Challenge: Hygiene, Reliability and Efficiency in Public Restrooms
Public and commercial restrooms must meet modern hygiene standards while reducing maintenance needs and improving the user experience. Traditional sensing systems, such as infrared and capacitive sensors, often have limited accuracy, are prone to false triggers, and are affected by environmental conditions. These issues increase operational costs, cause user dissatisfaction, and lead to frequent servicing in high-traffic areas.
Solution: Ontech CEMF® for Smart, Touchless Sensing
Ontech Group’s Controlled Electromagnetic Field (CEMF) technology provides high-resolution, low-power, and privacy-preserving detection without requiring line-of-sight. Unlike legacy sensors, Ontech CEMF® detects user presence, gestures, water flow, and usage events even through barriers and under variable lighting. This ensures reliable, touchless operation in all restroom environments.
What We Did: Deploying CEMF® in Smart Sanitary Concepts
We developed three validated technical concepts to address modern restroom challenges:
Smart Urinal – Reliable, Non-Contact Detection
Detects user presence, monitors urine and water flow, and provides real-time alerts on usage and clogging. Its sensor is fully embedded and hidden from sight, ensuring a hygienic and vandal-resistant design. It can recognise different types of activity, including urinal use, cleaning, water flow and both partial and full clogs, helping facilities predict maintenance needs while preventing contamination and ensuring privacy.
Touchless Flush – Gesture-Based Flush Control
Enables short and long flushes through user proximity and hand gestures, reducing water waste and preventing accidental activations. Its sensor distinguishes between a user standing nearby and a deliberate hand-over action, ensuring only intentional flushes are triggered. By detecting how long a hand is placed over the cistern, it selects the appropriate flush type. The system integrates with multiple cisterns without calibration and ensures reliable operation in high-use environments.
Touchless Mirror – Presence-Based Lighting and Control
Activates lighting when a user approaches and deactivates when they leave, supporting energy efficiency and hands-free hygiene. Its sensor combines body presence detection with precise gesture recognition, allowing users to toggle the light when standing at the mirror. By filtering out static objects, it delivers reliable, contact-free performance and an intuitive user experience.
Key Advantages Over Traditional Technologies
- Line-of-Sight Independence: Operates through obstructions for consistent performance in real environments.
- Material Discrimination: Detects humans accurately while ignoring static materials.
- Anti-Vandalism Design: Can be embedded or hidden to reduce tampering risks.
- Multi-Area Sensing: Supports simultaneous detection across different restroom zones for integrated control.
The Result: Elevating the Restroom Experience
Ontech CEMF® technology transforms sanitary systems into intelligent, contact-free solutions tailored for modern expectations. The concepts enhance hygiene, reliability, and user convenience while reducing maintenance needs.
A Vision for the Future
As smart building adoption accelerates, sanitary facilities will increasingly require adaptable, sustainable, and user-focused sensing technologies. Ontech Group is positioned to meet these demands with solutions that align with global eco-management standards and evolving public health priorities.
Contact us to explore how Ontech CEMF® technology can enhance your facility’s hygiene and efficiency.
