the level of cleanliness of a toilet, people counting using ultra-low power passive infrared (PIR) sensors to give an idea of footfall at a particular restroom, temperature, and usage level of consumables such as toilet roll and soap, among others. An alert system can also be set up to automatically alert facility managers should certain pre-set parameters be reached.
The data collected by the smart toilet IoT sensors is of course very valuable. Not only does it make managing multiple restrooms easier, the web-based platform also allows managers to plan resources more effectively, reduce waste and improve the overall customer experience.
There have sadly been fatal incidents in recent times in Hong Kong public toilets. One such incident in April this year saw a 58-year-old woman being found dead in the toilet of a public hospital after waiting more than 12 hours for treatment. This has prompted calls for IoT sensors, which are now readily available, to be placed in public toilets to detect falls and other usual incidents while users are alone.
GF Technovation’s non-contact vital signs monitoring sensor, for instance, uses Impulse Radio Ultra-Wide Band Radar Technology (IR-UWB RADAR) to detect body position, as well as heartbeat and breathing signals emitted by the human body. If there is an incident, a real-time alert is sent to the responsible person for immediate action. See the device in action below:
There is no doubt that the use of smart toilets and their IoT sensors improves the overall customer experience. There are better safety features, toilets are cleaned and consumables are replenished on demand and users can even see which stalls are empty and the approximate waiting time. All this results in improved hygiene for users, safer, more convenient facilities, and an overall better impression visitors have of the city.
As we can see, smart toilets with IoT sensors generate long-term benefits for all users and their deployment will certainly be useful in the Government’s campaign to upgrade Hong Kong’s public toilets. To learn more about GF Technovation’s smart toilet system, click here.
