Shoal One
What is Shoal One?
Shoal One is a non-visual care environment sensing system designed to support awareness in mental health settings while preserving privacy and dignity.
Using non-visual sensing approaches rather than cameras, the system is designed for use in areas where privacy is a priority. It supports staff awareness across care environments by providing additional contextual information while maintaining a non-visual approach.
Shoal One is being developed through live deployments and ongoing research, with a focus on understanding how non-visual sensing can be used responsibly in complex care settings.


Understanding our approach
Our work in mental health has been shaped by both professional experience and personal insight. From the outset, our goal has been to improve the experience of inpatient environments for everyone who uses them. A core part of our approach is learning from a wide range of perspectives. This includes people with lived experience, alongside clinicians, estates teams, and others involved in the delivery and operation of care environments. Their input helps shape how the system is designed, evaluated, and refined over time.
Our products are developed through iterative testing and evaluation in real-world settings. This allows us to understand how they perform in practice and to continuously improve how they support care delivery. We take a human-centred and research-led approach to design, beginning with a clear understanding of care environments and the needs of the people who use them before exploring potential solutions.
Co-design is an ongoing part of this process. We aim to design technologies that enable more supportive interactions between staff and patients, while maintaining appropriate safeguards around how information is generated and used.
Ethics and governance
Ethical considerations are integral to our work. We have sought independent legal and ethical input to inform our approach and continue to review how the system is developed and used in practice.
Our framework for engaging with people with lived experience, alongside other stakeholders, is designed to support responsible involvement and ensure that their perspectives are meaningfully incorporated.
You can download our ethical framework paper for further informaton.
Let’s Build Safer Spaces Together
If you’re looking to create a safer and more stylish environment in your spaces, contact us today to learn more about our solutions.