TECHNOLOGY
Is toilet tech becoming too intrusive?
Washroom technology is increasingly enabling service providers to monitor usage, check on maintenance requirements and keep tabs on user health. Are such innovations always welcome, or could some be considered too intrusive? Stuart Hands from Tork manufacturer Essity poses the question.
In December 2022, UK Health Minister Steve Barclay hinted that toilets could soon be fitted with microchips to enable certain health conditions to be monitored.
The aim of the chips would be to analyse the urine of washroom visitors to check for conditions such as kidney problems and STDs. The minister called for a national discussion regarding health data, declaring that washroom health screening would be no different to people sharing their personal information on Facebook or Instagram.
This idea attracted strong criticism from some colleagues in UK parliament. One MP described the scheme as ‘toilet- bugging’ and called for any plan that involved invading people’s right to privacy without explicit consent to be summarily dropped.
Yet the health minister’s suggestion was only the tip of the iceberg, because washrooms around the world are becoming increasingly ‘smart’. For example, in November 2022 it emerged that a Chinese shopping centre had fitted all its washrooms with ‘smell sensors’ to warn potential visitors when a cubicle might be too malodorous to use. Each of the cubicles at the Sichuan Province retail centre now features a screen with a ‘smell rating’ designed to show people which stalls are ready for use.
Some shoppers have reacted to the technology with amusement, bewilderment or outright cynicism. One social media commentator points out that a sensor that checks for the presence of mice or cockroaches might be more useful. Another asked distrustfully: “Will this spy on you?”
This is the key issue, of course. Technology has the ability to harness huge amounts of data – whether this comes from our urine, our footfall or from the odours we leave behind. It is then able to pass this information on to others. Whether this knowledge is always helpful – or even welcome – is the moot point.
Privacy concerns inevitably arise when the latest washroom technologies are discussed. Facial recognition technology has been used in washrooms in China for some years, for example. Such systems are designed to limit the amount of toilet paper that each visitor uses to keep down costs.
Once the washroom has ‘recognised’ the user, he or she is only able to tear off a single strip of toilet paper at a time during a seven-minute window. These systems have prompted concerns that the facial-recognition software could be used for other, more sinister purposes – and the
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use of such technology has now been curtailed in some eras of China as a result.
Technology in the washroom is often proclaimed to be a force for good – when it is used to detect health issues or even pandemic prevalence, for instance. Wellness toilets are increasingly being discussed as an effective method of tracking the user’s blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and heart data. US scientists are also working on ways of monitoring the wastewater in toilets to detect COVID-19 in communities.
However, here again there are questions to be raised about the intrusiveness of such systems. In 2019, a ‘wellness’ toilet was developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to assess sleep patterns, exercise, medication and alcohol and caffeine intake. However, some people aired concerns that this sensitive information could be accessed by hackers in the process of being transmitted to the user’s doctor.
This is another way in which technology could potentially be intrusive – by transmitting information that could be accessed by those for whom it was never intended.
Japan is famous for its smart toilets offering features such as mood lighting, heated seats, integral bidets and built-in Bluetooth radio. However, it is widely believed that hackers could potentially tap into these units and remotely close the lid, flush the toilet or activate the bidet while someone else is using the facility.
It is hard to see the point of remotely invading another person’s washroom space, but more serious risks arise in the cleaning industry in general where there are fears that technology could become too smart for its own good.
Cleaning robots, for example, are designed to navigate complex floor layouts without colliding with obstacles while also ensuring that no areas are missed during cleaning. The use of robot cameras, combined with other data such as the device’s IP address, network and location, could transmit information that could become invaluable to thieves.
For example, a live video feed from a cleaning robot in a bank or other financial institution would potentially give criminals insights into employees’ daily practices – and provide details of where the money is being kept.
Creators of smart systems understand people’s concerns and are working hard to plug security gaps and to reassure the public. Organisations are publishing privacy policies to inform customers that the manufacturer is
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