Achieving a deeper insight into how individuals navigate the environments where they reside and work could enhance the safety and sustainability of those areas. However, nobody desires constant surveillance via cameras.
Two ex-Media Lab researchers are convinced they have discovered a solution. Their enterprise, Butlr, provides venues such as skilled nursing homes, workplaces, and senior living facilities with a means to comprehend how individuals utilize buildings without jeopardizing privacy. Butlr employs low-resolution thermal detectors alongside an analytics system to assist in identifying falls among older populations, conserve energy, and refine workspaces.
“We envision utilizing the appropriate technology to interpret individuals’ movements and actions within a space,” shares Jiani Zeng SM ’20, who co-founded Butlr with ex-Media Lab research affiliate Honghao Deng. “A significant amount of resources today are allocated to cameras and AI that infringe upon people’s privacy. We are firm believers that we can enhance the safety, health, and sustainability of our environments while respecting privacy.”
Thus far, the firm has sold over 20,000 of its privacy-conscious sensors to senior living and skilled nursing facilities, in addition to businesses with large physical footprints, including Verizon, Netflix, and Microsoft. Looking ahead, Butlr aspires to create more versatile environments that can comprehend and adapt to how people engage with them.
“Spaces should function like a digital user interface: it ought to be versatile and responsive to your requirements,” Deng states. “If a workplace has a large area with individuals working separately, it should intuitively divide into smaller spaces, or lighting and temperature should be modified to conserve energy.”
Intelligent buildings, ensuring privacy
While an undergraduate at Tianjin University in China, Deng became a member of the Media Lab’s City Science Group as a visiting student in 2016. He later completed his master’s at Harvard University before returning to the Media Lab as a research affiliate and led projects focusing on what he terms responsive architecture: environments that can perceive their users’ requirements through non-camera sensors.
“My concept of the future of building environments was shaped by the Media Lab,” Deng remarks. “The real world is the most expansive user interface surrounding us — it’s not the screens. We exist in a three-dimensional realm, yet, unlike the digital universe, this user interface does not yet grasp our needs, especially in critical situations like someone falling in a room. That could truly make a difference.”
Zeng arrived at MIT as a graduate student in the Integrated Design and Management program, which was co-managed by the MIT Sloan School of Management and the School of Engineering. She also served as a research assistant at the Media Lab and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL).
The duo crossed paths during a hackathon at the Media Lab and continued to work together on multiple projects. During this period, they collaborated with MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service (VMS) and the MIT I-Corps Program. Upon graduating in 2019, they made the decision to launch a company focused on developing intelligent buildings equipped with privacy-respecting sensors. Essential initial funding was provided by the Media Lab-associated E14 Fund.
“I advise every MIT entrepreneur to include the E14 Fund in their cap table,” Deng remarks. “They have a clear understanding of what it requires to transition from being an MIT student to a founder, evolving from the ‘scientist mindset’ to the ‘inventor mindset.’ We wouldn’t have reached our current standing without MIT.”
Ray Stata ’57, SM ’58, the founder of Analog Devices, is also an investor in Butlr and acts as Butlr’s board director.
“We hope to give back to the MIT community once we attain success like Ray, whose guidance and mentorship have been invaluable,” Deng states.
On launching their venture, the founders needed to identify suitable early customers for their real-time sensors, which can interpret basic body shapes while ensuring no personally identifiable information is captured. They consulted with hundreds before engaging with office space proprietors.
“People have no baseline data concerning their workplace activities,” Deng notes. “This became especially evident after the Covid-19 pandemic transitioned many to hybrid working arrangements, creating vast opportunities to decrease energy consumption in extensive office environments. Often, the only occupants of these buildings are the receptionist and the janitor.”
Butlr’s multi-year, battery-operated sensors monitor daily occupancy across various rooms and provide additional insights into spatial usage that can aid in reducing energy consumption. For corporations with extensive office space, the potential for savings is significant. One Butlr client maintains 40 building leases. Deng mentions that optimizing HVAC systems based on actual usage could result in millions in savings.
“We can serve as the Google Analytics for these environments without any privacy concerns,” Deng emphasizes.
The founders recognized that the issue extended far beyond office settings.
“In skilled nursing homes, rather than office spaces, we deal with individual rooms populated by patients potentially requiring nursing assistance,” Deng explains. “Nevertheless, nurses lack visibility regarding what transpires unless they physically enter each room.”
Acute care settings and senior living facilities represent another major market for Butlr. The company’s platform can identify falls and situations where someone fails to rise from their bed, alerting the staff accordingly. This system integrates with existing nurse call systems to notify personnel when a problem arises.
The “nerve centers” of the building
Butlr continues to enhance its analytics, offering valuable insights into environments. For example, the current platform utilizes movement data among older individuals to assist in detecting issues such as urinary tract infections. Additionally, Butlr has recently initiated a partnership with Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Artificial Intelligence and Technology Center for Connected Care in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. This project aims to identify changes in movement which may signal declining cognitive or physical functions. Those insights could lead to providing more supervision for aging patients.
“In the short term, we focus on fall prevention, but our vision is to have Butlr integrated into every facility and home,” Deng asserts. “This could empower older adults to live independently with dignity and privacy.”
On a broader scale, Butlr’s founders view their initiative as a vital effort to shape the future of AI technology, which is anticipated to play an expanding role in everybody’s lives.
“We are the nerve centers within the building, not the eyes,” Deng asserts. “That encapsulates the future of AI we advocate for: AI that can transform ordinary rooms into environments that comprehend human behavior and utilize that understanding to accomplish everything from enhancing efficiency to saving lives within senior care facilities. That represents the optimal use of this impactful technology.”