Sacyr Chooses Outsight People Flow Monitoring for the Hospital Cognitivo Project in Madrid

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can LiDAR people flow monitoring work in a hospital without capturing patient data?

  Yes. LiDAR sensors capture shape, position, and motion, never faces, names, or medical identifiers. Each person is assigned a temporary anonymous ID that exists only while they are in the monitored area. No biometric data is recorded at any point, which means GDPR and healthcare-specific privacy obligations are satisfied by the physics of the sensor rather than by a post-processing anonymization step. Outsight's people flow monitoring solution operates on this principle by design: the SHIFT platform processes 3D point clouds that are anonymous by definition, a property demonstrated in practice at the Henares Cognitive Hospital in Madrid. This structural characteristic makes LiDAR a practical fit for environments where patient privacy requirements are strict.

• How does LiDAR compare to cameras for monitoring patient flow in a hospital corridor?

  Cameras capture 2D images and face the same privacy exposure in healthcare settings that they face elsewhere: faces and identifiable features are recorded by default, requiring active anonymization. LiDAR captures only depth, shape, and motion in 3D, so there is no personal image to scrub. In dense or occluded environments like busy corridors and waiting rooms, LiDAR also maintains tracking continuity across blind spots by fusing multiple sensors into one shared point cloud, something a fixed 2D camera cannot do without significant overlap. This is the approach Outsight applied at the Henares Cognitive Hospital in Madrid, where its 3D LiDAR-based people flow monitoring solution provides anonymous, continuous occupancy tracking without capturing any biometric data.

• What hospital areas benefit most from real-time congestion detection?

  Reception areas, consultation room waiting zones, and emergency department triage corridors tend to generate the highest-value alerts because congestion in those zones directly delays care delivery and affects clinical outcomes. Flow data from these areas allows staff to redistribute patients through alternate pathways, open additional service points, or adjust scheduling before a bottleneck becomes critical. At the Henares Cognitive Hospital in Madrid, Sacyr deployed Outsight's 3D LiDAR-based people flow monitoring solution to address exactly these dynamics, tracking real-time movement patterns across high-density zones without capturing any biometric data. Pharmacies and discharge lounges are secondary candidates, as predictable peak loads in those zones are well-suited to demand-based staffing decisions.

• How many LiDAR sensors does a hospital deployment typically need?

  The Hospital Universitario del Henares deployment uses eight sensors across a 770-square-meter multi-floor area, providing a practical reference point for coverage density in a real clinical environment. Exact sensor counts vary based on ceiling height, corridor geometry, and whether the deployment targets a single department or the full facility. Outsight's SHIFT platform supports multi-vendor LiDAR hardware, including sensors from Hesai, RoboSense, Ouster, and others, so configurations can mix manufacturers to optimize cost and coverage without being locked to one brand. This flexibility makes it easier to scale from a single ward to an entire hospital complex as operational needs evolve.

• Can a people flow monitoring system track both patients and hospital staff separately?

  Spatial AI platforms classify tracked entities by shape and motion attributes (gait speed, size, trajectory patterns) rather than by identity. Distinguishing staff from patients is possible through behavioral inference: staff tend to move along consistent pathways between work zones, while patients dwell in waiting areas or follow less regular routes. A secondary approach fuses badge-reader access data onto the spatial layer as an additional attribute, adding role context without recording personal identity. Outsight's Motional Digital Twin operates on exactly this principle, using infrastructure-based 3D LiDAR to capture shape and motion anonymously, as demonstrated in its deployment at the Henares Cognitive Hospital in Madrid. Classification remains role-level, never individual-level, which keeps the system compliant with patient privacy requirements.

• Is LiDAR people flow monitoring scalable from a single hospital department to a full campus?

  The architecture scales in both directions. A single-department deployment uses a small cluster of sensors feeding one analytics pipeline, while a campus-wide deployment adds sensors and processing nodes as the footprint grows. The same software fuses all feeds into one shared spatial model, maintaining consistent entity IDs as people move between buildings or floors. Outsight's SHIFT platform follows this exact model: its LiDAR-native design supports multi-vendor hardware from manufacturers such as Hesai, RoboSense, and Ouster, so additional sensors can be integrated as a deployment expands without replacing existing infrastructure. The Henares Cognitive Hospital implementation by Sacyr demonstrates how this approach applies at a real facility, with the same underlying pipeline capable of extending across an entire campus.

• Who is behind the Hospital Cognitivo project in Madrid and who funds it?

  The Cognitive Hospital Project was developed jointly by the Community of Madrid and the University Hospital of Henares (Hospital Universitario del Henares). It is co-financed by the European Union and forms part of a broader effort to integrate Artificial Intelligence and real-time analytics to improve hospital operations. Sacyr, Spain's leading concessions and infrastructure developer, implemented Outsight's People Flow Monitoring solution, built on Spatial Intelligence and 3D LiDAR, within the project.

