CAMBRIDGE, MA — Butlr, a Cambridge-based physical AI (PAI) technology, announced its expansion into the corporate laboratory market with its Heatic™ sensor platform — an anonymous sensing solution that combines body heat detection with artificial intelligence to deliver real-time insight into lab utilization, safety compliance, and building management.
The move marks a significant step for Butlr, whose privacy-first sensors are already used across offices, retail, and healthcare spaces. Now, as demand rises for data-driven oversight of lab environments, Butlr is positioning its technology as a key tool for optimizing high-cost, high-compliance facilities in sectors such as life sciences, R&D, engineering, and product testing.
Heatic sensors detect human presence and movement without collecting personally identifiable information. In laboratory settings, this enables managers to understand how spaces and equipment are used, identify underutilized areas, and maintain safety standards by tracking occupancy around hazardous materials — all while preserving full anonymity.
In one example highlighted by the company, a global medical technology manufacturer deployed Butlr sensors to analyze lab occupancy before committing to a costly expansion. The thermal data revealed that the lab was 30% underutilized, helping the company avoid building a new facility and instead reconfigure existing space into administrative work areas. According to Cushman & Wakefield, life sciences facility fit-out costs average $846 per square foot, making such insights potentially worth millions in avoided expenses.
“The cost and time required to set up or reconfigure a lab space goes beyond fit-out expenses and includes additional costs due to underutilized equipment and space,” said Honghao Deng, CEO and co-founder of Butlr. “This is driving medical technology and life sciences firms to rely on Butlr data to make more strategic decisions about commercial real estate investments.”
Beyond spatial analysis, Butlr’s sensor data can integrate seamlessly with third-party systems such as commercial real estate and facilities management platforms, as well as safety alert networks — enabling a unified approach to lab efficiency and compliance.
As laboratory operators face mounting pressure to balance innovation, safety, and sustainability, Butlr’s expansion into the lab market signals the growing importance of anonymous, data-driven infrastructure intelligence in shaping the next generation of corporate research spaces.
