Automated Check-in for Seat and Meeting Room Reservations via Face Recognition! New Features Added to EXOffice

## Automated Check-in for Seat and Meeting Room Reservations via Face Recognition! New Features Added to EXOffice

WHERE (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Mitsuhisa Iwai), a developer of indoor location solutions, has added a facial recognition automated check-in feature to its smart office solution "EXOffice" seat and meeting room reservation service.

Users can now check into their reserved seats or meeting rooms using only facial recognition, without the need to open a dedicated app or operate room reservation terminals. This improves the convenience of reservation utilization and enables the visualization of actual usage.

This functionality is realized through integration with the "EXGatekeeper" facial recognition access control system.

### Development Background

With the return to office and the stabilization of hybrid work, the use of seat and meeting room reservations has become common. However, issues such as "ghost reservations" (booked but unused) and the inability to grasp actual usage have also increased.

Against this backdrop, the adoption of EXOffice, which includes seat/meeting room reservation options, is accelerating to realize more convenient and efficient space management. In particular, the adoption of "EXOffice light," which is easy to introduce without the need for additional location infrastructure equipment, is expanding.

On the other hand, the following issues were observed on-site:

- The manual effort required to open an app and check in every time a reserved seat or meeting room is used.
- The occurrence of "ghost reservations" where spaces are booked but not actually used.
- Operations are cumbersome when holding a PC or documents in both hands.

To solve these issues, the company developed an automated check-in feature using facial recognition by linking the "EXOffice light" reservation service with the "EXGatekeeper" access control service.

Users can record their reservation usage at the same time they enter or exit by performing facial recognition, achieving more comfortable and accurate office operations.

### Features of the New Functionality

1. Automated Check-in to Reservations via Facial Recognition
Once you arrive at your reserved seat or meeting room, check-in is completed automatically by facial recognition. This eliminates the need to operate smartphone apps or touch reservation terminals, reducing user burden.

2. Smooth Usage Even with Hands Full
Because authentication can be performed even while holding a PC or documents, it does not interrupt natural flow during movement. It reduces stress before and after meetings and improves the office usage experience.

3. Visualization of Actual Usage Beyond Reservation Information
By having not only the reservation holder but also participants perform facial recognition, organizations can grasp "who participated," "how many people used the space," and "how long it was used." Since facial recognition verifies the individual, it prevents unauthorized proxy usage and can be used for more fact-based meeting room usage analysis and operational improvements.

### Usage Scenarios for Facial Recognition Check-in

#### A Day Using Facial Recognition Check-in

- **Start Seat Usage Upon Arrival (9:00 AM)**
When an employee authenticates via the facial recognition camera at the office entrance, the door unlocks. Simultaneously, the seat they pre-booked is automatically checked in. No smartphone operation is required.

- **Check-in to Meeting Upon Arrival (10:00 AM)**
Authenticate at the facial recognition camera in front of the meeting room. Check-in to the reserved room is completed automatically. By having participants also verify via facial recognition, usage status and participation history can be recorded.

- **Record Usage History of Security Areas (11:00 AM)**
Authenticate before entering a security room for sensitive information. By authenticating upon exit as well, the company can accurately record "who," "when," and "how long" they stayed. This is useful for audit trails and strengthening security management.

- **Check-out Upon Leaving the Office (5:30 PM)
Authenticate via the facial recognition camera at the exit. The exit history is recorded, and at the same time, the seat used is automatically checked out. This ensures that usage performance is accurately reflected, leading to the effective use of reserved spaces.

### Achieving Reservation, Access, and Usage Management One-Stop

Generally, it is necessary to introduce seat/meeting room reservation systems and facial recognition access control systems separately and perform individual integration settings.

Since EXOffice light and EXGatekeeper are both services provided by WHERE, they can be used without additional development or complex system integration.