Social sensing badges

(The Boston Globe, November 05, 2013)

Sociometric Solutions, a Boston start-up is marketing “social sensing” badges, worn on a lanyard around employees’ necks. Filled with sensors and wireless communicators, the latest models know when you’re sitting at your desk, when you’re walking around, and where you’re within an office building or store. They can determine, for instance, that the product development team never talks to customer service to understand what customers like and don’t like. There isn’t a camera; the badges rely on infrared sensors to know when you are clustered with other people in a meeting or conversation. While they don’t record conversations, they capture data about how often you talk versus listen, how frequently you interrupt people, and your tone of voice. The company says this data will enable companies to try different approaches to office design, corporate hierarchies, and perhaps even work schedules.