How the Butlr Platform Works

Overview

The Butlr platform transforms anonymous thermal sensing signals and integrated operational data into actionable occupancy, activity, and operational intelligence.

Using privacy-first Heatic™ sensors, cloud processing, connected operational systems, and intelligent applications, Butlr helps organizations understand how spaces are being used, and where equipment is running hot, without relying on cameras or wearable devices.

Step 1 — Native Thermal Sensing

Heatic™ sensors detect low-resolution thermal signatures generated by people moving through physical spaces.

Unlike traditional camera systems:

• No RGB imagery is captured
• No facial recognition is used
• No personally identifiable information is collected

The sensors instead interpret anonymous thermal activity patterns to understand:

• Presence
• Movement
• Occupancy
• Activity trends
• Equipment surface temperature

In data centers, the same thermal sensing measures heat at power connections and racks, so the system reads heat from people and machines together.

Step 2 — Sensing Modes & Detection Workflows

Depending on deployment needs, Butlr supports different sensing and intelligence workflows.

Presence Mode

Presence Mode detects occupancy within a defined coverage area.

Common use cases:

• Meeting rooms
• Desks
• Open collaboration spaces
• Room-level occupancy

Traffic Mode

Traffic Mode estimates movement and directional flow across entrances or boundaries.

Common use cases:

• Floor occupancy estimation
• Building traffic analysis
• Entry/exit monitoring
• Public spaces

Care Intelligence

For care environments, Butlr may support additional activity and safety-focused workflows.

Common use cases:

• Fall detection
• Activity awareness
• Mobility insights
• Risk patterns

Data Center Intelligence

For data centers, Butlr continuously monitors thermal conditions across the facility, from the white space to inside the rack.

Common use cases:

• Power path hotspots: RPPs, busway tap-offs, power whips, rack PDUs, and busbar joints
• A live thermal digital twin, per hall, rack, and U
• Heat read alongside server load from the BMC
• Commissioning checks against CFD airflow models

Supported capabilities may vary by hardware generation, deployment type, and application.

Step 3 — Hive Gateway Communication

Native Butlr sensors securely communicate with Hive gateways using wireless communication protocols.

Hive gateways:

• Aggregate sensor data
• Manage connectivity
• Securely transmit data to the cloud
• Support device provisioning and management

Depending on deployment requirements, Hive gateways may connect through Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or cellular connectivity. In data centers, Heatic Spine sensors daisy-chain over USB-C, one cable carrying power and data, to a small in-rack PoE device or a Hive gateway. That device provides the internet connection and sends the data to the cloud.

Parallel Input Path — Integrated Third-Party Sensors & Systems

In some deployments, the Butlr platform may also incorporate signals from select third-party devices, systems, or operational technologies.

Examples may include:

• Third-party sensing devices
• Environmental monitoring systems
• Building Management Systems (BMS)
• HVAC systems
• Workplace technologies
• Operational automation platforms
• Server telemetry from the baseboard management controller (BMC), such as utilization, network, and chip temperature

These third-party inputs may connect through their own vendor cloud, API, gateway, or direct integration path. They do not necessarily use Butlr Hive gateways.

These connected inputs can provide additional operational and environmental context alongside occupancy and activity intelligence generated by the Butlr platform.

Step 4 — Cloud Intelligence Processing

Once data reaches the Butlr cloud platform, Butlr services process sensing signals and connected operational inputs into structured intelligence.

Core processing services include:

• Occupancy modeling
• Traffic aggregation
• Activity insights
• Event processing
• Data normalization
• Alert workflows
• Historical analytics
• Thermal mapping and hotspot detection
• Per-zone threshold alerting

This intelligence layer powers applications, integrations, and connected operational workflows.

Step 5 — Applications, APIs & Integrations

Processed insights become available through Butlr applications, APIs, and integration services.

Outputs may include:

• Butlr Workplace+
• Butlr Care
• Butlr Data Center
• Operational dashboards
• Alerts and workflows
• APIs and webhooks
• Customer-owned applications
• Third-party systems

Organizations can use this data to support:

• Workplace optimization
• Operational automation
• Space planning
• Fall detection
• Safety monitoring
• Building integrations
• Custom analytics and workflows
• Power path monitoring · Commissioning validation