Technology, COVID-19
The New Wave of Touchless Technology
By Constance Towles Hodges No matter what decade we were born in, by now “the internet of everything” has likely already integrated into our daily lives. Our cars seem to require software updates more frequently than oil changes. Throughout this tech transformation, Bluetooth and touchless tech have increasingly gained the real estate industry spotlight, transforming from a “clap on, clap off” novelty to a modern necessity. With the new, COVID-19-induced, completely touchless ideal, we may be heading towards Jetson’s-like future where the world is at our facial scan rather than our fingertips. So what is out there? Where can we get the most bang for our buck? What is the latest and greatest touchless tech guaranteed to impress tenants?
Motion Activation Wave “Hello” to motion activated everything! Motion sensor tech has expanded out of janitorial fixtures into door operators, parking garages, and even elevators. “Wave to open” door operators can seamlessly replace “push to open” buttons and standard door operators. For only a few hundred dollars per unit, your building won’t need to break the bank to prevent tenants and visitors from feeling like they need to sanitize their hands as soon as they enter the building. New motion activated door operators for doors not outfitted with push assist cost a few thousand installed. Similarly, parking operators are offering motion activated ticket spitters for a modest fee
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Insight • Issue 3, 2020
For those looking for simple solutions, old fashioned doorstops still work under many circumstances. A growing number of creative and often inexpensive, non-tech, altered-touch options are flooding the market. From toe pulls to keychains, these options may be customized to fit each use case. They may not be as entertaining as fidget spinners, but branded touchless fobs with styluses will likely be a hot item at the next real estate industry trade show. Nanotech companies are producing clean touch films that apply to surfaces like stickers and continually disinfect surfaces for 30 to 60 days depending on use. These stickers come in a variety of shapes including tape rolls, button covers, and screen covers.
Making Distance Creating more space between tenants, many properties have created ways to facilitate touchless social distancing within stairwells. In buildings with multiple stairwells, creating an “up” and “down” stairwell may facilitate social distancing during daily traffic, but simply propping open stairwell doors can be a safety concern and a fire code violation. Where floor security is not a concern, magnetic door solutions can hold stairwell doors open and release to closed in the event of a fire-related emergency. For highrise customers and those not fit enough for stairwell climbs, creating a touchless elevator experience may be more challenging. With multi-million-dollar price tags, destination dispatch systems decrease elevator traffic and eliminate buttons inside elevator cabs, but compound touch points to single iPad-sized screens.
