Edifying Smart Buildings With Enablers!

The revolution of automation in smart buildings is reshaping the future of urban living, seamlessly integrating cutting-edge technologies to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and user experience. The revolution of automation in smart buildings is ushering in a transformative era for urban living, reshaping the very fabric of our cities. Smart buildings are redefining efficiency, sustainability, and the overall user experience through the seamless integration of cutting-edge technologies. Automated systems and intelligent sensors orchestrate a symphony of functions, optimizing energy consumption, climate control, and security with unprecedented precision.

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The interconnectedness of devices and data-driven decision-making enhances operational efficiency and contributes significantly to sustainability goals by reducing environmental impact. Beyond the pragmatic advantages, the user experience is elevated through intuitive interfaces that empower occupants to customize and control their environments effortlessly. As smart buildings become the cornerstone of modern urban development, they embody a vision of living spaces that prioritize innovation, sustainability, and an enhanced quality of life. Highlighting the same, below are the industry insights from, Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE Elevator – India & South Asia; Rohit Pandit, Managing Director, People’s Group; Suraj Nair, Director of Technology and COE Leader (IOT & Telematics), Quest Global.

Integrating Automation Technologies into Intelligent Smart Environments

The integration of automation technologies is revolutionizing traditional building structures, transforming them into intelligent and responsive smart environments. By incorporating sensors, actuators, and interconnected systems, buildings can dynamically adapt to changing conditions, optimizing energy usage and enhancing overall efficiency.

According to Amit Gossain, Managing Director, KONE Elevator – India & South Asia, ”the incorporation of automation technology has led to a discernible metamorphosis of traditional building architectures, converting them into intelligent and adaptable smart spaces. Automation has completely changed elevator systems, making them an essential part of the ecosystem for smart buildings as a whole.”

He says, “Because of sophisticated sensors and networking, modern lifts can collect and process real-time data. KONE’s 24/7 Connected Services provides such Intelligent predictive maintenance for elevators and escalators. These services offer important information about impending maintenance requirements, allowing problems to be identified before they become serious ones. With the use of AI-based data and cloud-based services, the escalators and lifts are able to make more informed maintenance decisions. They are transparent in every way and are subject to constant analysis. This data-driven method boosts the effectiveness of vertical transit by cutting wait times, optimizing energy use, and improving the user experience overall.”

Integrating automation technologies, particularly IoT and AI, reshapes traditional building structures into intelligent and responsive smart environments. These advancements facilitate the cohesive management of diverse building systems, including HVAC, lighting, security, and occupancy. By harnessing the power of IoT and AI, buildings can dynamically adapt to user needs and environmental conditions, optimizing operational efficiencies and enhancing occupant comfort. This transformative integration allows for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making, ultimately leading to more sustainable and cost-effective building operations. As a result, the synergy between automation technologies and traditional structures improves overall functionality and paves the way for smarter, more energy-efficient buildings that respond intuitively to the evolving demands of modern living and workspaces, highlights Rohit Pandit, Managing Director, People’s Group.

Suraj Nair, Director of Technology and COE Leader (IOT & Telematics), Quest Global, assertively says, technology adoption in building design has transformed buildings from stoic traditional structures to adaptive systems that provide occupants with enhanced security, personalized environments, comfort and convenience utilizing optimal energy in doing so. From a recent past that involved siloed adoption of consumer appliances, buildings today are built to host an ecosystem of connected devices and appliances that work collaboratively and autonomously to proactive adapt to an occupant’s profile. This transformation is primarily due to the pervasiveness of IoT as fundamental technology. Connected centralized platforms aggregate data from sensors & smart devices (thermostats, occupancy indicators, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, cameras etc) in multiple building sub-systems {PSIM (Physical security Information Management), elevator scheduling, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning), Lighting control, water management etc} to orchestrate use cases favourable to building occupants. Other associated stakeholders like facility operators benefit from predictive maintenance and remote management capabilities available in smart building deployments. Property ownership businesses can learn from occupancy patterns to optimize space utilization and allow adaptation of layout to actual usage.