• What floor area does the people flow monitoring system cover at Hospital Universitario del Henares?

  At the Hospital Universitario del Henares, eight LiDAR sensors were installed across multiple floors, covering a 770-square-meter area. The sensors continuously collect real-time data that Outsight's software processes to give hospital staff insights into crowd density, movement patterns and queue formations. This coverage supports the Cognitive Hospital Project's goals of reducing wait times, detecting congestion in key areas and improving the movement of patients, staff and hospital resources.

• Can one hospital people flow system combine LiDAR sensors from different manufacturers, as at Henares?

  Yes. At the Henares Cognitive Hospital, Outsight's Spatial Intelligence platform allowed Sacyr to integrate LiDAR sensors from three different manufacturers. This ensured seamless data collection without vendor lock-in. Because the solution supports multiple LiDAR hardware brands, it can be adjusted to suit various hospital layouts and stays flexible to the facility's evolving needs, whether deployed in a single department or across multiple floors. The software tracks patient flow and congestion hotspots anonymously.

• Is the Hospital Cognitivo project in Madrid the first healthcare deployment of this LiDAR platform?

  Yes. The Hospital Cognitivo project marks Outsight's first collaboration with a medical facility. It follows the company's successful deployments in airports and stadiums. In Madrid, Outsight's People Flow Monitoring solution, built on Spatial Intelligence and 3D LiDAR, is applied to hospital operations, where it helps reduce wait times, detect congestion in key areas and improve the movement of patients, staff and hospital resources in areas such as reception, consultation rooms and emergency services.

• What role did Sacyr play in bringing this people flow monitoring technology to the Henares Cognitive Hospital?

  Sacyr, Spain's leading concessions and infrastructure developer, chose and implemented Outsight's People Flow Monitoring solution at the Henares Cognitive Hospital in Madrid. Using Outsight's Spatial Intelligence platform, Sacyr integrated LiDAR sensors from three different manufacturers. Alba Rocío Perez, project coordinator in Sacyr's Innovation area, stated that Outsight's expertise in people flow monitoring aligns with Sacyr's commitment to innovation in smart infrastructure.

• What can hospital staff do when LiDAR-based people flow monitoring detects congestion?

  When Outsight's system detects congestion at the Henares Cognitive Hospital, staff can direct patients through alternate pathways or optimize scheduling to spread foot traffic more evenly. Real-time queue detection lets them monitor waiting areas continuously and anticipate congestion before bottlenecks form. These adjustments help reduce waiting times and improve the overall patient experience in areas such as reception, consultation rooms and emergency services.

• How does people flow data help hospital administrators decide staffing levels?

  At the Henares Cognitive Hospital, Outsight's People Flow Monitoring gives administrators data-driven insights into crowd density, movement patterns and queue formations across several floors. With this information they can optimize staffing levels and allocate resources more effectively, so personnel are available where they are most needed. The ability to monitor movement across different areas of the hospital also supports broader planning and operational decision-making.

• What are post-event analytics used for in the Hospital Cognitivo project?

  In addition to real-time monitoring, Outsight provides post-event analytics at the Hospital Universitario del Henares. These analytics help the hospital review and adapt for better operations. They complement the real-time queue detection that lets staff monitor waiting areas continuously and anticipate congestion. Together, the ability to monitor movement patterns across different areas of the hospital supports better planning and operational decision-making, while all tracking remains anonymous.

• What did the Regional Sales Director say about deploying Spatial Intelligence at the Cognitive Hospital?

  Diego García de Paredes, Regional Sales Director at Outsight, said that deploying LiDAR technology combined with Spatial Intelligence at the Cognitive Hospital demonstrates its value in healthcare environments. He explained that by providing real-time insights into patient movement, the solution supports hospital staff in improving daily operations. The project in Madrid was Outsight's first with a medical facility, after deployments in airports and stadiums.

• What goals does the Hospital Cognitivo project set for people flow monitoring?

  The Cognitive Hospital Project aims to improve hospital efficiency by integrating advanced tracking technologies. Within it, Outsight's People Flow Monitoring solution, built on Spatial Intelligence and 3D LiDAR, plays a key role in reducing wait times, detecting congestion in key areas and improving the movement of patients, staff and hospital resources. Sacyr's project coordinator also noted that the project goes beyond patient experience to enhance hospital operations overall.

• How can hospitals monitor patient and visitor flow without cameras?

  Hospitals can use 3D LiDAR with Physical AI software, which measures the position and movement of people as anonymous points and captures no images, faces or personal data. It measures occupancy of waiting areas, queues at reception, flows between departments and how long people wait, in real time. This helps adjust staffing, reduce waiting and improve comfort for patients and visitors while respecting privacy. Sacyr implemented Outsight's people flow monitoring solution at the Henares Cognitive Hospital in Madrid for exactly this purpose.