A Queue Management Digital Signage Solution … For Washrooms

December 5, 2017 by Dave Haynes

Spotted by a reader on Reddit …

Somewhere in South Korea, there’s a bathroom that has mashed up IoT sensors and digital signage to create what amounts to a queue management system and dashboard for washrooms. This smart toilet information system, set up in a men’s washroom, shows in a graphical display how many toilet stalls are occupied and how many are free, and color codes them. It also shows where the urinals are and where to wash one’s hands after doing one’s business.

It’s kind of amazing, in a someone-asked-for-and-got-budget-for-that kind of way. The visual interface is nice, and while I have no information on where there is or why it exists, I assume some little sensors are tracking the door locks or something to report in real-time the stall status.

I’m not sure the whole which stall is free thing is that daunting, and what makes more sense to me, at least for men, is a big display that flashes WASH YOUR FREAKING HANDS!!! to anyone skipping on by the sinks.

It’s mind-boggling how many men can’t, in airports, be bothered. Yuck.

UPDATE …

Did a little searching and found another image, as well as a story from Commercial Integrator about public restroom technology, an assignment I’m sure had the writer instantly wondering why he didn’t chase a job in the investment sector.

This display tells you about whether the toilets are sitters or, yikes, squatters – and which of each are free.

AND … ANOTHER UPDATE:

Turns out Korean’s aren’t the only ones who see value in digital signage for toilet usage. The offices of digital signage solutions provider Telecine also have displays showing which toilets ion the building are free or occupied.

“We have lots of digital signage at our old bank building in Montreal,” says James Fine, the President of Telecine, “but by far the most useful, albeit unimaginative, is this one. We have a bathroom on each of our three floors. This sign allows staff to know when and where to go. Red means someone is in that one.”

We had considered programming in a timer to indicate duration of each visit,” he adds. “but scrapped that idea.”

  1. Editor says:

    What’s wrong with squatters? Better for posture. And way more hygienic. They just take some getting used to …. 🙂

Leave a comment