Business

This is the tech you’ll need in your post-Covid office

Plants that clean the air, smart tracking tech and flexible collaboration rooms are all very 2021

For knowledge workers, the most significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been the necessity to embrace remote working. Plenty of companies – not to mention employees – will be happy to more permanently adapt to this model, perhaps even getting rid of bricks-and-mortar office space altogether.

Hybrid working will mean a change in the way workplaces are managed and designed – pen-plan and hot-desking offices, with crowded shared spaces, poor ventilation and uneven heating – will seem outdated post-pandemic.

In response to these new demands for workspace innovation, startups around the world are poised to deliver services that improve offices. Healthy air, hygienic surfaces and flexible spaces may have long been desirable qualities in a workplace, but in the post-Covid era, they are critical. From modular meeting rooms to virus-fighting lights, we take a look at six startups transforming the workplace. 

ROOM

Founded: 2018, New York, US
ROOM launched with one product: the now-familiar sound-proof office “phonebooth”. But the US startup – now with European outposts – rapidly evolved in response to the pandemic. Following a funding round, it launched three new products in November 2020: a range of purpose-built, modular meeting and working “rooms” that enable more flexible, responsive workplaces, without the confined air problem. Silent fans in the roof and air inlets behind sofas replenish the air every 67 seconds, five times more than a traditional conference room. Its new analytics platform, Room Sense, also provides real-time data about space usage and office density to help manage safety.

Density

Founded: 2014, San Francisco, US
Tracking employee movement might sound dystopian, but the people-counting software from Density – using AI-powered infrared sensors – is anonymous. Initially dedicated to helping businesses use space more efficiently, the company evolved in 2020 as a tool to manage workplace social distancing and, in May that year, it launched its real-time occupancy system, Safe by Density. Using digital signage, analytics and alerts, it allows employers to set capacity limits for spaces and employees to choose where they feel comfortable going based on real-time people density.

R-Zero

Founded: 2020, San Francisco, US
Established in direct response to the pandemic, R-Zero focuses on tackling pathogen transmission in business spaces by using hospital-grade ultraviolet C (UV-C) disinfection technology. Aesthetically, its first product, Arc – a mobile tower of UV-C lights, launched in September 2020 – may look like an outdoor heater mixed with a sunbed, but with the venture in its infancy, design innovation is surely around the corner. Several new products dedicated to safer workplaces are due to launch in 2021.

Oxygen at Work

Founded: 2017, Zurich, Switzerland
Plants are great – but frankly, they could work a bit harder. Through “high-performing plants”, air sensors and data analysis, Oxygen at Work aims to make offices healthier. They develop plant concepts that optimise humidity release to help fight virus transmission – citing studies showing that 40-60 per cent humidity reduces virus survival times. Furthermore, they are harnessing the noise-absorbing qualities of plants to help mitigate what they believe to be a noisier post-Covid office (due to increased video calls).

Envoy

Founded: 2013, San Francisco, US
Envoy started as a touch-free, streamlined platform for office visitor sign-ins. During the pandemic, Envoy recalibrated to focus on the safe return of employees to workplaces. The Envoy Protect platform launched in October, with features including employee health questionnaires, capacity management tools and contact tracing. A new feature currently in beta stage, Envoy Desks, helps employers manage desks, using data about usage, cleaning and location to allow employees to book only safe, socially distanced spots to work at.

Molekule

Founded: 2014, San Francisco, US
Molekule was originally founded to tackle indoor air pollution through air purification products that harnessed its proprietary technology, PECO (Photo Electrochemical Oxidation), which has been proven to destroy bacteria, viruses, allergens and other air pollutants. Cue the pandemic, and a skyrocketing interest in indoor air purification. In September 2020, after new rounds of investment including from actor Maisie Williams, Molekule launched the Air Pro, an air purifier engineered for commercial spaces. As a portable device, it requires no retrofitting or duct work, meaning offices can improve indoor air quality rapidly. 

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This article was originally published by WIRED UK

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