Role of Climate Control and Energy Management in the Automation Revolution

Advanced climate control and energy management systems play a pivotal role in the automation revolution of smart buildings, contributing significantly to both sustainability and cost-efficiency. These systems leverage real-time data and predictive analytics to regulate temperature, lighting, and other environmental factors, ensuring optimal comfort for occupants while minimizing energy consumption and environmental impact.

Rohit Pandit explains that advanced climate control and energy management systems are pivotal in the automation revolution within smart buildings, fostering sustainability and cost-efficiency. These systems are instrumental in leveraging real-time data from sensors and occupancy patterns to optimize energy consumption. By dynamically adjusting heating, cooling, and lighting based on occupancy and external conditions, smart buildings reduce waste and maintain comfortable indoor environments. This enhances operational efficiency and substantially cuts energy costs, contributing to cost-effectiveness. Moreover, the ability to adapt to fluctuating demands minimizes environmental impact, aligning with sustainability goals.
A key motivation in today’s smart building design is sustainable design because of an increasingly climate and sustainability-conscious generation as customers. Suraj Nair bolded some points ;

• Focus on harnessing renewable energy – Smart Buildings source energy primarily from renewable sources in-house, like solar panels and community turbine installations. When sourcing from the grid, occupants can schedule their loads to consume energy when the source of energy on the grid is renewable, thus reducing reliance on fossil-based sources to the extent possible.
• Demand Response – Smart Buildings can participate in demand response programs whereby automation systems can sense grid stress and adjust loads based on configuration (charging an EV for example) and potentially contribute energy back to help stabilize the grid. This can help earn incentives.
• Optimize Energy Consumption – Smart Buildings implement optimization by monitoring occupancy and adjusting energy needs accordingly. Also, analysis of weather conditions and usage patterns also help adjust energy needs. While buildings are increasingly being designed to exploit natural lighting and wind patterns for air circulations. Smart buildings can integrate elements like window blinds etc, to orchestrate between ambient and artificial lighting.
• Predictive Maintenance – Automation can help predict potential issues with climate control systems like HVAC equipment which helps schedule maintenance and increases the equipment life.
• Cost Savings – Smart usage of energy and proactive maintenance of equipment leads to significant savings in energy costs and reduced bills. In addition, participation in demand response programs also contributes to energy bill incentives.

To achieve the above, in addition to ingesting data from sensors within buildings themselves, Smart Building Platforms will require to integrate data from external sources like weather stations, local weather monitoring platforms, utility platforms, appliance platforms, and innovative open third-party players like WattTime to be able to churn data and make optimal decisions.

Advanced climate control and energy management systems play a pivotal role in the ongoing revolution of automation within intelligent buildings, according to Amit Gossain. These systems contribute significantly to sustainability and cost-efficiency by optimizing the use of resources throughout the building.

In addition to offering cutting-edge escalators and lift systems, KONE is dedicated to incorporating cutting-edge technologies that improve smart buildings’ sustainability and overall efficiency. Regenerative drives are one of the energy-saving elements found in KONE elevators. When braking, these devices harvest and transform extra energy, repurposing it into the building’s electrical system. KONE’s technology makes seamless interaction with the larger smart building ecosystem possible. This involves being connected to building management systems (BMS), which keep an eye on and optimize a number of operations, such as energy use and climate control.

KONE incorporates temperature and occupancy sensors into their lifts. By giving information on the number of occupants, these sensors support the overall smart building strategy by enabling smart lighting, heating, and cooling system modifications. We aim to improve and intelligently flow people while supporting economical and sustainable building operations by integrating these technologies into its lift and escalator solutions.

Smart Buildings Enhancing Occupant Experiences through Automation

Smart buildings enhance occupant experiences through automation by offering personalized features such as adaptive lighting, intelligent security systems, and interactive spaces. Automation technologies allow for seamless integration of these elements, creating environments that respond intuitively to occupant needs and preferences, thereby fostering a more comfortable and secure living or working experience.

