Nimway is a smart solution for digitizing and streamlining office environments with the user as a starting point.

- When the system was created, the team was based on their own experiences with activity-based workplaces, says Magnus Persson, Product and Research Manager at Nimway. It can be frustrating for employees to find meeting rooms, a workplace, or an individual seat to participate in video conferencing. We asked ourselves how we can make this easier and safer and at the same time reduce stress factors.

Nimway makes use of indoor positioning of mobile phones and mapping of the indoor environment. Over time, several functions have been added and now it is possible to interact with reservation panels outside rooms and with digital overview maps. The app can help the user find gyms and coffee places but also free workplaces, for example in quiet environments in real time. The service can communicate with the employee's calendar to find appointments through notifications on big-screen displays. The app can also provide an alert when you need to get away to arrive on time for a meeting or help report errors. In addition, the system can provide the employer with information about which furniture is preferred or which workplaces are used the most.

In the project Lund Open Sensing City In autumn 2020, Sony will install Nimway at Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre, IKDC. The system will be used by both staff and students to improve their working environment.

“We will use Nimway as a research platform where we can test connecting different sensors to the existing system,” says Fredrik Nilsson, Head of Department of Design Sciences at IKDC.

One possibility is particle sensors that could measure the spread of infection, other possibilities include switching on sensors that measure light, noise, carbon dioxide and heat.

“For example, we could simulate whether it is possible to use motion sensors to see if there are people left in the premises in the event of a fire. Other examples include how you can use VR and AR to describe the premises to visitors -- or connect to a system that can help the visually impaired navigate the building. We can also examine our work environment in different ways,” says Fredrik Nilsson.

Nimway is looking forward to taking advantage of all the new and exciting ideas of the next generation.

“Nimway is a user-driven solution that helps them make fact-based decisions,” says Ivana Milanovic, Marketing Manager for Nimway. By complementing the environment at IKDC, we get to work with young innovators and their companies. To keep tech-savvy millennials in companies, it's important to create environments where they thrive, and in this project we get direct feedback from them.

In recent months, it has emerged that Nimway also has the potential to help create a safer return to the workplace in the context of the pandemic. With digital technology, it's easy to pull down the number of available workplaces or show where there are available rooms. Another advantage is that one can be guided by the screen without touching it. It is enough to walk up to the screen to communicate with it and receive guidance.

Nimway is already installed at many large companies, both in Sweden and internationally. An increasing number of higher education institutions and municipalities have also chosen to streamline their premises with Nimway, for example Mälardalen University and Örebro Municipality.

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Subproject in LOSC

Financier: Vinnova

Project Time: May 2020 - December 2023

Project Manager: Anders Trana, Future City of Lund

Project partners: Axis Communications, AFRY, The power ring, Lund Municipality, Lund University, Mobile Heights, California, Sensative, Sony, Telia, Smart Villages and Trivecteur

What was the result? ONGOING

How is the project taken forward? ONGOING

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