Are your camera streams delivering insight – or just footage?
In today’s data-rich world, it’s easy t But what happens when the numbers themselves are flawed? In commercial real estate, co-working environments, and smart buildings, decision-makers are increasingly relying on sensor data to shape leasing strategies, staffing models, and space redesigns.
However, this presents a very real problem: most sensor data isn’t as reliable as it looks.
From IR motion detectors and heat maps to basic CCTV analytics, many solutions promise insights but deliver assumptions. The result is that commercial real estate operators and owners are left making high-stakes decisions on data that may be partial, poorly placed, or just plain wrong.
Here we unpack why that occurs, common mistakes, and how Fyma helps clients move from static snapshots to real, validated insights that drive real business outcomes.
The Sensor Mirage: Why “More Data” Isn’t Always Better
Most commercial buildings already have a range of analytics tools in place, from simple IR sensors to traditional CCTV setups with basic people-counting overlays. These tools often promise to:
- Count footfall
- Track room occupancy
- Identify peak usage hours
But a common challenge exists: most of them aren’t built to truly understand behaviour. They capture what’s in front of them – without context, without accuracy, and without the ability to validate what they’re seeing.
Common issues we see every day:
- Sensors installed in the wrong location (e.g., above wide entrances, capturing blur instead of people)
- No way to validate if the count is accurate—just a number, with no proof
- Blind spots that miss occupancy in seated areas, booths, or collaborative spaces
- IR sensors that confuse heat for people, especially in high-activity environments
These gaps add up. And when you’re using that data to decide on staffing, cleaning, rent pricing, or space reconfigurations, flawed data = flawed strategy.
Your building probably has dozens, if not hundreds, of CCTV cameras already installed. They sit in strategic locations: entrances, exits, lobbies, collaboration zones. But in most cases, they’re underutilised—just silently recording footage with no broader purpose.
What if those cameras could deliver real-time, accurate, privacy-compliant insights— all without a single new hardware install?
That’s the power of Fyma’s AI-based virtual sensor platform.
Introducing Virtual Sensors: A Smarter Way to See Your Space
Fyma turns existing CCTV streams into a powerful analytics layer, extracting real-time insights like:
- Occupancy and dwell times in meeting rooms
- Foot traffic and flow across retail or mixed-use environments
- Amenity usage and asset engagement
- Heatmaps and behavioural trends—comparable by date by location and time of day
We do this by placing virtual sensors on top of camera feeds—selectively and precisely.
But not every camera is created equal. That’s where our approach sets us apart.
Not All Angles Are Good Angles: Why Placement Matters
Here’s what most vendors won’t tell you: You can’t trust the data unless you’ve validated the view.
Fyma’s AI isn’t magic. It can’t create accuracy from a badly angled lens. What it can do is deliver exceptional insight when used with the right camera, from the right angle, in the right spot.
That’s why we have an internal team of placement experts who:
- Review your camera network
- Select the most insight-rich feeds
- Apply Fyma’s AI virtual sensors to those views
- Continuously monitor and validate results
With thousands of virtual sensors deployed across portfolios globally, we’ve built the playbook for what works—and what doesn’t.
Whether it’s tracking the true impact of a tenant activation in a shopping centre, or helping a facilities team monitor underused areas on-site, our approach is grounded in evidence, not estimation.
Real-World Use Case: Revalidating Occupancy with QuadReal
In one of our deployments with QuadReal, one of Canada’s leading real estate investment and management firms, the challenge was clear: a major tenant had recently implemented a return-to-office policy, but lacked the concrete data to assess whether it was actually working.
QuadReal had traditional sensor data in place, but results were inconsistent. Reports suggested flat or low occupancy — yet on-site teams observed significant in-office activity.
Fyma stepped in to validate the truth.
By deploying virtual sensors on existing CCTV streams—at entrances, lift lobbies, and tenant areas—we captured:
- A 54% increase in occupancy for one tenant
- 30% uplift in another’s usage
- Clear changes in behaviour: earlier arrivals, longer stays, and more distributed attendance across the week
- Even detection of unexpected Saturday surges (1,000+ people), prompting a rethink in weekend operations
The result? Fyma gave QuadReal the evidence they needed to support their return-to-office strategies and unlock new operational efficiencies, all without any new hardware or disruption.
Why Validation Is the Real Insight
Data without validation is just a number. That’s why Fyma builds accuracy into the process:
- Every sensor placement is tested
- Every count is backed by visual validation
- Every insight is delivered with context
And because our platform works with your existing cameras, there’s:
- No new hardware
- No maintenance headaches
- No need to “trust the black box”
Instead, we simply offer clear, accurate, intelligent data that reflects how people actually use your space.
If your analytics platform is leaving you with more questions than answers, ask yourself: Are you tracking what matters? Or just what’s visible?
Fyma helps turn raw video feeds into meaningful insight, so you can:
- ✅ Optimise space usage
- ✅ Improve the occupier experience
- ✅ Eliminate revenue leakage
- ✅ Plan redesigns and resourcing with confidence
Don’t waste time second-guessing your sensor data. Let us show you what your spaces are really doing.
Ready to see your building clearly?
Book a 15-minute demo and we’ll show you how Fyma unlocks insight from the cameras you already have.
No hardware. No hype. Just smart, validated, space intelligence.