From the viewpoint of Suraj Nair, smart buildings are focused on transforming the occupant experience with personalized and adaptable capabilities being built in.

• Enhanced Security – Modern smart buildings enable access to facilities through various digital channels. Facial recognition, biometry-based, smartphone-based, and smart card-based access are common access modes. In addition, AI camera-based surveillance systems provide specific alerts for detected non-compliance.
• Feature personalization – Lighting conditions (intensity, colors), window blind configurations, HVAC configurations, and sensory experiences can all be customized to operate based on profiles like ambient weather conditions, time of day, occupancy density, occupant profile, etc. These customizations can be offered via a single application interface made available on smartphones and smartwatches.
• Wellness perspective – Information from air quality sensors, humidity sensors, occupancy density, temperature scan devices, room service tracking data, etc. can be combined to generate a wellness index. Window systems, HVAC systems, dehumidifiers, lighting systems, sensory experience systems, etc. can be controlled based on a derived profile of the requirements of sections of a building.
• Interactive spaces – Interactive space design in Smart Buildings is driven by the need for more naturalized interfaces of interaction than touch-based interfaces. Voice-driven interfaces that use voice assistants like Alexa and gesture-based interfaces are being adopted. Interactive spaces extend from beyond the confines of a house to a car, whereby the voice assistant in a car can integrate with a smart home voice assistant to relay voice instructions from the occupant as he approaches the house (like opening the garage door, etc.)

Amit Gossain thinks that because automation is becoming widely integrated into smart buildings, tenant experiences are being greatly improved. Beyond vertical transit, a number of other areas are covered, including customized lighting, safety measures, and interactive, adaptable areas.

KONE is leading the way in utilizing cutting-edge automation technologies to transform the occupant experience in smart buildings completely. We prioritize the comfort and well-being of building occupants with our wide variety of products and services, which effortlessly integrate into intelligent building ecosystems. Elevators and escalators made by KONE are essential to improving personalized experiences because they can alter lighting and climatic conditions based on real-time data to suit individual tastes. In addition to ensuring safe and controlled building entry, our industry-leading access control solutions also improve occupant safety. Predictive maintenance becomes possible with tools like KONE 24/7 Connected Services, reducing downtime and guaranteeing peak performance.

Our innovative solutions demonstrate KONE’s dedication to converting workplaces into dynamic and adaptable settings. For example, the KONE DX Class elevators give users a dynamic and customized experience by offering an interesting ride with educational displays and interactive elements. KONE makes a substantial contribution to the development of smart buildings by offering a wide range of products and services that enable the structure to adapt intelligently to the needs of its occupants.

Rohit Pandit explains that smart buildings transform occupant experiences through personalized lighting, security features, and interactive spaces. AI and IoT allow these buildings to tailor environmental settings to individual preferences, fostering comfort and productivity. Interactive and adaptive spaces dynamically adjust room configurations, lighting, and temperature in response to real-time usage and occupancy data, providing a seamless and enriched occupant experience. This integration of automation enhances convenience and creates responsive and intuitive environments, marking a paradigm shift in how occupants engage with and benefit from the spaces they inhabit.

Advancements in IoT and AI influencing the evolution of Automation in Smart Buildings

Advancements in IoT and AI are shaping the evolution of automation in smart buildings, leading to increased overall building efficiency. IoT devices enable seamless connectivity and data exchange between various systems. At the same time, AI algorithms analyze this data to make informed decisions, optimizing energy usage, predictive maintenance, and resource allocation for improved building performance.

