Space Planning Live Density Program

In 2018, the project team initiated a Request for Information (RFI) process and assessed various live-density solutions. The team evaluated the value and cost of several platforms and selected Occuspace for a pilot program.

UC San Diego initiated pilot trials for the live density program in high-traffic, public-serving spaces like Geisel Library, RIMAC and dining facilities. Within this initiative, students and community members can utilize the UC San Diego mobile app and the vendor’s site to gauge waiting times while scheduling their trips to libraries, dining options and fitness centers, enhancing the experience for our faculty, students, and staff.

Currently, the university is studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work culture, which has led many departments to embrace flexible work arrangements. Space managers use density data to gain insights into space utilization and make informed and equitable decisions regarding its optimal use going forward.

The Live Density Program is a component of the overall space management framework. UC San Diego space managers and stakeholders use multiple qualitative and quantitative analyses to make informed recommendations about space allocations. For example, UC San Diego uses several standard methods in a university setting to gather data, including badge swipes, visual observations, surveys, Wi-Fi and network analysis, threshold sensor and parking sensors.

Following a temporary installation pause in summer 2023, an Occuspace Live Density Program Expansion and Implementation Workgroup was chartered to oversee the implementation of the Occuspace Live Density expansion within UC San Diego. The Live Density Program aims to improve access to space utilization information for space planning and stakeholders to optimize space utilization, improve efficiency and enhance the overall experience of our physical work environment.

The Occuspace Live Density Program collects occupancy data for entire building floors or clusters of spaces rather than individual offices or cubicles. Sensors are spaced at intervals of approximately 3,000 square feet. The data gathered is combined at the floor level to calculate density in relation to the number of available seats over a given period.

Student employees manually count people in all supported spaces to help the system learn how to estimate crowd sizes accurately. This approach allows the system to account for those without smartphones, tablets or wireless devices or devices with inactive Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. Occuspace sensors then use these counts and active Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals to estimate how many people are present, mixing technology and manual checks for reliable numbers. The sensors detect Bluetooth and Wi-Fi device signals to calculate room occupancy, capturing specifics like the device's unique identifier (MAC address), detection time and signal strength. As the MAC address can uniquely identify a device and potentially a person, it is immediately substituted with a random number known as a hash value. The sensor temporarily stores only this anonymized number.

Occuspace algorithms consider the presence of multiple devices per individual by analyzing over 20 distinct variables. This analysis includes factors, such as the proximity of anonymous devices to each other and whether these devices are moving in unison or independently.

Live density sensors use the campus wireless device network through a dedicated virtual local area network (VLAN). This network is segregated from all other wireless networks to safeguard users' genuine and hashed MAC addresses. The sensors transmit approximately one kilobyte of data at any given moment, which has no measurable impact on network bandwidth.

Security

UC San Diego prioritizes data security and complies with all established university policies and protocols. You can find further details regarding Occuspace's privacy and security information for details:

• Occuspace Privacy and Security
• Occuspace Privacy and Permissions Management

Individuals can decline participation in this or other Wi-Fi-enabled programs by deactivating their devices' Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. It's important to note that turning off these connections will limit access to certain university resources.

Accuracy

Although the sensors would not show who is in a building, they can provide high confidence in the number of people—it can estimate the number of people with over 90% accuracy. The Occuspace Live Density Program collects occupancy information for the floor of a building, not for individual offices or cubicles.

The university uses this technology to manage space efficiently and will not use the data for any purposes other than space management and planning. Furthermore, the data will not be used to infer individuals' identities or to track attendance.

UC San Diego will not provide the data to third parties (unless required by law or university policy). See UC San Diego's Live Density Program – Guideline and Use Protocol.

The occupancy information is only available to space administrators and campus leaders involved in space planning.

The live occupancy information related to public realm spaces is published—students and community members can use the UC San Diego mobile app and the vendor’s site to assess wait times as they plan their visits to libraries, dining halls and gyms, providing a better experience for our faculty, students and staff.

Unused Spaces

One of the primary objectives of the Occuspace Live Density Program and other initiatives related to campus space management and planning is to improve understanding of how space is utilized, ensuring that campus spaces are allocated equitably and used optimally, now and in the future. Discussions about future plans will be held at the department and school levels and within each vice chancellor area.

In 2018, UC San Diego implemented a Live Density Program in more than 50 campus buildings. In fall 2023, a program expansion proposed to cover most administrative, academic and research spaces, but excludes clinical areas, student residences and other facilities.

Note: Planned installation dates are subject to change.

See a district map.

The project team, comprised of stakeholders from Operations Management and Capital Programs and Information Technology Services, oversees Occuspace's installation and integration of live density sensors. The Occuspace Live Density Program Expansion and Implementation Workgroup with academic and administrative representation from different vice chancellor areas will oversee implementation of the Occuspace Live Density expansion.

If you have questions about live density information access or reporting, email omcp@ucsd.edu.

For access to the Facilities Activity Hub Protected Views (Live Density Information) and reports, submit a request. (Access requires approval from your department head or dean’s office.)