April 05, 2018
City News Service
Travelers passing through American Airline’s Terminal 4 at Los Angeles International Airport can now try out “smart restrooms” that will let them know which stalls are vacant or occupied through a light on the door.
The technology was created and installed by Tooshlights and works similarly to parking garage lights, according to the company. Each stall unit consists of a smart latch and indicator light. When a stall is available, the light is green, but when the stall is occupied, the light turns red. There are also blue indicator lights for ambulatory stalls.
Under the pilot program, LAX and Tooshlights are also working with Infax so airport officials can track the occupancy usage of restroom stalls.
“We’re incredibly excited to try out this new technology, which should help improve our guest experience and allow us to better monitor and service our restrooms,” said Barbara Yamamoto, chief experience officer at Los Angeles World Airports. “The desire for clean and available restrooms is consistently in the top ranks of what guests want at an airport, and this will help us provide a higher level of service to the traveling public and allow us to better meet our strategic goal of delivering facilities and guest experiences that are exceptional.”
In addition to the 20-plus “smart” stalls, LAX said the restrooms have touchscreens near the entrance/exit for guests to provide feedback and/or identify any issues that require a maintenance or custodial response.
“A common problem in facility design is flow of movement, which affects passenger satisfaction,” said Allen Klevens, president and CEO of Modus Systems LLC, the parent company of Tooshlights. “Tooshlights is disrupting the public restroom industry by fixing the efficiency of restrooms, especially in large commercial spaces like airports, where people are pressed for time. We are thrilled that our hometown airport is the first airport in the world to feature Tooshlights.”