As in other industries, the convergence of IoT and AI is transforming automation in smart buildings by enabling features around convenience security, improving efficiency and reducing energy spent. Hardware miniaturization, innovations in chip design, ubiquitous connectivity, powerful computing and cloud have all pushed the limits of what IoT and AI can achieve which has percolated into innovative solutions in the Smart Building space. This framework from Suraj Nair encapsulates the following key principles:

• Data-driven decision making – Smart Buildings possess a dense network of sensors (air quality, light, vibration, soil) , devices and gateways that collect data from various building sub-systems. This data is consumed and processed in the cloud to generate a virtual twin of the building that would represent the building performance. The data, along with data sourced from external sources like utility platforms, weather systems etc., is processed using AI/ML techniques to generate inferences that help make informed decisions on energy consumption, wellness, maintenance needs and more.
• Enhanced security – Rapid strides in Hi-Tech enable sophisticated access control systems based on face detection, bio-metric attributes, smartphone interfacing, and more. For surveillance, motion sensors, access control systems, and AI-based cameras with interference capabilities on the edge enable the detection of an intrusion at real time based on a set of conditions.
• Adaptive Learning systems- AI in Smart Building platforms can learn from occupant behaviour by combining data from multiple sources ( camera systems, smart meters, motion systems, lighting settings, HVAC settings etc.) to develop a profile of the occupant. While the profile keeps evolving over time, this information can be used to automatically manage configurations automatically to generate a heightened customer experience.
• Remote Management – IoT enables remote management of buildings where condition monitoring and control over facilities in the building can be achieved remotely via smartphone applications. These interfaces can be used to inform about potential maintenance needs through predictive analytics.
• Improved convenience – Smart Building platforms expose APIs that can be innovatively integrated to achieve heighted convenience to occupants. For example, Smart building platforms can be integrated with connected car platforms to automatically trigger lights in the driveway and opening of the garage door when the occupant’s vehicle is within a defined radius of the building.

Smart Building designs today leverage the technology advancements in the Hi-Tech device, IoT and AI space to present highly safe and convenient experience to building occupants.The new era of Generative AI is expected to go beyond the “predict and optimize” approach of traditional AI/ML by consuming vast amounts of data from sensors, weather forecasts, occupant behaviour to predict energy needs with high accuracy.

IoT and AI plays a significant role in enhancing the LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) for buildings – here are a few examples
1. Enables improvement in energy efficiency by enabling smart operation of resources, energy tracking
2. Enabling water usage efficiency with smart water management capabilities that monitor leakage and quality of water,
3. Improving environment quality using Air Quality monitoring systems and ventilation control.
4. Waste Management – Optimal waste management using smart bins and alerts for collection.

Rohit Pandit said, “advancements in IoT and AI are significantly influencing the evolution of automation in smart buildings, leading to improved efficiency and overall building performance. Integrating IoT and AI in building automation allows for real-time data collection, analysis, and automation, optimizing energy consumption, enhancing occupant comfort, and enabling predictive maintenance. This convergence streamlines building operations, reduces downtime, and improves resource allocation, ultimately leading to increased building efficiency and sustainability. IoT and AI technologies are revolutionizing how we interact with our surroundings by connecting and controlling various building systems, creating more intelligent and energy-efficient spaces.”

Providing industry insights, Amit Gossain says that IoT integration in smart buildings makes linking different systems and devices easier, enabling real-time data sharing and communication. This connectedness makes a more all-encompassing approach to automation possible since many parts—including elevators—can react and adjust to changing circumstances.

KONE’s commitment to cutting-edge technology is exemplified through products like KONE 24/7 Connected Services, where IoT plays a pivotal role. Integrating sensors and data analytics allows for predictive maintenance, minimizing downtime and enhancing overall elevator and escalator performance.

IoT and AI working together to create intelligent, adaptable environments is changing the way smart buildings are designed. With AI-driven algorithms, KONE’s elevators optimize people flow in real time, guaranteeing effective building transit. Elevators that use these technologies can customize their experiences by adjusting lighting and climate control to suit the tastes of its users. Furthermore, KONE’s access control systems use AI to improve security by adjusting to changing trends and possible threats.

Measures to ensure the Security and Privacy of Data

With the growing connectivity of devices in smart buildings, ensuring the security and privacy of data has become a paramount concern. Robust encryption protocols, secure network architectures, and stringent data access controls are being implemented to safeguard sensitive information and protect the privacy of occupants, addressing the potential risks associated with increased connectivity.

