SPOR Group and PointGrab: Occupancy Sensor Technology Meets Meeting Room AV

SPOR Group is now a PointGrab partner, integrating CogniPoint occupancy sensor technology with meeting room AV systems to give organisations real data on how their spaces are actually used.

Chris Gore | Updated 2026

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SPOR Group has joined the PointGrab partner network, adding occupancy sensor technology to the workplace systems we design and manage for clients across the UK and globally. The PointGrab CogniPoint occupancy sensor is a software-agnostic, edge-AI device that gives organisations accurate, real-time data on how their spaces are actually being used, not how they assume they are being used. That data changes decisions. It changes how rooms are managed. And combined with the meeting room AV systems SPOR Group deploys and monitors, it gives organisations a level of visibility into their workplace that was not previously possible through either technology alone.

This blog explains what PointGrab occupancy sensor technology is, what data it provides, why that data matters in the context of a meeting room estate, and what the SPOR Group and PointGrab partnership means in practice.

What Is a PointGrab Occupancy Sensor?

PointGrab produces the CogniPoint family of occupancy sensors. CogniPoint is an optical edge-AI device that combines an image sensor with on-chip AI processing. All inference runs on the chip inside the sensor. No images or video are ever transmitted or stored. What leaves the sensor is purely anonymised occupancy data, counts, positions and movement indicators.

This matters for two reasons. First, it means CogniPoint delivers a level of accuracy and granularity that PIR and thermal sensors cannot match. Second, it means it is suitable for deployment in privacy-sensitive environments including offices across GDPR-regulated regions. The sensor never transmits images of any kind. The data it produces is count and position information only.

How CogniPoint compares to other occupancy sensor technologies

There are three main occupancy sensor technologies on the market. PIR sensors detect motion via changes in infrared radiation. They are inexpensive and widely deployed but can only detect motion, not count people or detect stationary occupants. Thermal sensors detect body heat signatures and are marketed on a privacy narrative, but they are physically limited in resolution and struggle with desk-level accuracy in warm environments. CogniPoint combines optical sensing with on-chip AI processing. The result is precise headcounts, sub-metre positioning, desk-level granularity and object detection, with the same privacy protection as thermal because no images ever leave the device.

What Data Does a PointGrab Occupancy Sensor Provide?

A single CogniPoint sensor provides four types of occupancy data, each relevant to different aspects of how a workplace is managed.

Occupancy count

Accurately detects whether seats and spaces are occupied and how many people are actually present. This is not a motion trigger. It is a count. The sensor can distinguish between one person and six people in the same space, whether they are moving or sitting still.

People in motion

Monitors the anonymous location of people within a defined detection area. Understanding movement patterns within a space informs decisions about layout, flow and how different areas within a larger room are actually being used.

Object detection

Identifies physical objects including desks, chairs and personal items such as laptops and bags. This serves two functions: verifying that the physical layout matches the floor plan, and detecting passive occupancy in spaces where a person has left their belongings at a desk but stepped away temporarily.

Virtual traffic line

Tracks the number of people entering and exiting a space, providing total people count for larger areas including lobbies, open floors and corridors. Also used for demand-based cleaning applications in restrooms and shared facilities.

CogniPoint achieves over 95 percent accuracy in occupancy detection, with data processed 600 times a second, transmitted at one-minute intervals and a latency of under one second. That combination of accuracy and near real-time updates makes the data reliable enough to drive automated decisions.

Why Occupancy Sensor Data Matters for Meeting Room Estates

Ghost bookings and wasted space

Most organisations with room booking systems are aware that rooms get booked and then abandoned. Someone books a room, the meeting moves to a call instead, the room sits empty all afternoon and nobody can book it because it shows as occupied. Ghost bookings waste space that other people need. PointGrab occupancy data provides the real picture of which rooms are actually being used versus which rooms are showing as booked. That data is the basis for auto-release policies that return abandoned rooms to the booking pool. Read how to reduce ghost bookings in your meeting rooms for the full context.

Space utilisation and estate planning

Organisations managing multi-site estates make decisions about lease renewals, office redesigns and meeting room provision based on what they believe about how their spaces are used. That belief is usually based on booking data, which does not capture actual attendance. PointGrab occupancy sensor data provides the actual utilisation figures, how many people were in a room, for how long, at what times of day. That is a fundamentally different and more accurate input for estate planning decisions.

Hybrid working policy and space design

The organisations that are getting hybrid working right are the ones making decisions based on evidence about how their people are actually using the office. PointGrab occupancy data gives them that evidence. Which days are most popular. Which types of spaces are oversubscribed and which are consistently underused. Whether the meeting room provision matches the actual demand pattern. This is the data that informs hybrid working policy at a level of specificity that surveys and anecdotal evidence cannot reach.

HVAC, lighting and facilities management

Occupancy data that is accurate enough to drive automated building decisions reduces energy consumption significantly. HVAC and lighting that responds to actual occupancy rather than schedules or timer controls avoids heating and lighting empty spaces. Cleaning schedules based on actual usage rather than fixed programmes are more efficient and more effective. These are applications that become available when occupancy data is accurate enough to trust.

How SPOR Group and PointGrab Work Together

SPOR Group designs, installs and manages meeting room technology for enterprise organisations. We manage over 1,500 meeting room sites across the UK, Europe, Singapore, Sydney and Hong Kong. Every site is monitored through SPORTrack, our remote monitoring platform that watches every AV device in real time.

PointGrab CogniPoint sensors add the occupancy data layer that sits alongside the AV layer. Where SPORTrack tells us whether every camera, microphone, display and room booking panel in a room is working, PointGrab tells us whether the room is actually being used and how. The two data sets together give a complete operational picture of a meeting room estate.

In practice, this means SPOR Group can now offer clients occupancy sensing as part of a fully integrated workplace technology deployment. CogniPoint sensors specified and installed alongside the AV system. Occupancy data feeding into room booking platforms, facilities management systems and analytics dashboards alongside the AV monitoring data from SPORTrack. A single integration partner rather than separate AV and sensor suppliers operating independently.

PointGrab's software-agnostic approach, their data outputs to a standard REST API and integrates with any workplace management system, means the occupancy data works alongside whatever room booking or facilities platform the client already operates. GoBright, Condeco, or any other platform the organisation uses. The data layer is independent of the application layer.

If you are looking to understand how your meeting room estate is actually performing and how PointGrab occupancy sensors could integrate with your existing AV systems, book a SPORTrack demo to see both platforms working together.

Want to See Occupancy Sensor Technology Integrated with Your Meeting Room AV?

SPOR Group combines PointGrab occupancy sensing with SPORTrack AV monitoring to give organisations a complete picture of how their spaces are actually being used.

Book a SPORTrack demo  >  spor-group.net/sportrackdemo