How LAX Stops People From Peeking Into Your Stall
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is taking a cue from aircraft design by installing something to help travelers avoid an awkward encounter.
Just like aircraft have lights to tell you when someone is in the bathroom, LAX has installed "Tooshlight" technology to alert people when an airport bathroom stall is in use.
The technology works like so: When a bathroom stall is open, a light above the toilet will be green. When someone is inside the stall, sensor technology will find that someone is there and turn the light red.
“We’ve all been there. You’re in the restroom and someone shakes the door, peeks through the crack, or looks under the stall partition to see your feet,” Allen Klevens, CEO and founder of Tooshlights told USA Today. “Bathroom lines get long because people don’t know which stalls are available.”
And it's more than just a system to avoid the surprise when someone shakes your stall's door — but it will also help janitors do their jobs more efficiently. In conjunction with Infax, Tooshilghts will convey real-time bathroom information to cleaners — after a stall has been used enough times to meet the cleaning threshold, janitors will be notified that the bathroom needs attention.
The Tooshlight system was unveiled last week in Terminal 4, home to American Airlines and Qantas. It's currently in a pilot program, but might be expanded if successful. You can find them at one men's and one women's restroom just past security. Klevens says that "at least fives other airports are lined up and ready" to install a Tooshlights system.