Several measures are being taken to ensure the security and privacy of data in automated smart buildings. These include implementing encryption, authentication, privacy by design, data minimization, and regular security assessments. Additionally, best practices for data segregation and access control, addressing vulnerabilities, and the role of encryption and authentication are crucial for protecting sensitive data privacy in smart building energy management systems. It is also important to fortify data privacy awareness, prioritize cybersecurity, and integrate automated systems carefully while conducting regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. These measures aim to prevent unauthorized access, reduce the risk of cyber-attacks, and enhance trust among building occupants and stakeholders. Overall, safeguarding privacy in smart buildings is imperative, and adopting robust security measures is essential to protect personal data and establish a foundation of trust in an increasingly interconnected world, as highlighted by Rohit Pandit.

Security in smart buildings involves the need to design and implement robust measures to protect data and privacy, as explained by Suraj Nair. While end use cases of smart buildings strive to provide more and more safe, comfortable and personalized experiences to occupants, it is important to realize that implementation of such use cases depend on access to occupant’s personal data (resident identities, biometric data, contact information etc.) and behavioral data (occupancy patterns, profile, device usage patterns etc.).

A multi-dimensional solution architecture perspective– from design to deployment and maintenance- is crucial.

• The design phase is crucial to ensuring data minimization to reduce scope of potential privacy requests. The focus is on collecting only absolutely necessary data and anonymizing where possible. At this phase, there should be clarity on what constitutes privacy data (personal and behavioral) that should be handled with care and traced through the life-cycle.
• Well-defined policies on data acquisition, retention, access controls are necessary to be defined upfront to ensure adherence in design, implementation and operation. Policies must be defined around user consent and regulatory compliance (GDPR, HIPAA etc) as part of use cases and architecture.
• Identity and access management (authentication, authorization) requires to be re-enforced through the life-cycle – right from devices to platforms and applications across devices. Granular access control designs and strategies like MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) ensure an additional layer of access security.
• Network segmentation of devices in a smart building or across a network of smart buildings (campus for example) helps device isolation, limiting breaches and easier policy enforcement.
• Limited attack surface in addition to limited private data considerably reduces potential area of possibility. Devices need to ensure minimizing or eliminating the need for incoming ports.
• Data encryption at rest and in transit is fundamental using strong algorithms based on AES-256. This is necessary to protect camera footage, user movement information etc strongly. SSL based connectivity is fundamental to ensuring protecting from man-in-the-middle attacks.
• Regular audits and vulnerability assessments is essential to ensure adherence to security policy through the implementation, deployment and maintenance cycles IDS/IPS mechanisms are necessary to monitor network activity to detect malware attempts.
• A framework for regular software updates is essential for connected ecosystems. This is to ensure that breaches are plugged as soon as a potential problem is known –which could be because of firmware, application or third-party library vulnerabilities. OTA is thus foundational to reducing turnaround time.
• In the recent past, a number of emerging techniques are being introduced in designs today with a view to ensuring data privacy. Concepts like Federated learning for AI model training and updated, homomorphic encryption and more are being introduced in connected platform designs that are relevant to Smart Building solutions too.

Providing company insights, Amit Gossain addressed the security and privacy concerns associated with the increasing connectivity of devices is paramount. Industry-wide measures are being implemented to safeguard sensitive data and uphold user privacy. Encryption protocols play a crucial role in securing data transmission between connected devices. Implementing robust encryption ensures that information exchanged within the smart building ecosystem remains confidential and protected from potential cyber threats.

KONE places a high priority on data privacy, incorporating strict protections into our services and products. For example, our KONE 24/7 Connected Services uses cutting-edge encryption techniques to protect the information sent between lifts and our cloud-based analytics platform. This guarantees the security of critical data pertaining to lift operation and maintenance.

