Foresense on Campus: An Intelligent Solution for Higher Education

Modern University and College campuses are large.

Large in terms of on-campus student numbers, actual physical size and economic value.

With student numbers entering into the tens of thousands on campus at any point in time logistics and management are challenging, to say the least.

The fact that some higher education facilities can dominate entire post or zip codes – especially when student accommodation and dormitories are considered – the physical size of modern campuses exacerbates these challenges.

Education is big business. Dollar estimates place the global higher education market well into the trillions.

With competition and choice for students – both domestic and international – at an all-time high, constant improvement to campus facilities and overall staff and student satisfaction are paramount to making and maintaining appeal and desirability.

Given that the modern campus has a wide range of different zones that cater for the many different needs of staff and students’, functional, cohesive reliable data collection to guide administrative decision making is, to put it mildly, elusive.

Designated zones for teaching, study, administration, retail, food and beverage, residential, recreational, fitness, public transport and car parking all have unique considerations and very different usage patterns.

While each different zone can be monitored or approximated in terms of maximum numbers and capacities, future decisions are often shaped by estimates, projections and modelling open to inaccuracies.

And the exact nature of how students and staff interact with campus facilities; how they move from one zone to another and how individual behaviours recur to form overarching patterns has never really been possible.

Until now – with Foresense Technologies.

Foresense offers a solution where AI monitors behaviours and analyses trends to gain an unprecedented level of insight into what people want and need.

Foresense facilitates the collection of presence data and the analysis of how people act – and interact – on-site in real world settings to provide real-time analytics of traffic inside and around any physical location.

It intelligently identifies areas for improvement and guides commercially based decisions with more detailed, quantifiable data to improve operational KPIs and efficiencies.

In a similar way to how behavioural data is utilised online through careful analysis of aspects such as dwell time, session duration, and return visitations the Foresense platform collects data through sensors integrating with smartphones, or wearable technology including smart ID cards.

It allows accessibility in real time so highly-informed, proactive decisions can be executed as trends are actually emerging.

As a complete journey mapping solution, individual data such as area arrival and departure time and the breakdown of time spent within different areas is collected.

Data such as total time spent on campus, and the breakdown of time spent actively learning in class or the library, socialising at cafes and leisure time spent in common areas or the gym can be collected and collated.

With the assistance of Foresense AI, managers can identify exactly what areas need improvement to make the site and its facilities more efficient.

This AI profiling presents new opportunities for a more personalised day-to-day student experience

It will identify the potential for campus layout and design changes to improve flow and efficiency utilising aggregated data to establish peak demand times for specific sections within facilities to keep movement flowing and alleviate congestion and wait times.

In this way, it provides concrete justification for expenditure on new facilities, equipment or building projects, based upon definitive demand and supply parameters.

Foresense builds highly detailed individual profiles over time to identify habits of students and sub-groupings.

This AI profiling presents new opportunities for a more personalised day-to-day student experience – and for marketing and advertising purposes via smartphone push notification technology.

Offer incentivisation for increased usage of particular retail and hospitality outlets such as the bookstore, gym, café, tavern and bar facilities to increase revenues.

Highly targeted individualised marketing is also made possible, adding value for industry partners and sponsors. Opportunities also exist for external business advertising - retail, travel, food and entertainment are just some of the possibilities in a specifically localised target market with minimised advertising wastage.

Identify students with particular needs – for example international or first year students or those living with disability and chronic health condition – and offer a more personalised experience.

Because the platform is accessible in real-time, attendants can be deployed immediately when and where issues first develop to reduce queuing and waiting times, to keep movement flowing, alleviate congestion and negative student experiences.

The technology can also complement existing security surveillance systems.

Staff and student movements and exact locations at any point in time can easily be accessed, and automated real time messaging can be implemented to raise alert or alarm.

The AI platform detects loitering, erratic behavior and unauthorised entry and can deploy security staff in real time as issues develop. For example, if a person not recognised on the student database shows suspicious behaviour an immediate security alert can be raised.

As we learn to live with COVID, Foresense can also complement existing digital tools to monitor and log people as they move across campus to assist contact tracers and keep everyone safer. In this way it can also be used to monitor and control the number of people gathering in any given area to address density regulations.

Identify vaccination status and those who have not recently received negative COVID testing where such laws have been introduced and those who bypass QR code scan points, sending digital reminders to scan in, taking responsibility out of the hands of management.

The technology can even be used for 24/7 personal safety concerns. For example identify where a person is not moving across an area as normal (such as a carpark), or has been stationary for an excessive amount of time in an area (such as a restroom) indicating collapse, assault or unconsciousness.

It can even be used to identify students who exhibit signs of mental health distress such as excessive solitude or lack of engagement in and around campus.

Foresense Technologies offers a powerful array of AI guided analytical tools to improve operational efficiencies.

Offering full customisation and dovetail integration into existing apps and management software, the higher education experience can be taken to a higher level with true real time interaction for management, staff and students alike.

With irrefutable qualitative data readily available, minute aspects of day-to-day operations can be scrutinised with greater clarity guiding key decisions to improve campus facilities and overall safety and security.

With these two factors closely following quality of education as determining the overall desirability for staff and students of a particular University or College - and its overall profitability - Foresense is the future for improving campus life.