EU consortium sees edge systems giving a facelift to buildings
Edge systems do not necessarily have to minimize latency and cut information technology costs to have a big impact on an industry. They could help make buildings more comfortable and sustainable and supportive of productivity, for example.
KEKO, a new seven-member consortium in the European Union wants to create a platform on which to collect and analyze data generated by structures. That platform would then lead to the automatic integration of that data in building maintenance and design.
It is an interesting thought. Typically, edge goods and services are pitched as a competitive advantage for information-intensive companies and businesses in manufacturing and other industries that are turning to new digital services for revenues. However, interest in ‘smart’ buildings is on the rise, so to speak. Research firm Verdantix says that global spending on software for smart-building functions will grow to $7 billion by 2023.
Ultimately, smart buildings enhanced with technology are all about connectivity, predictability, responsiveness and flexibility – which are essentially the same basic characteristics driving interest in all forms of edge computing.
KEKO’s private sector founders are telecommunications and networking firm Nokia Corp.; engineering and services company KONE Corp.; an elevator and escalator firm YIT Oyj.; indoor air and lighting products maker Oy Halton Ltd.; information tech and security firm Netox Co.; and Caverion Corp., designer and maker of efficient building products. The state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., also a founder, will contribute research services.
Funded by the Finnish government, the consortium has given itself two years, first, to develop 100 use cases for shared structure data. The group will then plans to develop and test solutions.
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Article Topics
analytics | IoT | Nokia | smart buildings
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