Supported Sensors

Which Haltian sensor works with Microsoft Places and how it maps to rooms and desks

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Overview

Microsoft Places consumes occupancy data to power room availability, automatic room release, desk booking, and workspace analytics. Microsoft Places focuses strictly on workspace utilization, desk and room booking, and hybrid work coordination — using signals like Teams devices and standard occupancy sensors.

This page explains which Haltian sensor is supported for Microsoft Places, how it maps to Places resources, and how to deploy it for each scenario.

Sensor Summary

Sensor	Detection	Occupancy Data	Best For
Thingsee PRESENCE	Passive Infrared (PIR)	Binary occupied/vacant + movement count	Desks, small and medium rooms, phone booths

Thingsee PRESENCE — Desks and Rooms

The Thingsee PRESENCE is a ceiling-mounted PIR sensor with a cone-shaped detection area. It operates in two modes:

Mode	What It Reports	Microsoft Places Use
Occupancy Mode	Binary occupied / vacant	Room availability, automatic room release
Visitor Counting Mode	Movement count (non-directional)	Approximate traffic volume

Recommended for:

Individual desks — One PRESENCE sensor per desk, mapped directly to a bookable workspace in Microsoft Places. Reports desk as occupied or vacant.
Phone booths and huddle rooms — One sensor covers the small space. Triggers automatic room release when no presence is detected.
Meeting rooms — One sensor detects occupancy in small rooms. For larger rooms, combine multiple PRESENCE sensors in a device group for full coverage.

Mapping: Single device → direct sensor reporting → Microsoft Places workspace or room mailbox. For larger rooms, a device group of multiple PRESENCE sensors → Occupancy Data Engine → Microsoft Places room mailbox.

Sensor Selection Guide

Use this table to choose the right deployment for each Microsoft Places scenario:

Scenario	Deployment	Places Feature
Individual desk occupancy	1 PRESENCE sensor per desk	Desk booking
Phone booth / huddle room	1 PRESENCE sensor per room	Room availability, room release
Small meeting room (2–4 people)	1 PRESENCE sensor	Room availability, room release
Medium–large meeting room	Multiple PRESENCE sensors, device group	Room availability, room release

Single Device vs. Device Group

Microsoft Places occupancy data can originate from two paths:

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flowchart LR
    subgraph Single["Single Device Path"]
        S1["fa:fa-eye 1 Desk Sensor"] --> D1["Direct Report"]
        D1 --> P1["fa:fa-chair 1 Desk\nin Places"]
    end

    subgraph Group["Device Group Path"]
        S2["fa:fa-eye Multiple PRESENCE\nSensors"] --> DG["Device Group"]
        DG --> ODE["fa:fa-cogs Occupancy\nData Engine"]
        ODE --> P2["fa:fa-building Meeting Room\nin Places"]
    end

Path	When to Use	Example
Single device	One sensor covers one resource completely	1 PRESENCE sensor → 1 desk
Device group	Multiple sensors need to be combined for full coverage of a single resource	Multiple PRESENCE sensors in a large room → 1 meeting room

For device group configuration and the Occupancy Data Engine, see Occupancy Data Engine.

Next Steps

Integration Guide — Set up the end-to-end Microsoft Places connection
FAQ — Common questions about sensors, latency, and deployment
Occupancy Data Engine — How multi-sensor aggregation works