Butlr Studio allows certain sensors to be virtually duplicated to support advanced occupancy and traffic analytics without installing additional physical hardware.

Two types of virtual sensors are available:

• Cloned Sensors

• Mirrored Sensors

These virtual sensors allow one physical device to support multiple spatial contexts in Studio  — on the same floor, on another floor, or on a floor in another building on the same site.

Cloned Sensors

What is a Cloned Sensor?

A cloned sensor is a virtual copy of an existing physical sensor. It allows the same sensor data to be used in multiple locations in Studio without installing another device.

The cloned sensor shares the same data stream and configuration as the original sensor.

You can edit:

• Sensor placement

• Sensor rotation

• Sensor name
• For Traffic Mode sensors: the Main Entrance toggle and, once it's a main entrance, the Count [room] toggle

All other sensor settings are inherited and remain identical to the original sensor.

Cloned sensor's connection status is identical to the real sensor.

How Cloned Sensors Work

When a sensor is cloned:

• The cloned sensor receives the same detection data as the original.

• Most configuration settings are inherited from the source sensor.

• The cloned sensor can be placed anywhere on the same floor, on another floor, or on a floor in another building on the same site — see “Placing a Clone or Mirror on Another Floor or Building”.

Because configuration settings remain the same, cloned sensors are primarily used to associate the same sensor data with multiple spatial contexts.

Common Use Cases

Monitoring Flexible Spaces with Movable Partitions

Cloned sensors can be used to support occupancy tracking in spaces that are sometimes divided into smaller rooms using movable partitions.

For example, a conference center may be configured as:

• Room 112-A

• Room 112-B

When the partition between them is closed, the rooms operate as two separate spaces.
When the partition is opened, they function as a single larger room (Room 112).

With cloned sensors:

• Physical sensors installed in the larger space provide the detection data.

• Cloned sensors are placed in Studio to represent each section (112-A and 112-B).

• Each cloned sensor shares the same data and settings as the original sensor, but can be placed and rotated to represent a different area.

This allows Studio to support both section-level occupancy and full-room occupancy without installing additional hardware.

Important Consideration

Butlr sensors cannot detect whether movable partitions are open or closed.

Because of this:

• If the partition is closed, section-level occupancy (for example, Room 112-A and 112-B) may more closely reflect actual usage.

• If the partition is open, section-level occupancy may not represent how people are distributed within the combined space.

However:

• Total occupancy for the full room (Room 112) will remain accurate.

To maintain accurate section-level occupancy regardless of partition configuration, an external signal indicating partition status would be required (for example, integration with a partition sensor or room control system).

Mirrored Sensors

What is a Mirrored Sensor?

A mirrored sensor is a virtual traffic sensor that reverses the IN and OUT directions of another sensor.

This allows a single traffic sensor to represent movement in the opposite direction in another location.

For example:

Mirroring is available only for Traffic Mode sensors.

How Mirrored Sensors Work 

When a sensor is mirrored:

• The mirrored sensor receives the same event stream as the original sensor.

• The IN and OUT counts are reversed.

• The mirrored sensor can be placed on the same floor, on another floor, or on a floor in another building on the same site.

This allows the mirrored sensor to represent traffic flow for another connected space.

Mirrored sensors also follow the same connection status as the original sensor.

Common Use Cases

Monitoring Traffic Between Connected Rooms

If two rooms are connected by a doorway, a single traffic sensor can track movement between them.

• The original sensor tracks traffic for one room.

• The mirrored sensor represents traffic for the other room.

This enables accurate occupancy updates for both rooms without installing an additional sensor. For example, the setup below requires only 3 physical traffic sensors to track Room A and Room B’s occupancy.

Monitoring Traffic Between Connected Floors (Same Stairwell)

For two floors linked by an internal stairwell (not connected to other floors), a single Traffic sensor can track movement for both floors by adding a mirrored sensor to the other floor/space.
Studio adds a cloned hive to that floor automatically when you save — there's nothing to set up. See “Placing a Clone or Mirror on Another Floor or Building”.

Monitoring Traffic Between Connected Buildings

Buildings on the same site are often joined by corridors or skybridges. A single Traffic sensor at the doorway between them can count for both buildings:

• Install the sensor on one side and place it on that building's floor in Studio. Turn on Main Entrance so it counts toward that floor.
• Mirror it, then move the mirror to the matching floor of the other building. Turn on Main Entrance on the mirror so it counts toward that floor.

Someone walking from Building A into Building B is counted as an OUT on Building A's floor and an IN on Building B's floor.

Clone vs Mirror: Key Differences

When to Use Each

Use a cloned sensor when: the same sensor must count a different room than the one it physically sits in — for example, movable-partition spaces where one physical space maps to multiple room definitions. You no longer need a clone to count a main entrance toward its own room + floor — use the Count [room] toggle.

Use a mirrored sensor when:

• Tracking traffic between connected spaces — rooms, floors sharing a stairwell, or buildings joined by a corridor or skybridge

• One space requires the opposite IN/OUT counting of another

How to Add a Cloned or Mirrored Sensor

1. Open the floor with the source sensor in Studio and switch to Edit mode.
2. Right-click the source sensor and choose Clone or Mirror. (Mirror is only offered for Traffic Mode sensors.)
3. Drag the new clone or mirror into position, and adjust its rotation and name if needed.
4. Click Save.

To put the clone or mirror on another floor or in another building, see “Placing a Clone or Mirror on Another Floor or Building” below.

Placing a Clone or Mirror on Another Floor or Building

1. Open the source sensor's floor in Studio and switch to Edit mode.
2. Right-click the source sensor and choose Clone or Mirror. (Mirror is only offered for Traffic Mode sensors.)
3. Right-click the new clone or mirror and choose Move to floor. Floors are grouped by building, starting with the current building. You'll see every floor on this site that you can edit.
4. Pick the floor, then click Save.
5. Open that floor, drag the clone or mirror into position, set Main Entrance / Count [room] if needed, and Save again.

Good to know

• Move to floor is only available before the clone or mirror is saved for the first time. To move one that's already saved, delete it and create a new one on the right floor.
• Only floors on the same site are listed.
• One physical sensor can have clones and mirrors on several floors and in several buildings.

Cloned Hives

Every sensor in Studio belongs to a hive on its own floor. When a clone or mirror is saved on a different floor from its source, Studio adds a cloned hive to that floor to fill that role. A cloned hive is not hardware — there's nothing to install or power.

How to recognize one

• An amber Cloned tag above a lighter hive icon. Unlike a real hive, it shows no connection range when selected.
• Its serial shows as V- followed by the source hive's serial (for example V-2888a187849c27ce). When the same source hive has cloned hives on several floors, the later ones end in ~2, ~3, and so on.
• Clicking it shows a Clone label and a Clone Source section with the source hive's name, serial and model.

How it behaves

• Connection status and sleep schedule follow the source hive.
• All clones and mirrors from the same source hive on one floor share a single cloned hive.
• Its position doesn't affect data — drag it wherever it's out of the way.
• It is removed automatically when the last clone or mirror on it is deleted.
• It isn't counted as hardware in the Device Summary totals.

How to Quickly Find a Cloned/Mirrored Sensor (Same or Different Floor or Building)

1. Select the source sensor.
2. In the info panel, locate the Virtual Sensor list. A virtual sensor in another building is listed with its building name, for example “Central / Floor 2”.
3. Click the name of the cloned or mirrored sensor.
4. You will be taken directly to that sensor (including switching floors or buildings if needed).