This Company Has A Meeting Room Sign Solution, That Doesn’t Need The Signs

May 7, 2024 by Dave Haynes

Atlanta CMS software firm Visix was an early adopter of meeting room sign technology, using tablets and then adding e-paper displays. Now the education and workplace-focused company has a no-hardware option that does pretty much everything an organization might need to book meeting and work spaces, but built around QR codes and web apps.

The product, called Choros, has actually been around almost a year – but it escaped my notice until I tot an email this morning, quite probably because I am old and stupid. Plus I get a LOT of emails … every day.

Choros, Visix asserts, allows users to scan a QR code mounted near a shared space to check room availability, absorb its schedule, and book the room if open. If already booked, Choros will find alternative rooms available to book on the spot. The innovative technology supplants room signs through these capabilities, with native WebAR support built into iOS and Android smartphones to overlay booking options in the user’s smartphone camera view.

“By using AR tech, Choros provides both an immersive experience and contactless solution for users in the workplace,” says Sean Matthews, CEO, Visix. “Systems integrators and end users win through receiving all the functionality of a room sign without the need to buy hardware or provide power and network connectivity to shared spaces.”

The product complements a range of hardware options the company still markets for booking meeting spaces and set-ups like office hoteling. It is positioned as an alternative for companies that want to end all hassles and conflicts that are part of many people wanting to use few meeting spaces around a workplace, but don’t want the initial capital costs and then installation labor of putting tablet-sized displays at the entryways to several, possibly dozens or more rooms. The screens cost money, but the real largely unanticipated costs can be the labor to pull electrical in an office building to the display position.

I like some of the things that physical meeting room information and status screens provide, like halo LED lights that show availability or occupancy at a distance, but Visix says the Choros system can be paired with low-cost sensors and LED lights that could reflect the status.

This video goes into how it works …