Building space–use analysis system — A multi location/multi sensor platform

• A multi location/multi sensor platform for spaceuse analysis is proposed.
• The platform combines computer vision based tracking with RFID-based sensing.
• The platform describes and quantifies occupancy and movement patterns.
• The platform characterizes types of users associated with building use patterns.
• The platform covers large spatial areas and records spatial behaviors continuously.

Occupancy and movement data is key information in all phases of the life cycle of built environments, because it has direct repercussions on multiple aspects of their performance. Knowledge on how built spaces are really used remains scarce, despite the technological advances currently available. This paper proposes a system that combines the capacities of computer vision based tracking and the identification capacities of radio frequency-based sensing (RFID) to aid the analytical procedures of the study of the functional condition of architectural artifacts. This will enable us to gain a better understanding of the connections established within the spatial conditions. The process allows one to: a) represent, describe and quantify occupancy/co-presence patterns and movement/navigation patterns; b) characterize the types of users (e.g., professor, student, staff) associated to them; and c) establish correlations between the occupancy/movement patterns and the configurational properties of space.