Additionally, KONE invests in cutting-edge access control systems that improve cybersecurity and physical security. These systems, which are a part of our all-inclusive service, regulate access to vital building areas using sophisticated identification procedures. As part of our commitment to privacy, KONE follows stringent data governance guidelines, guaranteeing that the information gathered is handled sensibly and morally.

Challenges and Opportunities for future Smart Building Projects

The construction industry is adapting to incorporate automation technologies from the ground up, presenting both challenges and opportunities for future smart building projects. Challenges include the need for specialized skills, upfront investment costs, and integration complexities. However, opportunities arise in the form of increased efficiency, reduced operational costs, and the ability to meet evolving sustainability standards by implementing automated construction processes and smart building technologies.

Rohit Pandit bolded that the construction industry is transforming as it embraces automation technologies, setting the stage for a dynamic interplay of challenges and opportunities in future smart building projects. The fusion of artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) necessitates a comprehensive approach, demanding workforce upskilling, reassessing traditional building design methodologies, and seamlessly integrating automated systems. While challenges such as initial investment costs, interoperability issues among diverse automation systems, and the demand for specialized expertise loom large, they are counterbalanced by compelling opportunities. These include heightened construction efficiency, optimized building performance, and augmented long-term operational savings. This underscores the industry’s pivotal transition towards sustainable and intelligent building practices, marking a significant leap into a future where innovation and efficiency converge.

The integration of automation technology from the bottom up is causing a major revolution in the building sector. One noteworthy adaptation is the growing use of robots and automated equipment in building operations.

KONE’s construction-focused products and services clearly include automation. Elevator planning technologies, such as KONE Car Designer and BIM (Building Information Modelling), provide smooth communication between builders, architects, and KONE specialists, guaranteeing precise and effective project execution.

One of the challenges in this progression is that the labor needs to be upskilled to handle complex technologies.To address this, KONE offers assistance and training to building industry specialists about the setup and upkeep of their cutting-edge elevators and escalators. The opportunities are found in the increased sustainability and efficiency that automation provides. KONE’s products, such as KONE EcoDisc, support energy-efficient vertical transportation and support green building projects, as explained by Amit Gossain.

According to Suraj Nair, the construction industry has also been adopting automation in it’s processes in the recent past –

• Automated Robots – Automated construction robots can perform repetitive tasks in adverse surface conditions like construction sites. This enables reduced risk to human life and also eliminates human error and fatigue, thus increasing consistency of construction quality.
• Simulations – 3D modeling and building simulations enable early design corrections. Just as in industrial equipment modeling, Generative AI is expected to enable creativity and optimize building models.
• Prefabrication and modular construction offsite using automated processes enable consistent quality and mass production of components.
• Use of drone based vision analytics for site monitoring – Drones use Vision Analytics to enable quality check at parts of the building and site under construction that are difficult and unsafe for humans to access. Drones can also be used for surveying and monitoring construction sites.
  There are a few challenges to the adoption of automation in building construction processes.
• The high initial investment for adopting automation tools like robots, software etc. and investments in training personnel on their use, is often a barrier especially for smaller firms.
• Ethical considerations of job displacement by automation and lack of clarity on regulations surround use of automation technology, create uncertainty.
• The fundamental requirement in urban building construction (for business or personal) is to enable technology levers that would enhance the safety and comfort experience of future occupants.

It thus becomes necessary to make provisions for a network of sensors and connectivity in buildings. For maintenance and operations, sensors deployed across key components (flowmeter, for example, or generators) can help detect potential breakdown conditions early enough. Building systems should automatically adjust to lighting/temperature and ventilation based on real-time data and occupant preferences. Buildings should enable energy harvesting technologies by adopting solar panels and turbines to enable energy independence – with an ability to contribute to grid when possible.

Integrating automation in construction is a transformative force with the potential to revolutionize the industry. By addressing the challenges and capitalizing on the opportunities, the future of smart building projects holds immense promise for creating more efficient, sustainable, and responsive structures that cater to the needs of both occupants and the environment.