Smart Buildings Are On Their Way

SAN DIEGO—During Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate's real estate conference here last week, a panel of experts at the source of innovative technologies described the advances that already exist in other parts of the world and are coming to US buildings of the future. Smart furniture and buildings completely off the grid are just some of the advances coming our way, said speakers at the panel session “Transformational Technologies Impacting Commercial Real Estate.”

Jim Young, co-founder and producer of RealComm, said, “In the future, anything electrical in a building will be connected to the Internet.” He spoke of visiting smart buildings in Singapore, the Middle East and other parts of the world where all systems from lighting to temperature are on a network talking to each other. “These developers in Asia are taking risks on a global scale.”

Moderator Jim Waring, chairman and co-founder of Cleantech San Diego, said, “If we're not modifying buildings, we're missing out.”

Aidoo Osei, staff manager, business development and new market development for Qualcomm Technologies Inc., said innovation firms are reimagining infrastructure. He gave the example of 10,000 pay phones being removed from New York City with the plan of replacing them with smart kiosks that allow technological connectivity. He also mentioned a trashcan that has become a smart disposal device, a solar-powered device that allows more waste to fit into the receptacle. “Smart furniture like this is being developed all over the world.”

Osei added that personalization will transform retail plus all digital and physical spaces, from augmented reality entertainment and gaming to augmented pixels for marketing real estate. “Cars are becoming increasingly automated, having the ability to plug themselves in to recharge. This will transform the tenant experience and the way cities are run.”

Gordon Feller, director in the office of the executive VP for Cisco and founder of Meeting of the Minds, said the data flowing in and out of a network is critical in figuring out how to use resources. When a tenant wants to know which lightbulb they should be using, property managers need to know whether to deploy someone to fix the lightbulb or not, and new technology can help address this. “We're moving past simple connectivity, but not machine-to-machine—they go through humans, too. We want insights that are actionable.” He added that Millennials, who embrace this technology, are not sitters—they're doers.

Rick Lisa, director of strategy for the Quark solutions division, Internet of things group for Intel Corp., said, “We're taking technology and applying it to vertical industries. We are learning to talk your language by finding out the things that matter to building owners.” Among those things are security, sustainability and operational efficiency. “When we talk megahertz and gigahertz, it doesn't matter to you.” He said technology companies are trying to identify more with real estate owners and provide workable, customizable solutions.

Deb Tatum, account director of transmission and distribution for GE Digital Energy, said, “Disruptions for future customers include moving completely off the grid. People expect resiliency and they expect to get things from the cloud.” Part of the problem with the grid is that 75% of it is more than 25 years old, so it needs updating, she said.

In the future, people will be changing jobs more frequently and expecting a greater exchange of information instantaneously and constantly, Tatum added. “We need a load capable of handling it. There will be improved workforce productivity, so people will need faster and faster connectivity—any place, any time, from any device.” She also spoke of smart data centers that are not only tied together within themselves but tied together with other data centers technologically.

“If you can build sustainable energy plans, you can improve communication,” Tatum summed up. “The consumer will drive it and want communication on every device they have.”